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Doors 5pm, Show 6pmFormed in 2015, Sassafras is a gypsy jazz group with a progressive leaning, led by double bassist Pete Jeavons. The group performs in a range of different formats that all have one thing in common, the core string trio of Jeavons, plus acoustic guitarists Aaron Deacon and Lachlan Gear (“Sassafras Trio”).
Sassafras was a regular feature on the WA live music scene for 8 years from 2016 to 2023, but the band has been on hiatus for the last few years, having performed only a handful of shows since 2024. That’s all set to change as the band is happy to announce it’s return to The Ellington Jazz Club!
For this special event Sassafras Trio will be joined by not one but two special guests, the first being violinist Emily Gelineau and the second being clarinettist Richie Howard.
Expect repertoire from Django Reinhardt, George Benson, Cole Porter and Cedar Walton to name a few. There’ll be toe-tapping swing, high-octane gypsy jazz, groovy South-American flavours and a whole bunch more in between. Throw in some original compositions from Jeavons and you have all the ingredients for a great night of engaging and eclectic music that is guaranteed to please.
Emily Gelineau – Violin
Richie Howard – Clarinet
Aaron Deacon – Acoustic Guitar
Lachlan Gear – Acoustic Guitar
Pete Jeavons – Double Bass/MD
EMILY GELINEAU
Emily is an Australian composer, arranger, instrumentalist, vocalist and music educator. Classically trained on Piano and Violin from the age of 3, she is a creative modern musician who is known for playing and interpreting many styles of music from jazz to pop, rock, world styles, and the classical western-art tradition. Emily’s nimble violin and versatile musicianship fits neatly with Sassafras, and she has already featured in the band’s 5-piece line-up on numerous occasions.
RICHIE HOWARD
Richie is originally from the UK and only emigrated to WA, with his family, at the end of 2024. For many years he made his mark in and around the London jazz scene, playing at several world-renowned venues. He began playing the clarinet at the age of ten and discovered his love for jazz at age twelve, when his clarinet teacher invited him to join his band. From the age of fifteen he started to sit in at various jazz venues and through this obtained the opportunity to play alongside many of the greats of British jazz from an early age. In 1998 he won the Le Blanc Jazz Clarinettist of the Year award. After this he attended the prestigious Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, graduating in 2002 with a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz. Following this he worked in various musical groups spanning a diverse range of styles and musical genres ranging from Dixieland through Funk and Blues to the Avante-Garde. During this time he ran his own award-winning quartet, featuring all his own original compositions. Despite a complete career change in 2009, Richie remains passionate about playing the clarinet and now hopes to establish a new reputation in Perth.
SASSAFRAS TRIO
In their own right, Sassafras Trio have performed at numerous venues around WA including P’tite Ardoise Bistro, Freo Social, The Chieftain Music Club, the WA Maritime Museum and Tom’s Providore & Wine Bar. The band has also performed at festivals including The Bonjour French Festival (2016), Jazz By The Bay (2017), The King Street Corner Pocket Festival (2018), the WA Guitar Festival (2021) and the York Festival (2021 & 2022). Additionally the Trio has performed many shows as a part of the larger Sassafras groups at venues such as The Ellington Jazz Club and The Duke of George and festivals including Perth International Jazz Festival (2017, 2018, 2022, 2025), Perth Fringeworld Festival (2016-2022), The Oz Manouche Festival (Brisbane, 2018) and The Perth Festival (2021).
“The infectious swing and gypsy jazz of Perth’s superb Sassafras provides an upbeat and enjoyable program of variety and consummate musicianship…”
Garry Lee, Seesaw, March 19th 2023
“Despite their small acoustic make up the three-piece provided a driving rhythm section, intricate solo work and sweetly lyrical melodies… the room was crowded with an enthusiastic audience and no one wanted it to end.”
Rosalind Appleby, Noted, July 6th 2018
“The Sassafras instrumentalists excelled throughout the evening, with virtuosic solos and seamless transitions. The acoustic guitar playing from Lachlan Gear and Aaron Deacon was perfect and lovely… Pete Jeavons reliable double bass playing shows his great experience.”
Mariyon Slany, Artshub, Feb 1st 2016
“Acoustic gypsy jazz band Sassafras presented a world-class musical performance to the capacity audience that filled (the) Ellington Jazz Club…”
Steve Baitz, Seesaw Mag, Jan 26th 2019
“The (Perth) International Jazz Festival is a serious affair… there was, however, a moment of joyous gypsy-style jazz from Sassafras, a local group who took the audience on a pleasure-filled journey, aided by brilliant gypsy guitarists…”
Ron Banks, The West Australian Newspaper, June 2017
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Event Venue
The Ellington Jazz Club - Perth, 191 Beaufort Street,Perth,WA,Australia
Tickets
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