Jazz musician and folk music's Chris Wilbraham with all the gigs happening in the Suffolk area
JAZZ with Chris Ingham: cjr.ingham@outlook.com/chrisingham.co.uk
Saturday, March 22
HANNAH HORTON WITH DENNIS ROLLINS (Haverhill Arts Centre, 8pm, £15/£10, haverhillartscentre. co.uk) Swinging Cat Jazz Club hostess Hannah Horton welcomes funky jazz trombonist Dennis Rollins, whose credits include Courtney Pine, Maceo Parker, Jamiroquai, US3, The Brand New Heavies, Blur, Monty Alexander, Pee Wee Ellis and Jean among many others.
BACK TO BIRDLAND (Sheringham Little Theatre, 7.30pm, £17, norwichjazzclub.co.uk) A celebration of George Shearing led by pianist Simon Brown and featuring Lizzie Blissett (vocals), Nat Steele (vibraphone), Simon Hurley (guitar), Andy Staples (bass) and Neil Bullock (drums).
Sunday, March 23
DIXIEMIX (Yalm Food Hall, Norwich, 7.30pm, £13, norwichjazzclub.co.uk) Popular Norfolk-based traditional jazz group led by cornettist Simon Nelson and featuring Chris Wigley (trombone), Karl Wirrmann (clarinet/saxes), Kevin West (banjo/guitar), Maurizio Borgna (bass) and Tony Wilkins (drums/vocals).
Wednesday, March 26
DEAN STOCKDALE QUARTET (Stoke By Nayland Golf Club, 8pm, £20, fleecejazz.org.uk, 01787 211865) Based in the north of England, this skilled four-piece celebrate the centenary of Oscar Peterson’s birth, with Dean Stockdale (piano), Tim Williams (guitar), Gavin Barras (bass) and Gaz Hughes (drums).
Friday, March 28
JAZZ SAMBA **SOLD OUT** (Hunter Club Arts Centre, Bury, 7.30pm, £20, headhunterslive.org, 07799 650009)
FOR THE DIARY
Wednesday, April 9
PAUL HIGGS’ PAVANE (Stoke By Nayland Golf Club, 8pm, £22, fleecejazz.org.uk, 01787 211865) The celebrated jazz/classical crossover band led by trumpeter/composer Paul Higgs and featuring Natalie Rozario (cello), Andy Watson (guitar), Chris Ingham (piano), Jerome Davies (bass) and George Double (drums).
Thursday, April 10
RALPH MOORE (Diss Corn Hall, 7.30pm, £18, thecornhall.co.uk, 01379 652241) UK-born, US-based since 1972, saxophonist Moore played with Horace Silver (1981-85), the Dizzy Gillespie Reunion Band (1987) and was in The Tonight Show band for 15 years. This is a rare and exciting opportunity to hear one of the leading tenor saxophonists of his generation in a UK jazz club. With Chris Ingham (piano), Simon Woolf (bass) and George Double (drums).
TOM OLLENDORFF (Hidden Rooms, Cambridge, 7.30pm, £22 & £16.50, cambridgejazz.org, 01223 514777) Rising guitar star, Ollendorff graduated from the Royal Welsh College of Music in Cardiff, and is presenting music from his album Open House rated by by Jazzwise as a ‘combination of fearsome musical chops, sophisticated compositional sensibility and unashamedly tuneful and upbeat musical personality which is very hard to resist’. With Will Sach (bass) and David Ingamells (drums).
Friday, April 11
JO HARROP (Hunter Club Arts Centre, Bury, 7.30pm, £20, headhunterslive.org, 07799 650009) One of the busiest and most distinctive singers on London’s music scene garnering rave reviews for her live appearances and recordings. Jo’s latest album The Path of a Tear was produced by the legendary Larry Klein (Norah Jones, Madeleine Peyroux, Joni Mitchell). Tonight, her powerful, evocative songs and rich, sultry voice are accompanied by Sam Braysher (sax), Chris Ingham (piano) and Malcolm Creese (bass).
Sunday, April 13
THE 251s (Venue 16, Ipswich, 2.30pm, £15/£7.50, ipswichjazzandblues.com) An afternoon of jump blues, jazz and swing from one of Southend’s most popular retro acts.
FOLK with Chris Wilbraham: chris.wilbraham@tinyonline.co.uk
After seeing A Tryal of Witches at Bury’s Theatre Royal last week, I asked young musician and academic Nina Sumerling to explore the use of Folk music in the theatre:
The Sound of Storytelling: How Folk Music Can Bring Theatre Back to Life
There’s something elemental about a folk song, music and words that echo through centuries, carrying age-old stories that still resonate today. It feels both ancient and contemporary, evolving as each generation leaves its imprint. The same could be said of theatre which has endured over 2,000 years, continually reinventing itself to reflect the world around it.
I’ve spent my life surrounded by both. Theatre came from my mum, who frequently treads the boards in local drama productions, while folk music came from my dad whose love for Phil Cunningham and Julie Fowlis remains unmatched. Now, I write for theatre and play in a folk duo, so well and truly indoctrinated!
No surprise, then, that I’ve enjoyed the growing presence of live folk music in both high-profile and local theatrical productions. It’s no new phenomenon, Shakespearean actors famously performed a post-show jig, but with A Tryal of Witches premiering at our Theatre Royal, featuring striking music by TRILLS, now feels the perfect moment to explore folk music and theatre’s natural pairing.
Folk music is rooted in storytelling and has largely remained in the hands of ‘the people’. Theatre shares similar origins, but now is often associated with the ‘elite’, and with soaring ticket prices and money-grab productions in commercial venues, it’s clear why that reputation has stuck. That said, this view overlooks theatre’s rich history and vibrant present where smaller venues and companies still honour the tradition of accessible performance.
Eastern Angles is a local example of a touring company whose work still lives in the community, in story but also in their use of non-theatrical venues to extend reach. I vividly remember watching The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart in our village hall, where a live band underscored the folkloric elements of its devilish narrative. For companies with inconsistent performance spaces, a song can conjure what even elaborate stage dressing cannot. While this could be said of any music, traditional folk offers timelessness; it doesn’t date a play as contemporary music might. It can place you in the 1645 Witch Trials (as in A Tryal of Witches), but the familiarity of the music’s feel can keep us firmly in the present, reminding us of the endurance of a play’s themes and issues.
Though smaller companies have long championed the folk-theatre partnership, commercial theatre is catching on. The National Theatre’s War Horse saw folk musician Bob Fox play The Songman, a lone voice evoking the era’s emotional landscape, a tribute to voices lost in battle. Recently, the Donmar Warehouse’s Macbeth featured Gaelic vocals from Kathleen McInnes, accompanied by a folk trio. Again, these narratives are steeped in history, but the human experiences still resonate, enhanced by their folk soundtracks. It’s as though through folk music, commercial productions are reaching back, not just into the story’s history, but to theatre’s origins and a stripped-back storytelling that feels accessible, intimate and alive.
Music is said to be the closest thing to time travel but with folk music’s ageless appeal and theatre’s ability to immerse in powerful, timeless stories, the two combine to create a living history rather than a bygone one.
This synergy thrives not just in grand auditoriums, but in village halls, pubs and community spaces. Storytelling, after all, should belong to everyone - not just those who can afford the ticket.
This week’s gigs:
Friday, March 21
Risbygate Sports Club, Bury St Edmunds, 7.45pm, Milkmaid Folk Club: Eric Sedge and Tom Leary. £12.
Saturday, March 22
Quay Theatre, Sudbury, Charlie Dore. £14.
Wednesday, March 26
Risbygate Sports Club, Bury St Edmunds, 8pm, Bury Folk Collective: From the Tradition Night.
Friday, March 28
The Apex, Bury St Edmunds, 8.30pm, Cara Dillon. £29.
