Derby Jazz - Concert Programme for January, February and March 2026.
Saturday, January 03, 2026
Derby Jazz has announced three headline concert events for early 2026 with performances by Charlotte Keeffe's Right Here Right Now, Josephine Davies' Satori w. Alcyona Mick, and The Pocket Ellington.
We have received the following information;
Three great gigs at Derby Jazz this January, February and March
FRIDAY JANUARY 16th
Charlotte Keefe’s
RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW
Chapel Street Arts
Chapel Street DE1 3GU
£15 tickets available on the door.
‘Charlotte Keeffe is one of the most exciting improvisers in the UK, and her shows are in equal parts energetically joyous and delicately moving’ ~ Cheltenham Jazz Festival
Charlotte Keefe - Sound Brushes (trumpet & flugelhorn) + compositions
Ashley John Long - double bass
Ben Handysides - drums
Moss Freed - guitar
Charlotte Keeffe’s RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW is a breeding ground for squelchy, sploshy, splashy music-making ~ a space where gestures, textures, colours, and emotions are continuously unearthed! Her passionate approach to freely improvising music has been described by the UK’s biggest selling Jazz magazine, Jazzwise, as ‘avant grade for all!’
Keeffe is inspired by abstract paintings and describes her trumpet and flugelhorn as Sound Brushes. ‘Keeffe shows notable strength of character as she runs the sonic and emotional gamut…’ ~ Kevin Le Gendre, Jazzwise
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 13th
Josephine Davies SATORI with Alcyona Mick
Chapel Street Arts
Chapel Street DE1 3GU
£15 tickets available on the door.
SATORI (Josephine Davies;tenor saxophone, Dave Whitford;bass, James Maddren;drums) with the addition of Alcyona Mick;piano is an exciting and dynamic band with exceptional abilities of collaborative free-play and improvisation. They have a great advantage over many bands in the exceptional beauty of Josephine’s compostions
The band’s live sets currently feature music from their fourth album 2024’s “Weatherworks”. Compositions inspired by her roots in the Shetland Islands.
“Definitely a band to watch.” ★★★★1/2 (Downbeat Magazine)
“Winning immediacy.” ★★★★ (Mojo Magazine)
“Refreshingly imaginative and invigorating.” (All About Jazz)
“Inventive, Lyrical.” (Jazzwise Magazine)
“Spiritual, Spiralling, Joyful.” (UK Vibe)
“Fluent, Imaginative.” ★★★★ (The Jazz Mann)
“Irrepressible Tunefulness.” (Downbeat Magazine)
“Highly recommended.” (Culture Jazz FR)
FRIDAY MARCH 13th
The POCKET ELLINGTON with Tony Kofi, Alan Barnes & Dave Green
Chapel Street Arts
Chapel Street DE1 3GU
£25 tickets available on the door.
The Duke Ellington Orchestra was one the pillars on which the house of jazz was built. Born out of saxophonist Tony Kofi and pianist, arranger Alex Webb’s shared love of that music, The Pocket Ellington manages what ought to be impossible – creating a classic Ellingtonian sound with just four horns and a rhythm section. But with the help of Alan Barnes, veteran bassist Dave Green and powerhouse drummer Winston Clifford this band delivers. Great charts from the 1930s and 1940s – Main Stem, Rain Check, Cotton Tail, Chelsea Bridge and others – are presented in clever new arrangements which evoke the period but also offer solo space to these top-flight musicians. The repertoire also includes pieces from artists and arrangers who were influenced by the Duke – Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk and Gil Evans. It’s a big sound from a pocket band.
Alex Webb (piano)
Tony Kofi (tenor sax)
Alan Barnes (alto and baritone saxes, clarinet)
Simon Finch (trumpet)
Davis Lalljee (trombone)
Dave Green (bass)
Winston Clifford (drums)
Tickets via;
https://mjazz.co.uk/derby-jazz-whats-on/
See also;
https://www.facebook.com/Derbyjazz
https://www.instagram.com/derby.jazz/