In a special blog, Dan Somogyi talks about the many merits of our Sherling Studio and the wealth of music that can be found there.
My name’s Dan Somogyi and, along with my colleague, Fred Lindop, I programme the Studio Jazz seasons in the Sherling Studio. It’s a pleasure to put music into such a wonderful acoustic space, staffed by a fantastic team of sound technicians and stewards. Visiting musicians are, unsurprisingly, very positive about playing there, and it’s no surprise. If you haven’t been before, do check it out – it’s almost like having top name artists in your front room, you’re that close to the action!
I am, of course, biased but it’s one of my favourite spaces to see live music anywhere, with great views from right round the room. Some of our audience evidently have a similar sentiment – many come back for gig after gig!
Jazz nights, incidentally, are Fridays, and generally every fortnight.
Modern jazz is a very broad church, ranging from the highly melodic mainstream tunes most people know, right through to the improvised, more ‘specialist’ sounds of the avant garde, and our jazz programme tries to reflect this wide spectrum. The coming season is no exception, ranging from mainstream standards purveyed by world-class saxophonist Tommy Smith and pianist Gwilym Symcock – two of the finest musicians on the planet (14 Feb) – through to Pigfoot’s “21st century acid trad” (28 Feb), Zoe Gilby’s voice-based quartet mixing originals and standards (14 March), and legendary guitarist Jim Mullen’s bluesy Organ Trio (11 April), featuring a genuine Hammond B3 organ with Leslie speaker (played by Ross Stanley).
It’s quite common to find established, name musicians from other genres also pursuing a jazz interest and this year sees Kasabian’s drummer, Ian Matthews, visit with classic Blue Note sounds of The Jazz Defenders (mixed with a little soul and hip hop) on 9 May; Latin/salsa gets a look in with Andy Hague’s Sexteto Gringo (23 May); and the season ends with the beautiful West African, kora-based blues of the Diabel Cissokho Trio (13 June). There’s loads more too – have a look at the Whats On menu.
Younger audience members can take advantage of student prices and the ‘Live for Five’ offer; plus the Studio isn’t just about jazz – there’s loads of other music happening as well, including some great folk, world and rock music. Lots to explore and enjoy.
For those who keep coming back, we thank you for regularly supporting our programme – we couldn’t do it without you. For those who want to experience something new, why not give the Studio a try?
:: Dan is set to feature on BBC Radio Solent’s Afternoon Show talking about his love of jazz and how Poole has become a favoured outpost for the cream of British contemporary jazz. Listen live on Monday 27 January from 2pm on https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_radio_solent
