There’s another double dose of live music at St Ives Jazz Club this week, with festival performances from Jacqui Dankworth and the Charlie Wood Trio.
Charlie Wood
The couple are married, but have their own separate shows, on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Charlie goes first, a singer, songwriter, and keyboardist whose work incorporates elements of jazz, blues, traditional R&B, and popular music.
Born and raised in Memphis, Charlie headed down the Mississippi to New Orleans at 17, spending a few formative years soaking up the music and culture of the Big Easy, and playing keys with local favourites like Charmaine Neville. He returned to Memphis in his early 20s to join the band of legendary blues guitarist Albert King, with whom he toured the US and Europe.
Having established a musical reputation for himself, Charlie took up a long-standing residency with his Hammond organ trio at King’s Palace, on Beale Street. In October 2014, he became the 136th recipient of a Brass Note on Beale Street, the Memphis equivalent of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Wood has become a sought-after and highly original composer/arranger, with recent works performed by the BBC Big Band, the RTÉ Orchestra, the Brodsky String Quartet, and the Carducci String Quartet. Tickets to Charlie’s show are available here.
Jacqui Dankworth
Jacqui Dankworth is one of the most highly regarded vocalists in the UK. Known primarily as a jazz singer, her unique musical palette also draws on folk, soul, classical, blues, and other influences. Her concert appearances and numerous recordings showcase her virtuosic, seemingly effortless mastery of a variety of genres.
Jacqui’s new album is Windmills, described as “one of the year’s most captivating jazz offerings” by Peter Quinn in Jazzwise. It’s a vocal tour-de-force of classic songs by Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein, Michel Legrand, Sérgio Mendes and others. It features some of the very best of UK jazz and classical musicians, including the BBC Big Band, the Carducci String Quartet, and the Bedazzle! string section, with arrangements by husband Charlie.
Charlie will accompany her on piano, along with Oli Hayhurst, on bass, and Caspar Hodgekinson, on drums. Tickets to Jacqui’s show are available here. Both concerts are at the Western Hotel.
