Events

Dom Pipkin - piano from London, soul from New Orleans

Alongside a glittering session career (David Byrne, Ray Davies, Morcheeba), piano player and songwriter Dom Pipkin has been described by Blues in Britain as “one of the world’s greatest exponents of New Orleans piano”. He first discovered the New Orleans style in the early 90s, and has gone on to become a regular visitor and performer in that city, with appearances that include the highly acclaimed “Piano Night” and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage festival. He is a regular fixture on the European blues and boogie Woogie festival circuit having played 1000’s of club and theatre, radio and TV dates in a career spanning nearly three decades. Jazz star Jamie Cullum says “I can’t hold a candle to this guy”.

Pipkin developed a particular specialisation for the unique flavours of maverick New Orleans piano star James Booker (1939 - 1983) capturing the player’s trademark combination of driving blues married with rhapsodic classical influences. He was invited to play at the world premiere of the documentary “Bayou Maharajah” at SXSW in 2014, and at multiple subsequent screenings of the film.

Pipkin regularly performs and records in New Orleans, and has shared stages with legends such as Allen Toussaint , Dr John and Screamin ’Jay Hawkins. Grammy award winner Jon Cleary invites him to jam whenever he’s in town. In live shows Pipkin mixes his own compelling songwriting with blues and Big Easy classics that "..cooks up a steaming musical stew that has the crowd dancing and

clapping for more" Classic Rock Blues Magazine.

During Covid he performed more than 120 broadcast shows from his home and completed his solo album “C’mon Sunshine” - an all-original collection of songs on the subject of hope, jammed full of spicy New Orleans and blues piano styles. The album “Live At The Temple” followed in 2023 - a spontaneous mix of two live sets at London’s Temple Of Art And Music. Alongside his own career, Pipkin travels the world with the band Morcheeba (with whom he has been associated since the bands inception in 1996). He is also active as an educator, running a highly popular New Orleans jam session in London, and writes articles based around keyboards for Blues Matters magazine.

“Dom’s solo shows are a treat – intimate, moving, funky and lively. A real romp through the heart and soul of New Orleans piano and beyond” - Kino-Teatr

‘Groove Elation pays tribute to the funky, groove-driven sounds of legends like John Scofield, Rhoda Scott, Dave Holland, Charles Mingus, Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein, Albert Collins, and Jaco Pastorius. With an all-star northern line-up featuring Dave Walsh on drums, Jiannis Pavlidis on guitar, James Mainwaring on saxophone, and David Burgoyne on organ, this band delivers a deep, soulful mix of jazz and funk. Get ready for a night of high-energy rhythms and infectious grooves.’

Gaz Hughes is a renowned jazz drummer and band leader, who first gained wide public attention as the original drummer in the Matthew Halsall Band. He has played a significant role in the early recordings of the Gondwana label and has been a highlight on the album “On The Go”, which won the Best Jazz Album of the Year at the Gilles Peterson Worldwide Awards in 2012, and was nominated for the Best Jazz Album MOBO Awards in 2011.

As a sideman, Gaz has performed with an impressive array of jazz artists, both in the UK and internationally, including Scott Hamilton, Harry Allen, Marshal Allen, Greg Abate, Alan Barnes, Bruce Adams, Mark Nightingale, Tony Kofi, Ian Shaw, and many others.

In 2019, Gaz was voted 5th Place in the British Jazz Awards. In 2020, he released his debut album as a band leader, “Plays Art Blakey”, featuring Alan Barnes, Bruce Adams and Dean Masser. The album was met with critical acclaim and was supported by a UK tour and extensive radio play. In May 2022, Gaz released a trio album “Beboperation” which was well received by audiences and critics. Following its success, the trio went back to the studio to record a follow-up album. In February 2023, Gaz released his third album as a band leader, entitled “Beboptical Illusion”, featuring mostly original compositions and representing a new direction for the trio.

“An extremely tasteful and swinging straight ahead drummer, Hughes exhibits a no nonsense approach to his playing” – www.jazzviews.net

Ben P Williams is a difficult artist to pigeonhole and is all the better for it. Discovering The Beatles LP’s in his parents cupboard aged five, he instantly became obsessed and began a voyage of musical discovery which has lasted his whole life. Moulding the classic song-writing sound of Paul Simon with the laid-back nature of Jack Johnson, Ben draws inspiration from the greats while injecting his own wit and imagination for lyrics which perfectly encapsulate relatable experiences to make you smile.
As a guitarist, Ben has worked with Grammy award winning producers, appeared on BBC 1, ITV and Channel 5, and played concerts as the support act for major artists such as Nile Rodgers and Chic, Will Young, Mick Hucknall and Lisa Stansfield. He has supported artists on European tours and at festivals around the world including South By South West Festival in Texas.
After years of working on other peoples’ projects, Ben woke up one day and randomly wrote a song by and for himself. This first song opened the floodgates and was the catalyst for Ben to pursue his solo endeavours as a singer-songwriter. His debut album, Who Do You Think You Are? was released in 2015 to critical acclaim and received airplay on BBC Radio 2 (Dermot O’Leary Show) and BBC Introducing Manchester.
Ben has since released three further albums, Put It On Ice in 2017, the stripped back Minimum of Fuss in 2019 and Under The Radar in 2023. These albums have seen support from BBC Radio 6, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Introducing.

“Guaranteed to bring a smile to your face” - R2 Magazine

“So beautiful” - Janice Long, BBC Radio 2

“A nice chilled vibe” - Huey Morgan, BBC Radio 2

“The best song of the year so far” - BBC Radio Manchester

“The arrangement choices are stunning.. this would be lovely in a film” - Fresh on the Net

Experience The Dave Walsh Trio, featuring the unique compositions and guitar work of Jim Faulkner, alongside Pete Turner on double bass. Blending Jim’s original tunes with select jazz standards, this trio delivers a dynamic and engaging jazz performance not to be missed!