Music Spoken Here, Worcester announces next wave of gigs - April, May, June 2025.

Monday, March 24, 2025

Music Spoken Here has added further performances to its programme for April, May and June 2025. Events take place fortnightly at The Marr's Bar, Worcester.

From;
https://musicspokenhere.club/events/

Rob Luft Quartet
March 27, 2025 @ 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm
One of the most exciting and accomplished jazz guitarists in Europe today.
Rob Luft is undeniably one of the most exciting jazz guitarists in Europe of his generation. Hailing from London, this award-winning virtuoso has garnered comparisons to legends such as John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola, Paco De Lucia, and Kurt Rosenwinkel.
Rob is a true rising star, possessing a rare combination of talent as a guitarist, band-leader, composer, and captivating communicator. He won the Kenny Wheeler Award after graduating from the Royal Academy of Music in 2016, followed by the release of his debut album “Riser” in 2017. Luft’s joy in music-making, humility, and ability to connect with other musicians quickly made him one of the most sought-after instrumentalists to emerge from the UK in recent years.
His highly anticipated third album “Dahab Days” was released on Edition Records in October 2023 and reveals Rob’s willingness to push boundaries and expand his sonic palette. Drawing inspiration from his time in Egypt’s Dahab region during the pandemic, he infuses the album with a unique ambiance that permeates his compositions.
For this performance Rob is joined by Joe Wright (sax), Will Sach (bass) and Corrie Dick (drums)

April 10 @ 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm
The Boom Yeh
The Marrs Bar 12 Pierpoint Street, Worcester.
A thunderous powerhouse of jazz, funk, rock and Afrobeat
Stalwarts of the London music scene, The Boom Yeh are at the forefront of redefining British Jazz-Funk with their high level musicianship and electrifying live performances. Following the release of their third album Near-Earth Objects last year, we are delighted to bring them to Worcester for the first time.
Featuring musicians that have worked with Jamiroquai, The Brand New Heavies, Incognito, Alice Russell and Leroy Hutson, they have performed to sell out audiences at Ronnie Scott’s, EFG London Jazz Festival, The Elgar Room (Royal Albert Hall), Pizza Express Jazz Club (Soho) and Manchester Jazz Festival, garnering the support and praise of BBC Radio 6, Jazz FM and radio/club DJs far and wide.
Propelled by the powerhouse rhythm section of band leader/guitarist Jon Speedy, bass player Matteo Grassi and drummer William Francis, the band’s compositions are interspersed with the sophisticated horn arrangements of sax player Ian Bailey, spotlighting renowned trombone player Tom White and baritone sax player Paul Silver.

April 24 @ 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Chris Bowden ‘The Hypnos Files’ ft. Neil Bullock & Louise Warren
The Marrs Bar 12 Pierpoint Street, Worcester
Maverick trailblazer who has chosen his own path in a 30 year career embracing jazz, soul, hip-hop and drum & bass.
Emerging from the 90s Acid Jazz and Nu Jazz scenes in London, saxophonist Chris Bowden’s music has been described as “true future jazz”. Association with Gilles Peterson saw Chris in the “That’s How It Is” club night house band at Bar Rumba in London’s Shaftesbury Avenue, as well as working with K-Creative and 4 Hero, both projects releasing albums on Gilles’ Talkin’ Loud label.
As a gifted arranger on Jessica Lauren’s “Siren Song” album, he encountered Soul Jazz Records and went on to release his first album “Time Capsule” on the label in 1996.  His work with The Herbaliser, one of the best known bands on the Ninja Tune label (run by Matt Black and Jonathan Moore – aka Coldcut), led to the release of his second album “Slightly Askew” on Ninja Tune in 2002. Featuring a 17-piece band including strings, Colin Buttimer (BBC) described the album as “ambitious, thinking music not afraid of expressing feeling. Chris Bowden is one of the UK’s great altoists and composers; Slightly Askew underlines this”.
Drug and alcohol addiction led Chris to return to his home town, Birmingham, but it wasn’t until 2010 that he resigned to making his first real attempt to get clean. Following a lengthy recovery program he describes as a desperate time with an uncertain future, with the support of friends and family he got back on his feet and has been clean and sober for the last 10 years.
In this time, he has established himself as an in-demand saxophonist and educator. His Quartet play all over the UK and he appears as a guest artist with a variety of groups. He has recorded two further albums, “Unlikely Being” on UK Vibe in 2018 and “The Hypnos Files”, described as “Brecker meets Beyonce”, on Rehab Records in 2022.
This special performance features Chris with a truly world class band – Louise Warren (vocals), Jim Watson (piano), Simon ‘Palmskin’ Richmond (keys), Chris Dodd (bass) and Neil Bullock (drums) – performing work from across his career.

Empirical
May 8 @ 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm
“Still a reliable touchstone of contemporary British jazz at its most sophisticated” – Jazzwise
Empirical exploded onto the UK jazz scene with the release of their debut album “Empirical” in 2007. Former Jazz Warrior, saxophonist Courtney Pine, who released the album on his Destin-e label and also featured on bass clarinet, declared Empirical at the time as “the most exciting new jazz to come out of the UK”. Indeed, the album was awarded Album of the Year (Jazzwise) and Jazz Album of the Year (Mojo), and the band were awarded Best Jazz Ensemble in the Parliamentary Jazz Awards the following year and again in 2016.
The original line-up of Jay Phelps (trumpet), Nathaniel Facey (alto sax), Kit Downes (piano), Neil Charles (bass) and Shaney Forbes (drums) didn’t survive beyond the first album (Phelps and Downes left and Tom Farmer replaced the departing Charles on bass). By the release of their second album “Out ’n’ Out” (2009 on Naim), the core quartet comprised Facey, Forbes and Farmer, joined by Lewis Wright on the vibraphone and remained constant up until their 2024 album “Wonder is the Beginning” on Whirlwind Records, which also featured previous Music Spoken Here performers Alex Hitchcock (with Resolution 88 in November 2022 and Dan Lockheart in September 2023) and Jason Rebello (with FNUK in January 2024).
“Wonder is the Beginning” 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.
With Wright since moving permanently to the US, this album tour, which brings Empirical to Worcester for the very first time, has seen a couple of different lineups, including guitarist David Preston (who brought his trio to The Marr’s Bar for Music Spoken Here in February last year) and pianist Ivo Neame. For this performance, we are delighted to feature the vibraphone for the first time on our program in the very capable hands of the young Kenny Wheeler Prize winner Jonny Mansfield, along with the core members Tom Farmer and Nathaniel Facey. In a scenario not uncommon with the best jazz bands, Shaney Forbes has other touring commitments in May, so Luke McCarthy (of Jonny Mansfield’s Quartet) will take the throne for this one.

May 22 @ 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Karim Saber Quintet
The Marrs Bar 12 Pierpoint Street, Worcester.
Ferocious chops, memorable, shifting tunes and dynamic playing.
Born and raised in London, British/Iranian guitarist Karim Saber is steadily building a profile as both a performer and composer to watch. Known for his instrumental prowess and creativity, he established his quintet in 2021, featuring Alex Wilson (piano), Matt Cook (tenor saxophone), Jim Jones (bass) and Jack Thomas (drums), four of London’s most virtuosic and in demand young musicians.
His debut album ‘Transmission’ was released on Ubuntu music in January 2024 and a second album is scheduled to be released in late 2025.
‘Amidst the many London guitarists, Karim Saber is one who’s playing I am most excited about. He’s got ferocious chops, a great repertoire and I really enjoy his writing’ – Ant Law
‘Karim is one of the most recognisable and distinctive guitarists to emerge on the UK jazz scene in recent years. His compositions, tone and ideas are unique to him and I absolutely love this new album he has put together. I think he will be a much sought after play once audiences get a chance to hear this beautiful set of original tunes’ – Chris Montague

TICKETS
Music Spoken Here is proud to offer exceptional live music experiences in Worcester at a price affordable to you. Our fortnightly events at The Marr’s Bar are ticketless, just show up on the night and pay what you can afford on the door.
The suggested contribution for this event is £15.
You can find out more about our admission and membership options at A New Approach
https://musicspokenhere.club/a-new-approach/

The Marrs Bar
12 Pierpoint Street
Worcester,
Worcestershire WR1 1TA