Alex Hitchcock Quartet, Music Spoken Here, The Marr’s Bar, Worcester, 25/06/2026.

Alex Hitchcock – tenor sax, Will Barry - keyboard, Freddie Jensen – double bass, Ananda Brandão -  drums

The curtain came down on Music Spoken Here’s 2025/26 season with this visit from a quartet led by saxophonist and composer Alex Hitchcock. The series will now take a summer break, with host venue The Marr’s Bar also closing for the whole of August. MSH will then return in September with all guns blazing for the 2026/27 season. September alone boasts four MSH gigs at the Marr’s Bar. Check out the MSH website for full details.
http://www.musicspokenhere.club

On a swelteringly hot June night the air conditioned Marr’s Bar was the coolest place to be – in every sense of the word. The temperature in the venue was just about perfect and the music consistently interesting and immersive.

I think I’m correct in stating that this was Hitchcock’s third visit to The Marr’s Bar for an MSH event. In the early days of MSH he appeared as a member of Resolution 88 before returning in September 2023 a part of a quintet led by his fellow saxophonist Dan Lockheart. The latter event was supported by the Jazz Central Mentorship Scheme, designed to assist young jazz graduates. Hitchcock had acted as Lockheart’s mentor on the latter’s ‘Roots to Leaves’ project which was presented at MSH. My account of that event can be found here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/dan-lockheart-quintet-roots-to-leaves-music-spoken-here-the-marrs-bar-worcester-21-09-2023

Hitchcock completed an English degree at Cambridge University before embarking on the Jazz Course at London’s Royal Academy of Music as a post graduate. Here he studied with leading saxophonists Iain Ballamy, Julian Siegel, Martin Speake, James Allsopp and Barak Schmool, plus pianist and course leader Pete Churchill. 

Hitchcock graduated in 2016 and has since been making a name for himself in a variety of  musical  contexts. Among those with whom he has worked are trumpeter Nick Smart, bassists Laurence Cottle, Misha Mullov-Abbado, Joe Downard, Matt Ridley, Jasper Hoiby and Liran Donin, trombonist Dennis Rollins, pianist John Donegan, the band Empirical and fellow saxophonists Soweto Kinch, Stan Sulzmann, Art Themen and Tom Smith. He has collaborated with American drummer John Hollenbeck and the Franco/Belgian duo of drummer Andre Charlier and pianist Benoit Sourisse.

Hitchcock is also a talented and versatile large ensemble player whose credits include the Cambridge University Jazz Orchestra, the Royal Academy of Music Big Band, the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, the Laurence Cottle Big Band and the Andy Panayi Big Band. He was also a member of the much lauded Patchwork Jazz Orchestra, a hugely talented collective of young London based jazz musicians, many of them graduates of the Royal Academy. I was fortunate enough to witness an exciting performance by the PJO at the 606 Jazz Club in Chelsea at the 2016 EFG London Jazz Festival. Hitchcock appears on the PJO’s excellent début album “The Adventures of Mr Pottercakes”, released in 2019.

Hitchcock is also a great organiser and general ‘mover and shaker’ who has previously co-ordinated the jazz programme at Camden’s award winning Green Note venue. He has worked as an Ambassador for the National Youth Jazz Collective, and in 2015 worked with promoters Serious to produce concerts at London’s Rich Mix venue through their Young & Serious programme. A genuine fan of the music  and an all round nice guy he is often to be found in the audience at gigs, supporting the work of his fellow musicians.

More recently Hitchcock has joined forces with fellow tenor saxophonist Tom Barford to form the group AuB (pronounced Orb), a chordless quartet that also incorporates electronics into its sound and which also features bassist Ferg Ireland and drummer James Maddren.  AuB released its excellent début for Edition Records in early 2020 and in 2021 I reviewed an exceptional livestream performance by the quartet, augmented by keyboard player Maria Chiara Argiro,  from the Peggy’s Skylight venue in Nottingham.
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/aub-livestream-from-peggys-skylight-nottingham-24-04-2021

AuB has since released a second album, “Folk Devils” in 2024. The line up for this recording features Jasper Hoiby on bass and Marc Michel on drums with Argiro and Morgan Guerin guesting on synthesisers.

In October 2022 Hitchcock and guitarist Ant Law released their ‘lockdown album’ “Same Moon in the Same World”, a series of remote collaborations between the members of the duo and different musicians from around the world, many of them based in the US. The list of guest performers included vibraphonist Joel Ross, bassist / vocalist Lind May Han Oh, pianist Shai Maestro, bassist Ben Williams and bass clarinettist Tim Garland. The drum chair was variously filled by Eric Harland, Jeff Ballard, Kendrick Scott and Sun-Mi Hong. The results were consistently impressive and this remarkably cohesive piece of work is reviewed here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/ant-law-and-alex-hitchcock-same-moon-in-the-same-world

In 2026 Hitchcock and Law released the digital album “House of Light”, a quartet recording that also features bassist Jasper Hoiby and drummer Sun-Mi Hong.

In addition to being a serial collaborator Hitchcock is also a bandleader and composer in his own right and several of his album releases as the leader of his own groups are reviewed elsewhere on the web pages. These include the quintet recordings “Live at the London and Cambridge Jazz Festivals (2018) and “All Good Things” (2019).

In 2021 Hitchcock released the excellent “Dream Band” album, which saw him leading three different ensembles in the course of delivering a satisfyingly coherent and unified album. My review of this recording, from which much of the above biographical details has been sourced, can be found here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/alex-hitchcock-dream-band

Released in 2023 the album “Dream Band: Live In London” also features three different versions of the band and was documented over the course of three nights at the Vortex Jazz Club.

Numerous other live performances by various Hitchcock led groups are also reviewed on these pages. He has been a regular visitor to Shrewsbury Jazz Network while guest contributor Trevor Bannister has also covered two Hitchcock shows at the Progress Theatre in Reading.

Hitchcock has also spent time living and working in New York City, immersing himself in what is still the world’s most cutting edge jazz scene. His latest album release is the aptly titled “Letters From Afar” (2025) which features a New York based quintet including trumpeter Dave Adewumi, pianist Lex Korten, bassist Harish Raghavan and drummer Jongkuk Kim.

Unwilling to remain in an America governed by Donald Trump Hitchcock has returned, somewhat reluctantly, to the UK and is once again based in London. The quartet that he brought to Worcester included his long time associate Will Barry at the keyboard,  another Hitchcock regular Freddie Jensen on double bass and the young French /  Brazilian drummer Ananda Brandão at the kit.

Something of a rising star Brandão is a recent (2025) Royal Academy graduate who is the leader of her own quintet and who divides her time between the London and Paris jazz scenes. With pianist Nina Gat she is also co-leader of the band Ninanda. Brandão is the latest in a series of hugely accomplished young female drummers to appear at the Marr’s Bar, a list that also includes Jas Kayser, Romarna Campbell and Miranda Radford.

Tonight’s show started a little later than usual. On one of the hottest days of the year some of the band members had experienced vehicular difficulties on the way to the venue, some caused by overheating. Mindful of time restraints Hitchcock kept tune introductions to a minimum and many pieces were segued into one another and remained unannounced.

Dave Fuller’s regular MSH Monday morning newsletter has shed a little light as to the material played so I’m working from that, allied to my own notes, written on the night.

It would appear that things got under way with “Abaqua”, a tune that appears on the “Dream Band Live in London” set. The recorded version features a quintet line up that includes trumpeter James Copus and vibraphonist Lewis Wright so inevitably tonight’s performance was very different. Hitchcock’s compositions are flexible enough vehicles to allow for a variety of interpretations.
Tonight’s version began with the sound of unaccompanied tenor sax with Hitchcock’s nagging sax motif establishing the direction of this first piece. As bass, drums and keys were added Hitchcock embarked on an expansive solo, probing intensely yet preserving the inherent melodic quality of the music. Barry, playing MSH’s resident Nord Stage 4 keyboard, adopted an electric piano, or ‘Rhodes’ sound throughout the evening. He and Jensen offered Hitchcock intelligent support, augmented by Brandão’s crisp, neatly detailed drumming. Barry’s thoughtful electric piano soloing was followed by a further sax led passage and then a second keyboard excursion. Hitchcock then stretched out on the tenor once more, prior to an almost hymnal coda featuring the shimmering of Brandão’s cymbals. It’s likely that this lengthy opening sequence actually constituted a segue, with a second Hitchcock original, “Life Interior”, also being played.

The second sequence was introduced by a combination of tenor sax and double bass,  with electric piano and brushed drums subsequently added. I suspect that this opening piece was “Pee Wee”, a ballad written by the late, great drummer and composer Tony Williams. Jensen’s double bass solo was simultaneously exploratory and melodic, with Hitchcock subsequently taking over to solo on tenor. A ‘piano trio’ episode followed, variously led by Barry or Jensen, and with Brandão continuing with brushes.
Her transition to sticks, allied to Hitchcock’s return on tenor, appeared to signal the transition into “Wishbone”, a Hitchcock original from the “Letters From Afar” album. Again this included a lengthy ‘piano trio’  trio section, more vigorous this time as Berry and Brandão exchanged ideas, monitored by Jensen at the bass. Hitchcock’s tenor solo took the music into more obviously Coltrane / Sanders influenced ‘spiritual jazz’ territory before the performance reached peak energy levels with a powerful solo drum feature from the impressive Brandão.

Set two commenced with a passage of solo tenor sax, with Hitchcock unleashing a flurry of notes and demonstrating his circular breathing technique. He’s a phenomenally gifted player, a hugely accomplished technician and a fluent and inventive sax soloist. Eventually he was joined by Brandão’s mallet rumbles and the shimmering of Barry’s keyboard, the latter eventually taking over to solo more expansively on electric piano, accompanied by Jensen’s double bass and the shimmer of Brandão’s cymbals. This section of this latest segue was the Hitchcock original   “Units”. The quartet’s performance at Reading in January 2026 saw Trevor Bannister drawing parallels between this composition and Stan Tracey’s ‘Starless and Bible Black’ from the celebrated “Under Milk Wood” suite as he lauded the “qualities of stillness and calm” that define both pieces.
The next part of this opening sequence was “The Pull of Time”, with Hitchcock stating the main melodic theme on tenor before taking the first solo. Jensen’s bass took the lead for much of the ‘piano trio’ section, culminating in a series of exchanges between himself and Brandão.
The final part of this trilogy was “EO”, a tune from the “Letters From Afar” album inspired by the 2022 film of the same name by the Polish director Jerzy Skoloimowski.  Performed as a ballad this saw Hitchcock adopting a softer tone on tenor sax as Brandão deployed brushes. Barry’s expansive electric piano solo was followed by the leader on tenor, with Jensen briefly picking up the bow at the close.

Also from the “Letters From Afar” album the closing “Rio” was the only tune that was formally announced on the night. An extended solo drum introduction from Brandão eventually saw her being joined by double bass and keys, with Hitchcock subsequently delivering the main melodic theme on tenor sax and delivering the first solo. Barry followed at the keyboard and Brandão weighed in with a further drum feature before Hitchcock returned to reprise the theme.

The deserved encore was a version of Wayne Shorter’s composition “Toy Tune” from his Blue Note album “Etcetera”. This included solos from Hitchcock, Jensen and Barry and brought an immersive evening of jazz to a satisfying conclusion.

Hitchcock has arrived at a style of jazz that sounds thoroughly contemporary yet still acknowledges the glories of the tradition. His current approach is fluid and flexible, placing a high premium on individual and collective improvisation. Every performance by a Hitchcock led group is going to be unique and tonight’s incarnation was warmly received by an appreciative Worcester audience.

In his liner notes to the “Letters From Afar” album the distinguished jazz journalist and broadcaster Kevin LeGendre notes the influence on Hitchcock’s music of such American musicians as saxophonists Shorter and Mark Turner and trumpeters Ron Miles and Ambrose Akinmusire, all artists whose music is distinguished by “an evolving chain of ideas which any player can join and expand with their own sense of self”. These qualities were certainly present in tonight’s beguiling mix of lengthy segues and individual compositions, with Barry, Jensen and Brandão all fully buying into Hitchcock’s artistic vision.

It’s been nearly five years since I last saw Hitchcock perform live and both his playing and compositional styles have continued to evolve since that time. Both his playing and his writing have become more fluent and fluid, less in thrall to the Coltrane legacy than previously. There’s a softer, more feathery aspect to Hitchcock’s playing that had me scribbling the name of Mark Turner down in my notebook even before I’d read LeGendre’s album essay. The practice of seguing one tune into another is also another recent development and is something that many contemporary British jazz musicians seem to be doing a lot more of. On the evidence of tonight’s performance Hitchcock’s time in New York was certainly well spent, an important step in a musical career that has been distinguished by continuous artistic development.

IAN MANN

MSH Promoter Dave Fuller’s version of events appears below;

That’s a wrap!

That’s a wrap!

Thanks to everyone who came through on Thursday as we wrapped up the season on the hottest day of the year (and the hottest day in June since records began), with the awesome Alex Hitchcock Quartet, featuring Will Barry on keys, Freddie Jensen on bass and Ananda Brandão on drums.

The band got underway a little late as we awaited the arrival of Will, driving up from Berkshire, so they played through the first set without pausing for announcements (Alex is typically light on announcements during live performances, leaving the music to speak for itself). The four pieces played were Abaqua, a live recording of which appeared on Alex’s Dream Band: Live in London album, and another original Life Interior, followed by Tony Wiliams’ Pee Wee. The first set closed with Wishbone, from his latest album Letters From Afar, which was available to buy on the merch stand. The second set got underway with Units and The Pull Of Time, followed by EO and Rio, both taken from Letters From Afar. The obligatory final encore of the season featured Wayne Shorter’s Toy Tune.

This was truly immersive music - each piece developed and merged into the next while the whole room was locked in as these four great musicians brought the music to life before us. Once again, Nick ‘The Jazz’ Davies shared his appraisal of the gig on social media on Friday morning (see below). Look out also for Ian Mann’s review on http://www.thejazzmann.com.

DAVE FULLER

Nick Davies’ review of Alex Hitchcock Quartet

Gig No 33. Alex Hitchcock at The Marrs Bar for Music Spoken Here. Featuring Will Barry on piano, Freddie Jensen on bass and Ananda Brandão on drums.

Gig No. 33 delivered another memorable evening at The Marrs Bar, with Alex Hitchcock leading an exceptional quartet through a performance full of imagination, technical brilliance and musical storytelling.

The opening moments set a relaxed tone, but it quickly became clear that this was a band operating at a very high level. From the first tune, the quartet displayed remarkable chemistry, performing with precision and confidence. The music felt rhythmic, intriguing and engaging — the sort of performance that immediately pulls the audience in and leaves you eager to hear where it goes next.

Throughout the first set, the group moved effortlessly between uptempo energy and more reflective passages. There was a natural flow to everything they played, with each composition blending seamlessly into the next. The true mark of exceptional musicianship is the ability to take listeners on a journey, and this quartet achieved that with ease.

One of the standout moments came when Alex stepped back and allowed the rest of the band room to stretch out musically. It highlighted the trust and understanding within the group and reinforced the collective artistry on display.

Alex Hitchcock was outstanding throughout. His saxophone playing combined technical excellence with warmth and expression, creating moments that will live long in the memory.

Freddie Jensen once again impressed with superb bass playing, while Ananda Brandão delivered exceptional drumming filled with technique, musicality and inventive solo work. Will Barry completed the quartet perfectly, interacting brilliantly with the band and producing masterful solos.

The second set maintained the same quality, with the closing tune Rio beginning with an exceptional drum solo from Ananda. Once again, Music Spoken Here delivered a night of outstanding live music.

NICK DAVIES

Nick presents The Crazeology Radio Show, a three-hour jazz programme exploring the full spectrum of the music — from timeless classics to newly released tracks, spanning both traditional jazz and cutting-edge sounds. The show also regularly features New World Music, offering listeners a broader, more adventurous listening experience that goes beyond the usual playlists. The show is broadcast on Yorkshire-based Drystone Radio and is available to listen on demand here.
https://hearthis.at/fc2gv9zt

 

 

 

 

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