Ben Castle puts his own stamp on jazz

In 2006 Ben was featured on the 72p British postage stamp, but his musical achievements are also noteworthy.

He recently assembled the brass section for the Queen’s Jubilee Concert, and as well as performing his own music, Ben has also played and recorded with a huge array of artists including Duke Special, Radiohead, Quincy Jones, Amy Winehouse, Humphrey Lyttelton, Paloma Faith, Matthew Herbert, Guillemots, Sting, Jools Holland, and Dizzee Rascal.

The line-up for Tuesday’s gig is Ben Castle (sax), Mark Edwards (piano), Roger Carey (bass), and Dave Trigwell (drums).

At the age of 15, Ben joined the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. He left school aged 17 and after a year of gigging and practicing for eight hours a day attended the one-year postgraduate jazz course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

First up was his triple selling album Four From the Madding Crowd, released in 2000, then Blah Street in 2004. The Heckler from Blah Street won the International Songwriting Competition jazz category, judged by Pat Metheny and Arif Mardin.

Doors open 7.45pm for 8.30pm start. Tickets are £7 on the door. For information call01424 250221 or visit www.jazzhastings.co.uk.