Gary Crosby fronts a one-off quintet at this weekend's Jazz Festival in Southampton featuring Southampton Modern Jazz Club founder Ted Carrasco, trumpeter Paul Jordanous, festival performer J Fashole-Luke and saxophonist Paul Young. Also appearing are Uberjam and the Joe Chiari Jazz Vocal Set. Advance tickets are only £5.00 - full details and get your tickets here.
Gary Crosby sets the right exampleBy Jack Massarik 24 Jan 2011Anyone who claims that an OBE stands for Other Blighters' Efforts hasn't met Gary Crosby. Nobody invests more hands-on time in jazz education than the deep-grooving double-bassist honoured in 2009. A musician who leads by example, his worthy projects, including Jazz Jamaica, are too numerous to list here. This one, which delighted a packed audience of all ages on Friday, expanded his gutsy Tomorrow's Warriors quintet into a polished 16-piece orchestra.
Variously conducted by three composers, trumpeter James McKay, altoist Binker Golding and pianist Peter Edwards, the youthful massive sightread their challenging pad flawlessly and swung with a leisurely grace that would have been astounding a couple of decades ago. Back then, too, a multi-racial line-up containing four females, two of them, Mary Perry and Yasmin Ahmed, in the trumpet section, would have been very hard to find.
Edwards, trombonist Harry Brown, tenorist Duncan Eagles and New Orleans-born trumpeter Abram Wilson were the star turns but embryonic altoist Tommy Andrews, guitarist Artie Zaitz and trumpeter Mark Crown also earned warm applause.
So should the South Bank for staging these free foyer events, so vital for students who love the music but cannot afford South Bank prices. These are tomorrow's concertgoers.
Jack Massarik's rating: 4 Stars.
Many thanks to photographer Howard Denner for documenting the three recent Dune and Tomorrow's Warriors gigs at the King's Place Festival. Here are Myrna Hague with Gary Crosby's Nu Troop, The Tomorrow's Warriors Quartet and The Tomorrow's Warriors Biggish Band.
The winner will be announced at a ceremony at the Houses of Parliament on 19 May, which is sponsored by PPL and Jazz Services
More information about the awards here
Janine Irons MBE - Managing Director
Janine studied classical piano for nine years and was lead vocal in a semi-professional funk band in her teens before studying modern dance at university. She worked for 13 years as an Administrative Manager for international banks in the City of London but her yearning for involvement in the arts led her to photography. She left the City in 1993 to be a freelance photographer and journalist after meeting her partner, bassist Gary Crosby and in 1994 started working full-time in jazz supporting Gary and other musicians. With Gary, she set up Crosby Irons Associates in 1996 (which later became The Dune Music Company) and formalised the constitution of Tomorrow’s Warriors in 1998. Today, in addition to her work with Tomorrow's Warriors, she is a jazz artist manager and executive producer, and has guided her artists to win more than 25 awards in the UK and abroad, including two Mercury Music Prizes for An Album Of The Year, two MOBO Awards for Best Jazz Act, two Urban Music Awards, and several BBC Radio Jazz Awards.
In 2006, Janine was awarded an MBE (Member Of The Order Of The British Empire) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for Services To The Music Industry.
Gary Crosby OBE - Executive Artistic Director
A founder member of the seminal Jazz Warriors in the mid-1980s, and founder of Tomorrow’s Warriors in 1991, Gary is an award-winning professional double bassist, bandleader, music arranger, producer and educator. He leads five bands of his own - Gary Crosby's Nu Troop, Jazz Jamaica, and Jazz Jamaica All Stars - and has worked with a number of top artists including Art Blakey, Mal Waldron, Art Farmer, Gary Bartz, Eddie Henderson, Johnny Griffin, Hugh Masekela, Courtney Pine, Steve Williamson, and Gary’s uncle, Ernest Ranglin, to name just a few. Gary is well known for his tireless commitment to developing and nurturing young jazz musicians, maintaining the jazz tradition, and promoting excellence in jazz. He is highly respected by his peers and industry associates, not only for his musical skills, but also for his vision, drive, and ability to make things happen. In 2007, Gary was awarded the prestigious BBC Jazz Award for Services To Jazz.
