V6 Organ Trio, Music Spoken Here, The Marr’s Bar, Worcester, 11/06/2026.

Arran Shanghavi – organ, Jamie McLeish – guitar, Jonathon Hilliam – drums

V6 Organ Trio is a band of young Birmingham based musicians. Its members, who all hail from various parts of the UK came together, on the fertile Birmingham jazz scene and tonight’s event represented one of their biggest and most important shows to date.

Originally from Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, organist Arran Shanghavi initially studied jazz as a member of the Junior Royal Academy under the guidance of flautist Gareth Lockrane. He later moved to Birmingham to study an academic subject at the University but still continued to play music, frequently hanging out with students from the Jazz Course at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. This brought him into the orbit of his fellow trio members, guitarist Jamie McLeish and drummer Jono Hilliam.

In January 2026 Shanghavi visited MSH at The Marr’s Bar as part of the nine piece Detroitwich Funk Machine, led by bassist / vocalist Tom Clarke-Hill. Shanghavi’s swashbuckling keyboard solos were a major component in the group’s performance at one of the best ever attended events at MSH. Shanghavi’s playing impressed a lot of people and his performance that night was significant in seeing him invited back as the co-leader of his own group.

Although two years older than his colleagues twenty five year old McLeish is coming to the end of the third year of a four year course at RBC, having previously studied in Edinburgh. I recall being impressed by his playing earlier in the year when he was part of one of the bands that played at the annual Jazz Exchange event at the 2026 Cheltenham jazz Festival. McLeish is studying composition and arrangement on his current course and I suspect that he may have played a major role in the arrangements of the tunes played at tonight’s event.

Born into a musical family in Leicestershire drummer Jonothan Hilliam started out on viola before switching to drums at the age of twelve. He studied with the Hot House organisation in Derby and was playing gigs on a regular basis as a teenager, often in the company of more experienced musicians. It represented a good foundation for his further studies at RBC. A recent graduate he is now working as a professional musician, dividing his time between playing and teaching. He finds the latter particularly satisfying.

Coming together on the Birmingham scene the V6 Organ Trio first played together for one of McLeish’s ‘Platform’ events at Eastside Jazz Club at the RBC. They decided to continue working together, rehearsing on a regular basis in the manner of a rock band, rather than the ad hoc jazz aggregations that the trio members are also accustomed to.

Having developed a repertoire the trio are now looking for gigs on a more regular basis in addition to pursuing their other musical activities. Tonight’s show followed a ‘background event’ earlier in the year and a more recent show at Cherry Red’s in Birmingham. The band members considered the MSH show to be their second ‘real gig’ and they were obviously delighted to be playing in front of such a large, listening audience that included a number of their friends and family members. It was one of the best attended MSH events of 2026, not bad for a new band in the infancy of its career. Shanghavi’s previous appearance with Detroitwich had probably also helped to swell the gate. It certainly made for a great atmosphere.

Things kicked off in lively fashion with a version of the John Scofield composition “Let The Cat Out”, a tune previously performed at MSH events by the bands Hoop and FNUK. McLeish’s rock and blues infused guitar solo sounded suitably ‘Sco-ish’, I’d even jotted down Scofield’s name before the title was even announced. Shanghavi was featured on a Nord C1 double manual keyboard and his set up also included a Crumar pedal-board. All of this equipment had been generously lent to him by Will Inscoe as Shanghavi’s own instrument is currently undergoing repairs. Shanghavi was very eager that Will, the ‘organ donor’ should be thanked for his help in ensuring that tonight’s performance went ahead. After such a great gig everybody present tonight at the Marr’s Bar will wish to thank him too.

Announcements were shared between Shanghavi and McLeish, emphasising the democratic nature of the trio. “He’s going have sore fingers after this” said Shanghavi of McLeish as the trio tackled thw Wes Montgomery composition “So Do It” from Montgomery’s 1960 album “Movin’ On”, a piece described by McLeish himself as “tricky”. The young guitarist revealed himself to be more than up to the challenge, as did Shanghavi on organ. Another lively performance concluded with a series of exchanges between Shanghavi and McLeish with drummer Hilliam.

An arrangement of the Blossom Dearie song “Hey John” saw the trio cooling things down a little with Hilliam switching to brushes as the tune commenced at a languid tempo. The momentum subsequently began to increase during the course of McLeish’s guitar solo, with Hilliam gravitating to sticks. Shanghavi’s organ solo was particularly flamboyant and introduced an element of musical humour. This was the sound of a young and enthusiastic young band having fun.

A second Wes Montgomery tune, “Heaven For Heaven’s Sake” then represented a true ballad performance, with brushed drums now supporting lyrical solos from both guitar and organ.
This tune then segued into a truly stunning arrangement of Jimmy Webb’s brilliant song “Wichita Lineman”, which saw the trio exhibiting an impressively mature command of dynamics as the tune ebbed and flowed. Introduced by a guitar and organ duet, with brushed drums subsequently added, the tension was gradually and skilfully ramped up, with Hilliam again graduating to sticks. After fading back to the duo the performance finally resolved itself with a soaring, anthemic guitar solo from McLeish. A stunning end to an excellent first set that was enthusiastically applauded by the Marr’s Bar audience.

Set two commenced with an arrangement “When You’re Smiling”, introduced by the sounds of organ and brushed drums but with McLeish later emerging as the featured soloist as Hilliam switched to sticks. At the conclusion of the performance Shanghavi dedicated the tune to Stef Work, an MSH regular and a great supporter of live music throughout the West Midlands, who is currently undergoing cancer treatment and is currently unable to attend any gigs. I’m pleased to report that everything is going as well as it could be and that Stef is keeping cheerful in the face of adversity, but he must be missing the music scene terribly. Get well soon Stef, and what a lovely gesture from the trio to dedicate a tune to you. Well done guys.

Next up was “Common Ground”, a composition by the America saxophonist Bob Reynolds, of Snarky Puppy fame. I remember that the quintet that McLeish was a part of played this tune at the Jazz Exchange event in Cheltenham. I guess it must be one of Jamie’s favourites. The song’s choppy and funky rhythms helped to fuel fiery solos from McLeish and Shanghavi, with Hilliam weighing in with a drum feature towards the close.

Much of the second set was dedicated to tunes and songs not usually heard in the jazz organ trio format. A case in point was a version of the Roberta Flack song “Feel Like Making Love”, as arranged by D’Angelo for his album “Voodoo”. This combined pop melody with heavy duty funk with Shanghavi and McLeish stretching out on organ and guitar respectively as Hilliam kept the beat, eventually being left on his own to deliver his own powerful drum feature.

“Kogi” was an adaptation of a composition by the American pianist, composer and bandleader Jacob Mann and was one of a number of arrangements of tunes written for big band but transposed for organ trio. Shanghavi began this unaccompanied before Hilliam’s hard driving drums kicked in, triggering solos from McLeish and Shanghavi plus a closing drum feature from Hilliam, who had really come into his own this second set.

Hilliam also kick started the final item, encouraging the audience to clap along to a playful version of “St. Thomas”, an affectionate tribute to the recently departed Sonny Rollins. Following McLeish’s guitar solo Shanghavi took the opportunity to really ‘wig out’ on his borrowed keyboard, before Hilliam, who else, rounded things off with another drum feature.

The audience signalled their approval by hollering for more – no promoter intervention was necessary – and the trio concluded the proceedings by romping through “C Jam Blues” with Shanghavi and McLeish trading solos and phrases with the organist squeezing in a quote from “You Are My Sunshine” – “I always like to get that in there”, he told me later. Once more it was left to Hilliam to round off a terrific performance and a terrific evening.

For a band so early on in its career this really was an excellent performance. The standard of the playing was remarkably high throughout, combining fire and fluency with a great sense of fun. It may have been all ‘outside’ material but the choices were unusual and the arrangements consistently inventive. It’s possible that in the future that McLeish will provide original material for the trio, a development that will be watched with much interest.

In the meantime tonight’s show was a triumph both for the members of the V6 Organ Trio and for MSH promoter Dave Fuller, whose decision to give an opportunity to such a new, young band was fully vindicated, both in terms of audience numbers and in the quality of the music performed.

Dave’s own account of the evening, plus a further review from broadcaster Nick Davies, can be found below.

IAN MANN

V6 Organ Trio firing on all cylinders!

It was really encouraging to see so many of you come down for the V6 Organ Trio on Thursday - a brand new band that no-one has heard of, yet you took a punt and I’m sure you will agree it paid off. Not only was this a stunning, memorable performance, it was our second biggest turnout of our fifth year, which started in April - just TWO MORE people through the door would have covered our costs entirely. We’re not far now, Worcester - let’s keep it up, eh?

The first set opened with John Scofield’s ‘Let The Cat Out’, something of a favourite on our stage, having been performed by HOOP in 2023 and FNUK in 2024 (that supergroup featuring Jason Rebello on keys, Paul Stacey on guitar and his twin brother Jeremy Stacey on drums). We got some Wes Montgomery, Blossom Dearie and a spellbinding rendition of Glen Campbell’s ‘Wichita Lineman’ that had the entire audience enthralled. The second set opened with ‘When You’re Smiling’, which Arran dedicated to Stef Work, a good friend, MSH Club Member and ardent supporter of live jazz in the West Midlands, currently absent from the scene undergoing cancer treatment. We all wish Stef the very best outcomes and look forward to seeing him back on the scene soon.

We will of course have a thorough account of the gig from our award-winning, resident jazz journalist Ian Mann on thejazzmann.com, but in the meantime I’d like to share this review from Gloucestershire-based jazz DJ Nick Davies, who regularly attends our gigs with his son Henry, another young, avid jazz fan.

DAVE FULLER

Nick Davies’ review of the V6 Organ Trio

“Gig 32 of the year saw the V6 Organ Trio take to the stage at The Marrs Bar, Worcester, as part of the excellent Music Spoken Here programme. The trio featured Arran Shanghavi on organ and Jamie McLeish on guitar, and Jonathan Hilliam on drums.

Remarkably, this was only the band’s second-ever performance, something that would have been impossible to guess from the confidence, cohesion, and musicianship on display throughout the evening. The trio delivered a set of groove-filled, organ-led jazz that paid homage to the great tradition of Hammond organ groups while bringing their own energy and personality to the music.

The sound was strongly reminiscent of classic organ jazz pioneers such as Brother Jack McDuff, with Arran’s rich organ textures providing the foundation for Jamie McLeish’s tasteful and inventive guitar work. The interplay between guitar and organ was a particular highlight, with both musicians listening and responding to each other superbly throughout the set.

The repertoire featured a number of well-chosen covers, all performed to an exceptionally high standard. Highlights included a spirited rendition of John Scofield’s Let the Cat Out and a swinging take on Wes Montgomery’s So Do It. The organ solos were especially impressive, combining technical skill with soulful expression.

While much of the set was driven by infectious grooves, the trio also demonstrated their versatility through several more reflective moments. Their interpretation of Wichita Lineman was a standout performance, full of sensitivity and warmth. Another memorable moment came with a superb version of Bob Reynolds’ Common Ground, which showcased the band’s strong ensemble playing.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night was an inspired rendition of Roberta Flack’s Feel Like Makin’ Love, a tune that worked beautifully in the organ trio format and was warmly received by the audience.

The evening concluded with an energetic performance of Sonny Rollins’ classic St. Thomas, bringing a fittingly joyful end.”

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

 

 

 

blog comments powered by Disqus