Events: Entertainment

LEROY JONES QUINTET

Leroy Jones_ElsaHahne2

With Joe Stilgoe & Ian Shaw

 

NEW ORLEANS JAZZ’S ‘KEEPER OF THE FLAME’ COMES TO THE UK

 

 OCTOBER 23 – NOVEMBER 11, 2015

 

“The Greatest” Harry Connick Junior

 

The legendary jazz trumpeter Leroy Jones, known to music lovers as the “keeper of the flame” for traditional New Orleans jazz and to critics as one of the top musicians ever produced by the Crescent City, will embark on his first major solo UK tour in October 2015.  Launching in London for a five night run in Soho, then travelling to theatres in the likes of Poole, Harrogate, St Albans and Manchester, this tour will recreate the authentic sounds of New Orleans, delighting jazz fans all over the UK.

A New Orleans native and a featured performer in the Harry Connick Orchestra, Leroy Jones started his career at the tender age of 12, when he was leader of of the seminal Fairview Band, a brass band whose alumni have included some of the best known musicians in New Orleans. Jones’s distinctive playing style, described as a blend of Louis Armstrong and bebop virtuoso Clifford Brown, along with his unique way of putting a modern stamp on authentic jazz has made him a critical figure in the history of New Orleans music.

Now a member of the New Orleans Jazz Hall of Fame, and having performed on every continent and in every US city, from prestigious theatres and festivals to the coolest jazz clubs, Leroy Jones also regularly performs on shows such as Late Night with David Letterman, Oprah Winfrey, Conan O’Brien and The Tonight Show.

The Leroy Jones Quintet will be joined on tour by two of the most exciting names in British jazz. The highly acclaimed Ian Shaw, described by Time Out as ‘Our Finest Jazz Singer’ and often cited as the world’s finest male jazz vocalists will feature on the bill alongside Joe Stilgoe, the internationally celebrated singer, pianist and songwriter currently starring in High Society at The Old Vic.

Leroy has released a series of highly regarded CDs including “Props for Pops”- his tribute to Louis Armstrong, “Back to My Roots,” “Mo’ Cream from the Crop”, “Soft Shoe” and “Sweeter Than A Summer Breeze”.  A typical set list for the Leroy Jones Quintet includes traditional numbers like “Bourbon Street Parade,” “Sleepy Time Down South,” “Basin Street Blues,” “Do You Know What it Means (to Miss New Orleans),” “Dinah” and “When My Dreamboat Comes Home” along with his own compositions like “Soft Shoe”, that are played and sung impeccably by Jones with the kind of swing that only a musician with his pedigree can deliver consistently night after night.

“The Leroy Jones Quintet sound sums up all those great experiences and influences,” says Leroy, “and gives me a chance each night to make sure that the great music of New Orleans is performed authentically and with great respect for the artists who came before me. Not in an old-fashioned way, but with a modern swing that comes from my love of bebop and other forms of modern jazz.”

Full listing and tickets information can be found at:

www.leroyjonesuktour.com