Swing into Spring and Bop till you drop

The Headgate Theatre in Colchester will be the venue for guitarist, Simon Hurley’s evening of jazz on Friday 12^th March. The local musician, who specializes in small-group swing and bebop, will be taking the audience back to the golden age of jazz with a mix of live performance and original pre-vinyl recordings from the UK’s premier gramophone DJ. The concert, entitled ‘Swing to Bop’, will open with music from the 1920s and 30s and span the war years that brought about the bebop revolution. ‘There will be something for everyone’ said Simon. ‘As well as the instrumentals from the house band that features some wonderful local professional jazz musicians, I’ll be joined by a singer and clarinet player as well as a very special guest.’

Top of the Bops

This special guest will be disc-jockey-with-a-difference, DJ78, who will be providing musical interludes throughout the evening from his 2 gramophones and box of trusty 78 rpm records. ‘It’s great that DJ78 is playing as he’ll be setting the mood for each era with his original records.’ The concert will contain such classics as Duke Ellington’s Take the A Train and Rogers and Hart’s Have You Met Miss Jones as well as compositions by bebop masters Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie such as A Night in Tunisia. The performers will be Simon Hurley on Guitar, and Vocalist/Clarinettist Emmi Lowther along with Daniel Parker, also on guitar, Bern Hodgkins on Double-Bass and Roger Odell on Drums. Tickets are £7.50 (£5 conc) and are available from the Headgate Theatre box office. Doors open at 7:30. Licensed bar. For further information, contact (01206)366000 or e-mail simonhurley@madasafish.com