Formed in c.1986, Stratford Jazz has been providing high quality regional, national and international jazz to Stratford-upon-Avon and the surrounding area. The club was originally set up to run every Sunday at The White Swan and for 8 years events were held at No. 1 Shakespeare Street on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month. From February 2017 SJ combines events at Stratford ArtsHouse and Riverside.
For the last 8 years, Roy Stevens has done an incredible job of running the club and has delighted audiences with his mix of jazz bookings. The baton has now been passed on to Jay Riley, a session musician living in the area, who has a passion for jazz, live music and improvisation in education.
The life blood of the club is still the amazing pool of fine musicians in the area. Of course, this means regular appearances from Birmingham/West Midlands luminaries like Chris Bowden, Bryan Corbett and Tom Hill, and Stratford’s location means we can also draw on catchment areas like Oxford (bass player Steve Kershaw with his connections in Scandinavia, Russia and Cuba), Northampton (Denise Gordon) and even Bristol (alto player Kevin Figes and Hammond maestro John-Paul Gard).
Regular attendees say they sometimes have to pinch themselves to realise how lucky they are to have such high quality music in their local town. It does sometimes seem implausible, but keep going it does.
For the last 8 years, Roy Stevens has done an incredible job of running the club and has delighted audiences with his mix of jazz bookings. The baton has now been passed on to Jay Riley, a session musician living in the area, who has a passion for jazz, live music and improvisation in education.
The life blood of the club is still the amazing pool of fine musicians in the area. Of course, this means regular appearances from Birmingham/West Midlands luminaries like Chris Bowden, Bryan Corbett and Tom Hill, and Stratford’s location means we can also draw on catchment areas like Oxford (bass player Steve Kershaw with his connections in Scandinavia, Russia and Cuba), Northampton (Denise Gordon) and even Bristol (alto player Kevin Figes and Hammond maestro John-Paul Gard).
Regular attendees say they sometimes have to pinch themselves to realise how lucky they are to have such high quality music in their local town. It does sometimes seem implausible, but keep going it does.
Jay RileyChair/Bookings
Jay is a professional musician and jazz educator. He works in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon teaching jazz to students at KES and Stratford Music Centre.
For more information visit: www.jayrileymusic.com www.rileymusicacademy.com |
Dionne SambrookSecretary/Finances/Bookings
Working with Stratford Jazz since the summer of 2015, Dionne has helped to secure funding through partnership and town trust schemes. Dionne's love of jazz stems from her involvement with local acts and she regularly performs on the Tenor and Soprano Sax. Not only is she a keen musician but she has a knack for keeping the club in order and identifying and booking some sensational acts.
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