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Denny Ilett - guitar/vocal, Dave Newton - piano, Ashley John Long - bass, Sebastiaan De Krom - drumsGuitarist Denny Ilett is of course well-known as founder of Bristol Jazz & Blues Festival, and is one of the few musicians around able to play convincingly in almost any style. He can be found performing in groups ranging from Gypsy Jazz through to Frank Sinatra and Led Zeppelin tributes, and along the way has worked extensively with New Orleans vocalist Lillian Boutté and king of funk Pee Wee Ellis. His brilliant Jimi Hendrix project the Electric Lady Big Band has released two albums and played several times at Ronnie Scott's, alongside appearances at festivals such as Cheltenham and Swansea. Now based in Henley, Denny has more recently been working with one of the great stars of UK jazz, veteran saxophonist Art Themen.
For tonight's show Denny has put together an incredibly strong line-up. Dave Newton has been voted Best Pianist in the British Jazz Awards no less than ten times, and has long associations with some of the UK’s top instrumentalists such as Don Weller and Alan Barnes. His exquisite touch has made him accompanist of choice for vocalists such as Claire Martin and Stacey Kent.
On bass is Ashley John Long who has played at the club before with several bands including Dave Jones Quintet and Yetii. An incredibly versatile musician, Ash plays in all styles of jazz and is becoming increasingly famous as a composer of contemporary classical music. His piano trio 'Beyond the Haze of Winter's Edge' has been selected by the ISCM for performance at its World Music Days 2025 in Portugal.
It's also great to welcome to the club for the first time drummer Sebastiaan De Krom. Originally from Holland, he was awarded a scholarship and moved to Boston to study music in the USA for five years. Seb graduated cum laude with a dual degree from Berklee, and went on to study for a Masters Degree at New England Conservatory. In 1995 he won the prestigious Buddy Rich Award and from 1997/9 was the drummer for the renowned Thelonious Monk Institute Jazz Performance programme. He has performed with artists such as Herbie Hancock and John Scofield, and from 2001 to 2008 played drums in Jamie Cullum’s regular touring and recording rhythm section, appearing on Jamie's albums Pointless Nostalgic, Twenty Something and Catching Tales. Currently Seb is the drummer of choice for a wide variety of top UK jazz musicians and groups – he is also a drum tutor at the British & Irish Modern Music Institute (BIMM) London. He was appointed MD of NYJO’s Academy Big Band in February 2015.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
The Hen and Chicken, BS3 1JF Bristol, United Kingdom, 2 Greville Road, Bristol, BS3 1ET, United Kingdom,Bristol, United Kingdom
Tickets