Ashley Henry and Soothsayers booked for new Woolwich Works jazz nights
Mike Flynn
Friday, September 17, 2021
Woolwich Works is set to open on 23 September and could well become a major London cultural hub with a huge range of music, theatre, dance, visual arts events taking place across its five performance spaces
Formerly known as the Woolwich Creative District, Woolwich Works is the result of a £31m redevelopment that’s converted five heritage industrial buildings into a modern cultural destination. There’s a strong jazz presence across the initial programme with the 20-piece New Regency Orchestra, who feature Tamar Osborn on saxophone and Yelfris Valdés on trumpet, and are directed by Lex Blondin of Total Refreshment, get things underway on Friday 24 September, while the soulful South East London singer songwriter Andrew Ashong performs on 25 September.
Acclaimed pianist Ashley Henry will lead a quarterly jam session that kicks off on 30 September and feature special guests such as trumpeter Emma-Jean Thackray. Further jazz nights include Tommy Blaize, Reginald D Hunter and NYJO play Gil Scott-Heron (6 Oct), global-groove crew Soothsayers (9 Oct), the drum-and-horn heavy Afrobeat sounds of the nine-piece Balimaya Project (16 Oct) and Lagos-born London based saxophonist Bukky Leo and his band Black Egypt (23 Oct).
New talent is also spotlighted with the W.Led Jazz Series featuring pianist Sarah Tandy with singer/guitarist Raquel Martins (16 Nov) and trumpeter Ms Maurice with COLECTIVA and Rosie Frater-Taylor (17 Nov). Plus, there are two sessions under the banner ‘JazznewbloodALIVE2021’ with emerging talents Allexa Nava, Kielan Sheard, Scottie Thompson and Morgan Wallace (Part 1) and Miles Mindlin, Sultan Stevenson, Maddy Coombs and XVNGO (Part 2) all lining-up on 20 November.
For full programme details visit www.woolwich.works/whats-on/category/jazz