Events


Events at Zeffirellis

Frank Griffith

date calender icon Friday 21st February

As a renowned jazz saxophonist and clarinettist, Frank Griffith has been performing for over 40 years, primarily in New York and London. He has also achieved great acclaim as an arranger, composing for a number of well-known singers and musicians for over 30 years. More recently Frank has proved himself as a successful educator, teaching in both the USA and UK. Counting John Dankworth, Joe Henderson, Duke Ellington and Burt Bacharach as some of his main influences, Frank plays many forms of jazz including modern, mainstream and traditional alongside funk, soul and some crossover Classical. Now living in Liverpool, Frank continues to perform across the North West, UK and Europe.

Cost: Music Deal - £23.50, Ticket Only - £4.00

Trio JDM

date calender icon Saturday 22nd February

Trio JDM

Depending on one’s level of interest in the horseless carriage, the initials JDM might well conjure images of a 1996 Toyota Supra RZ - made, of course, for the Japanese Domestic Market…

It’s therefore an appropriate name for a new trio led by Dave Walsh; someone whose love of a good automobile is well-known amongst the musical community. There are many more, however, who know him for his superlative drumming with countless jazz greats, award-winning singer-songwriters, and chart-topping pop acts alike.

Proceeding alphabetically, the J of the trio is guitarist Jamie Taylor - himself a seasoned player who has been heard with some of the finest jazz musicians from either side of the Atlantic. Though proudly Yorkshire based, Jamie’s bop-influenced guitar work is also heard on a regular basis at legendary London venues like Ronnie Scott’s and The Troubadour.

Finally, the fulcrum of any organ trio is the musician behind the console, which brings us to M: the wonderful Martin Longhawn. Martin, who is perhaps best known to jazz audiences for his work with the excellent Svarc/Hanley/Longhawn group, has been establishing himself as a much in-demand pianist and organist over the last ten years. His command of this most difficult instrument is certain to win him many more admirers in the years to come.

Musically, Trio JDM draws inspiration from the great legacy of Jimmy Smith and Larry Young, as extended today by artists like Goldings/Bernstein/Stewart. Nevertheless, this is no tribute act; expect to hear accessible original music alongside material from a wide range of composers and eras.

Trio JDM is:

Dave Walsh drums

Jamie Taylor guitar

Martin Longhawn organ

Cost: Music Deal - £23.50, Ticket Only - £4.00

Tommy Smith and Gwilym Simcock

date calender icon Sunday 23rd February

Tommy Smith & Gwilym Simcock Duo

Tommy Smith and Gwilym Simcock collaborate to bring two generations of UK jazz mastery to the stage in world-class performances. Their intimate, intensely musical duets, with a repertoire drawn from many musical avenues, have delighted audiences at events across Scotland and the UK.

Tommy Smith, OBE is one of the world’s leading saxophonists. A presence on the global jazz scene since his teenage years, when he toured internationally with vibes virtuoso Gary Burton’s Whiz Kids quintet, Smith has gone on to record with the definitive jazz label, Blue Note and work with myriad jazz greats, including Chick Corea, Jaco Pastorius, Dame Cleo Laine, John Scofield, Randy Brecker, Jack DeJohnette, Arild Andersen, Dizzy Gillespie and Trilok Gurtu to name but a few.

Since leaving Berklee College of Music, an experience that shaped his affirmative approach to jazz, he has recorded over thirty solo albums for Blue Note, Linn, ECM and his own Spartacus Record label, toured 50+ countries and performed with many influential figures in modern twentieth-century jazz.

“Tommy has a unique sound and approach. I like it from when I first heard him play as a student at Berklee” Chick Corea

Gwilym Simcock has carved out a career as one of the most gifted pianists and imaginative composers on the European scene. He moves effortlessly between jazz and classical music, with a ‘harmonic sophistication and subtle dovetailing of musical traditions’. Gwilym has been hailed as a pianist of ‘exceptional’, ‘brilliant’ and ‘dazzling’ ability, and his music has been widely acclaimed as ‘engaging, exciting, often unexpected, melodically enthralling, complex yet hugely accessible’, and above all ‘wonderfully optimistic’.

Gwilym’s influences are wide ranging, from jazz legends including Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Jaco Pastorius and Pat Metheny, to classical composers including Maurice Ravel, Henri Dutilleux, Béla Bartók and Mark-Anthony Turnage. Although principally a jazz artist, Gwilym has composed numerous works for larger Classical ensemble that combine through-composed elements with improvisation, creating a sound that is distinctive and very much his own.

“Gwilym is one of the most exceptional musicians that I have ever known ..he’s a really significant force in music” Pat Metheny

Together, they provide stunning 'not to be missed' performances that are packed with excitement

Cost: - £18.00, Side Seats (Please call to book these) - £15.00

Leeds City Stompers

date calender icon Friday 28th February

Leeds City Stompers are flying the flag of 1920s & 30s blues, jazz, swing and ragtime. With their mixture of traditional tunes and originals they have played most major blues and jazz festivals. With their beloved 1930s drum kits, shiny resonator guitars, tweed suits, washboards, double basses, banjos and brogues they bring to life distant music forms that have informed all the pop, rock, bop and soul music that came after.

Cost: Music Deal - £23.50, Ticket Only - £4.00

Mu Quintet

date calender icon Saturday 1st March

info to follow

Cost: Music Deal - £23.50, Ticket Only - £4.00