Top performers is promise from 20/20JAZZ in Chichester
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
The club meets at the Chichester Inn in Chichester and also at The Loft, Kings Pub, Albert Road, Southsea, PO5 2SE (opposite the Kings Theatre).
“We have quite a few members of the audience that don't necessarily listen to jazz when they get home but the magic of jazz and just being there and hearing it live is what makes it so special. So many people I've spoken to over the years say that they've never listened to jazz before but they were just amazed listening to the music we gave them.
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Hide Ad“Most of the performers are people that I have known for a long time from the London scene and it's great to be able to bring them down to Chichester and to Southsea and knock people’s socks off. This is a knock your socks off jazz club and it's lovely to have this little city and to bring down these really fantastic musicians.”
The club has been going for a while, meeting originally in La Havana basement in Chichester before moving to the Chichester Inn: “When we came back from the lockdowns there was a lot of talk in the jazz community about how we were now entering the roaring 20s and we really wanted to make them roar but we also wanted to have a real vision about what we wanted to do so that's why it is 20/20JAZZ. We bring jazz to the community and we have got really lovely 40-50 seat venues that are absolutely packed. We aim for a really communal gig style.”
Generally jazz is in a pretty good way at the moment: “Chichester is one of our smallest cities and sometimes we might be doing a gig at the same time as the Chichester Jazz Club. We probably shouldn't do that but sometimes you just can't avoid the clashes but it's incredible to think that you've got two jazz gigs going on at the same time in a small city.
“Jazz is such a creative art form. It is unique in that it comes out of this whole idea of collective improvisation. But you've also got this great history of fabulous tunes that the first jazz musicians started using which we now call the standards which is the repertoire that whenever we get together as jazz players we feel that we all understand where we are going. Jazz is a shared language and it's also a symbol of coming together of all these people and all these musicians who all have this aim which is to make everyone else look good!”
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Hide AdTickets and info on www.ticketsource.co.uk/2020jazz. Also 20/20jazz on Facebook and Instagram. Gigs coming up include:
Feb 10, 7.30pm, Leo Richardson (tenor sax), The Loft, Kings Pub, 39 Albert Road, Southsea PO5 2SE.
Feb 28, 8pm, Sam Braysher (alto sax) Chichester Inn, 38 West St, Chichester, PO19 1RP.
March 17, 7.30pm, Vasilis Xenopoulos (tenor sax) The Loft, Kings Pub.
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Hide AdMarch 28, 8pm, RhythmEarth Trio & friends, Chichester Inn, Chichester.
April 25, 8pm, Karen Lane (vocals), Chichester Inn, Chichester.
May 23, 7.30pm, RhythmEarth Trio, Strange Fruit Club in Petersfield.
May 26, 7.30pm, Jonny Mansfield (vibraphone), The Loft, Kings Pub.
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Hide AdJune 20, 8pm, Paul Booth (tenor sax), Chichester Inn, Chichester.
Also coming up: Chichester’s 20/20 JAZZ is hosting a Live @ The Bookshop Gig for Gaza with the Nic Saunders Trio at the Oxfam Bookshop, Chichester, PO19 1HS on Thursday, February 13 from 7.30-8.30pm. The Nic Saunders Trio features Rob McCann on harmonica and Russ Tarley on percussion. Nic is promising a one-hour set of funky jazz and blues to raise money for Oxfam Gaza Relief. All proceeds will go directly to Oxfam.
“Tickets are £5 minimum but please, if you can, add more donation. We want to raise as much as possible and make this first gig a success. This is an appalling humanitarian catastrophe. Please donate what you can to the Gaza appeal today. Your donation will help provide emergency food, clean water and hygiene kits and begin work repairing water and wastewater networks.”
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