The next Music Night is in two weeks’ time on Friday 7th November, and it’s really a very important gig for the Club, and rather different from our normal run of Music Nights. We are absolutely delighted to welcome the great British jazz musician, drummer and bandleader TONY KINSEY, who is, of course a Sunbury resident of over 50 years standing.
He appears with his Quartet at one of our occasional presentations in the series of Albert Skinner Jazz Nights – for those of you who are not long-time Sunbury residents, Albert was our long-time postmaster and newsagent, who was a real pillar of the community in Lower Sunbury and a friend to everybody in the community. Albert died a few years ago, and as he was an avid and knowledgeable jazz fan, a group of us in the community decided to commemorate him with jazz nights from time to time, and Tony has been a key part of these occasions.
Tony is one of the most important and influential personalities in British jazz – his career goes back to the late ‘40s when he was in John Dankworth’s innovative band, before leading his own bands as he held down residencies at Studio 51 and The Flamingo for over a decade, with many of the UK’s leading musicians passing through his ranks. He is one of the true luminaries of the genre, whose career has encompassed gigs with major artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Oscar Peterson, plus TV and film composition and compositions for his renowned big band. More recently he has composed highly-regarded contemporary classical works.
As one would expect, his Quartet features some the top musicians in British jazz, with John Horler on piano, Alex Dankworth on bass and Sam Mayne on alto sax. Even if you’re not a dyed-in-the-wool jazz buff, if you are any kind of fan of quality music, this is highly accessible stuff, with fine ensemble playing as well as free-flowing improvisations from some of the best exponents of the genre.
Despite being a well-known local personality, Tony plays in Sunbury relatively rarely, and this a great opportunity to see one of the godfathers of British modern and mainstream jazz.
