Welcome to Jazz At The Lescar

Home of one of the best weekly jazz nights in the steel city, The Lescar plays host every Wednesday to prominant local and national jazz acts, encompassing everything from hard-bop and big bands, to fusion, funk and soul. Music starts every week at 9pm, doors 8.30pm.

Advance tickets are now available for all Jazz at the Lescar gigs from Sheffield Music Shop, Hickmott Road (open 10am - 5pm, Tuesday - Saturday).

Contact

Jez Matthews
Email: jezm@jezm.f9.co.uk
Telephone: 0774 020 1939

The Lescar Hotel
Sharrowvale Road
Sheffield
S11 8ZF (map)
    www.thelescarhuntersbar.co.uk

Programme: March - May 2013

March 13^th Ant Law £5
Another very fine guitarist brings a very fine London-based touring band featuring James Maddren (drums), Tom Farmer (bass), Michael Chillingworth (alto sax).

March 20^th Sally Doherty £5
A return to The Lescar for this wonderful Sheffield-based singer, Sally will be bringing her own distinctive and subtle dose of Brazilian magic to the Lescar, performing songs (many in the original Portuguese) by the legendary Antonio Carlos Jobim amongst others, and backed by a classy band featuring Paul Kilvington on piano, Frank Grime on double bass, and Caroline Boaden on drums.

March 27^th Jiannis Pavlidis £5
Born in Sweden, and a graduate of Berklee College of Music, Jiannis Pavlidis is now based in Leeds, He has recently toured and recorded with ex-Miles Davis sideman David Liebman, as well as touring with drummer Adam Nussbaum. Expect some great straight ahead, swinging, contemporary guitar trio jazz, with superb bassist Sam Vicary (last here with Dominic J Marshall) and drummer Dave Walsh, who visited us in January with Stuart McCallum.

April 3^rd fluff £5
fluff are a Nottingham-based trio featuring sax player Ben Martin, Martyn Spencer on double bass and Andrew 'Woody' Wood on drums, embracing a range of influences from New Orleans through to Bebop, Free Jazz and Electronica. Their music is passionate, played with strong jazz sensitivity, yet laced with humour. Collectively the band have worked with the likes of Groove Armada, Lady Gaga, Kenny Wheeler, Andy Sheppard, Jim Mullen, Dave Newton, and many more.

April 10^th Gogo Penguin £5
Probably the hottest name on the UK jazz scene right now. Gogo Penguin are a brilliant young piano trio from Manchester, strongly influenced by the likes of EST, with appearances on BBC Jazz on 3 under their belt, and a nomination for Jazz Album Of The Year in Gilles Peterson's Worldwide awards for 2012. They come to us straight from a gig in Istanbul and shortly before appearances at a string of jazz festivals, including Cheltenham and the Love Supreme festival at Brighton. Due to the likely demand for this gig, we will be selling tickets in advance from Sheffield Music Shop, and at preceding gigs.

April 17^th Anton Hunter Trio £5
Hot on the heels of Gogo Penguin, we feature another cutting edge band from the Manchester jazz and improvised music scene, this time featuring the guitarist from the Beats and Pieces Big Band (and Efpi record label founder), Anton Hunter, his brother (and former Sheffield resident) Johnny Hunter on drums, and James Adolpho on bass. Expect music with strong melodies, allied to a sense of exploratory improvised adventure, and taking in influences from electronic and improvised music as well as the likes of Tortoise and Bill Frisell.

April 24^th Jamie Taylor's Outside Line £5
Its easy to forget that we have some amazing musicians based here in Sheffield, and Jamie Taylor is foremost amongst them, with a national reputation as a musician and a jazz educator. A brilliant guitarist, he brings a new quartet called "Outside Line", with 2010 Jazz Yorkshire Young Musician of the Year, Matt Anderson on tenor sax, and two of the UK's finest players Garry Jackson on double bass, and Dave Walsh on drums. They've just recorded a new album; come and catch them live at The Lescar!

May 1^st Aquarium £6
Having seen this brilliant young London-based band at Brecon Jazz Festival a couple of years ago, its a thrill to have them at The Lescar, as part of a tour following the March 2013 release of their new album 'Places' on Jellymould Jazz. The band is led by Keith Jarrett influenced pianist Sam Leak, James Allsop and Calumm Gourlay (both in the Kit Downes Quintet) on sax/clarinet and bass respectively, and Troyka/Curios drummer Josh Blackmore. This will be a subtle and melodic masterclass in the very best of the new UK jazz.

May 8^th Chris Flaherty with Jade Harris £5
A Lescar debut for soulful singer Jade Harris, strongly influenced by the likes of Dinah Washington and Nina Simone, and playing here with guitarist Chris Flaherty, a great guitarist with a strong reputation across the North. The band also features a vibrant young Leeds-based rhythm section with Sam Gardner on drums, Sam Vicary (rapidly becoming a Lescar regular!) on bass, and Martin Longhawn on keys.

May 15^th The Allsorts Band £5
We seem to specialise in young rising stars here at The Lescar. Here is a group filled with them! Originally from Canada, Katie Patterson is currently based in Leeds and won 2012 Jazz Yorkshire Young Musician of the Year. Influenced by the likes of Steely Dan, her band features some of the North's very best young jazz talent, and plays material by the likes of Pat Metheny, Return to Forever as well their own compositions, leaning towards the funkier melodic end of the jazz spectrum. Katie on drums, Russ Henderson (sax), Oli Cadman (keys), Peter Gavin (bass) and special guest on guitar, Aubin Vanns.

May 22^nd Jamil Sheriff Trio £5
A real treat for anyone who loves the jazz piano trio. Jamil Sheriff is one of the most respected jazz musicians in the North, a sophisticated and accomplished pianist, he returns to The Lescar with a trio that features the same amazing bass/drums team that visited the Lescar with Stuart McCallum in January; Pete Turner and Dave Walsh. Their music is at once fresh, exploratory, and swinging. Can't wait for this one!

May 29^th Otriad £5
Something very different! Describing his music as jazztronica, winner of the 2011 Dankworth Prize for Jazz Composition, Alex Roth brings a boundary-pushing group from London as part of a UK tour. Featuring 3 brothers, Alex (guitar), Nick (sax), and Simon Roth (drums/percussion), the group is completed by tenor sax player Joe Wright, who was previously here with the Dave Hamblett group, and James Opstad on bass. Their music combines folk-like melodies, free form improvisation and electro-acoustic sounds, replete with rich harmonies. "One of the hot young players rising through the Royal Academy who look set to fire up the jazz scene in the future." - Jazzwise