Preview

Formed in 1992 by Carole with husband Eric on reeds and Ian Heslop on bass, their stylistic repertoire extends to jazz, blues, gospel and original material. Now extended to a seven-piece group, they combine dedication to the blues with the natural ability to imbue that tradition with an electric energy that belongs to the 21st century. They have appeared at jazz clubs and festivals throughout the UK to fantastic audience reactions. 'A breath of fresh air' is a commonly used phrase when people have just experienced the band's entertaining show. Over the years they have not been afraid to use a younger generation of musicians or seek out exciting new material.

As well as the regular 6 piece band, they have a special guest for this tour in the shape of trumpet maestro, Digby Fairweather. Digby has a special place within contemporary UK music culture; not only is he recognized as one of our top trumpet players, with over fifty recordings to his name, and a performance history alongside some of the all-time greats, he is also a well known writer and broadcaster. He has authored several seminal guides to jazz, and has written and presented programmes on a range of musical idioms for the BBC and others. He has also won deserved respect and awards for his playing, including the 1992 British Jazz Award for trumpet.

Groovin’ High, tonight’s support act, got it together almost by accident when the quartet met for an open-air concert in South Wales. The crowd reaction to their impromptu session made sure that their broad, mainstream to Dixieland to be-bop repertoire is sure to heard at many more gigs throughout the UK. The band features Gethin Liddington on trumpet & flugelhorn, Tony Marshall on 7 string guitar, Zoe Lambeth on saxes and clarinet and Ian Williams on drums.

Review

This was our Jubilee Jazz Special night. As usual, our jazz audience was selective (i.e. small), but those who took the plunge were amply rewarded.

Opening band Groovin' High was very much to this correspondent's taste: a brave bass-free 4-piece featuring Tony Marshall's 7-string (honestly!) guitar, Gethin Liddington's powerful trumpet, and Zoe Lambeth on saxes (especially impressive on baritone, about two-thirds her own height!), they swung like crazy.

Carol Clegg & Speakeasy, featuring veteran trumpet stalwart Digby Fairweather, dished up a tasty menu of crowd-pleasing standards, low-down blues, and a generous helping of trumpet trickery from Digby. Toes were tapped, grins induced, solos applauded, and most of you missed a great night. Shame on you.