Jazz at Progress - Progress Theatre, Reading, Berkshire - Programme for Spring 2025.

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Jazz at Progress has announced its programme for February to May 2025. Events take place at the Progress Theatre, Reading. Schedule attached.

From;
https://www.jazzinreading.com/

Next up at Jazz at Progress

Jazz at Progress | Empirical Quintet | Buy tickets https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/progresstheatre/t-pqdrexd
Friday 21 February 2025 | Progress Theatre, Reading | 7: 30pm | £19.00 (£17.00 concessions, £10 under 16) plus maximum 5% booking fee.
Empirical Quintet
The original quartet as above were: Tom Farmer bass, Nathaniel Facey alto sax, Lewis Wright vibes, Shaney Forbes drums. Lewis Wright has moved to the USA, so in his place is Jonny Mansfield. Since their start in 2007 they have played in quartet, quintet and sextet formations. For this event at Progress it will be a quintet with guest pianist Will Barry.
Empirical will be presenting a performance of their latest 2024 album Wonder is the Beginning, which is their first full length album in eight years, and is a mature musical statement that shows the band’s fire is still undimmed and their commitment to maintaining the legacy while forging their own unique path is as strong as ever.
Empirical’s trademark combination of complex, thoughtful writing and spontaneous improvisation is enabled by the absolute trust that comes from years of collective music making, and is at the heart of what makes Empirical stand out consistently on the musical landscape.
Press quotes:
‘…far from merely embracing the tradition, [Empirical] move the music forward to a new paradigm but in a characteristically subtle and sophisticated manner.’ Jazz Journal, 2024
‘Empirical, around for an astonishing 15 years already, are one of the great British contributions to European jazz.’ Downbeat, 2022
‘Empirical is still a reliable touchstone of contemporary British jazz at its most sophisticated.’ Jazzwise, 2022

Jazz at Progress | John Law’s Re-Creations “Many Moons” Tour | Buy tickets https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/progresstheatre/t-mopyoqa
Friday 4 April 2025 | Progress Theatre, Reading | 7: 30pm | £19.00 (£17.00 concessions, £10 under 16) plus maximum 5% booking fee.
John Law piano
Sam Crockatt sax
Henrik Jensen bass
Alex Goodyear drums
John Law presents Re-Creations: creative arrangements of some of the world’s most familiar music. The idea is simple: they take the best-known tunes from all genres – jazz, pop, indie, rock, folk, classical sometimes – and re-create, finding new arrangements and new angles; sometimes just spontaneously re-inventing them.
But no matter how free and inventive they get, no matter how complex and intricate the arrangements become, audiences everywhere always feel part of the creative process, because they know the tune and recognise it when it comes back.
This is music played by highly skilled musicians.  Audiences don’t feel excluded. They are integral to the evening and the whole experience.
Featuring UK Parliamentary Jazz Award Winner saxophonist Sam Crockatt, Danish bass player and composer Henrik Jensen and a new young firebrand on the UK jazz drumming scene: Alex Goodyear
John Law“One of the UK’s most imaginative and versatile jazz pianists”– International Piano Magazine
“This was the best, and most dynamic, of the Re-Creations shows that I’ve seen. Law is a brilliant technician and his own playing was superb, as was that of his very able colleagues.” – The Jazz Mann

Jazz at Progress | The John Horler Trio: A Portrait of Bill Evans | Buy tickets https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/progresstheatre/t-eadpaxp
Friday 16 May 2025 | Progress Theatre, Reading | 7: 30pm | £19.00 (£17.00 concessions, £10 under 16) plus maximum 5% booking fee.
John Horler piano
Alec Dankworth bass
Ronnie Jones drums
John Horler makes a welcome return to Jazz at Progress with his Portrait of Bill Evans. Accompanied by his long-time associate Alec Dankworth on bass and Ronnie Jones on drums, John will bring his ‘moonlight’ touch and imaginative flair for swinging improvisation to pay tribute to Bill Evans and his groundbreaking trio
John is a highly respected pianist and composer who has earned a formidable reputation on the British jazz scene over many years. Growing up in a musical family his gifts emerged at an early age and by the age of sixteen he was studying clarinet and piano at the Royal Academy of Music – an institution where, at that time in the mid-1960s, jazz was neither studied nor valued. John’s abilities were eventually fully acknowledged in later years when he was made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) for his services to music
Perhaps best known for his 26-year stint as accompanist to Dame Cleo Laine, John’s impeccable credentials include playing in the big bands of Sir John Dankworth and Maynard Ferguson and supporting scores of visiting guest stars from America, most memorably a week-long gig with Chet Baker at The Canteen. He has worked with legends of the British scene such as Ronnie Ross, Peter King, Kenny Wheeler, Tommy Whittle, Tony Coe, Simon Spillett and Alan Barnes, and broadcast and recorded extensively,  including a number of highly acclaimed albums by his own trio
In his biographical notes, John writes:
For me music, and especially jazz, is about togetherness, about individual input being merged with others to make a whole piece of music.
I was not enthusiastic about the piano as a jazz instrument until I heard Bill Evans. He absorbed the music of the European composers Debussy, Ravel and even Brahms, which he welded into his own very special jazz language. I embraced that almost immediately and even today he is s till the most influential figure in my playing; not in a copying sense I hope, but in an inspirational way.
This is a priceless opportunity to see one of Britain’s most acclaimed jazz pianists playing the music he loves – not to be missed. As the saying goes, ‘Everybody Digs Bill Evans’.
‘John Horler is a quiet, dedicated, gently humorous man, the kind of musician whose work steals up on you. His piano playing, almost placid on the surface, is full of unexpected turns and hidden surprises.’ – Dave Gelly The Observer
Listen to John Horler & Tony Coe on ‘A Piece for Poppy’ from their album Dancing in the Dark recorded at the 2007 Appleby Jazz Festival
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8t0Ahp0Zv8.

Jazz at Progress | Emily Masser Quartet | Buy tickets https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/progresstheatre/t-avgjvkv
Friday 27 June 2025 | Progress Theatre, Reading | 7: 30pm | £19.00 (£17.00 concessions, £10 under 16) plus maximum 5% booking fee.
Emily Masser vocals
Matyas Gayer piano
James Owston bass
Steve Brown drums
Emily Masser Quartet
“Masser shows her excellent vocal skills and then seals the deal with a scat solo to die for” – Jazz Views
Rising star Emily Masser is an astonishing vocalist. Still just 20 years of age her range, variation and seemingly effortless delivery reflect a confidence and ability which belie her years.
Emily gained attention and encouragement from jazz luminaries Claire Martin and Liane Carroll. Her breakthrough came as a member of The Clark Tracey Quintet, with the release of their acclaimed album, “Introducing Emily Masser” consisting of Emily’s arrangements and vocals, taking classic jazz standards such as “So Near So Far” and “The Man I Love” and making them sound newly minted and excitingly different. Her contributions to this album enhanced Emily’s presence on the scene and also garnered support from jazz media, marking her as a “New Star of British Jazz” (London Jazz News). Her performance on this recording draws on influences and inspirations such as Annie Ross, Betty Carter, and Sonny Stitt and has already picked up the attention of reviewers, magazines and radio broadcasters.
London based, Hungarian jazz pianist Matyas Gayer has become a prominent part of the British jazz scene by forging his own style and musical voice through the use of the jazz piano tradition. A regular performer on the London and European jazz scene, Matyas has collaborated with the greats of jazz such as Eddie Henderson, Scott Hamilton, Rick Margitza, Grant Stewart, amongst others. He was recently part of a live recording at Pizza Express, Soho with Don Branden, shortly followed by a studio album recording with Scott Hamilton. Matyas has released a new trio record this year with Dave Green and Steve Brown.
James Owston is a double/electric bassist based in Birmingham. James is an active performer in his 3rd year studying at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. As well as running his own groups, James is currently playing with the Clark Tracey quintet.
Steve Brown is a British jazz drummer originally from Manchester. His career began in the 1990s, and he has since worked with notable artists such as Scott Hamilton, Barry Harris, Alan Barnes and Dave Newton, along with his involvement with The Echoes of Ellington band. He has been recognized with several prestigious awards throughout his career. Notably, he has won the British Jazz Award for Best Drummer multiple times, including in 2007, 2009, and 2013.

Progress Theatre
16 The Mount,
Reading RG1 5HL

http://www.progresstheatre.co.uk