Interplay’s International Jazz Day 2016 – ‘Brilliant’! ‘Memorably Great’! ‘A Blinder’!

Posted by on May 3, 2016

Interplay’s International Jazz Day 2016 – ‘Brilliant’! ‘Memorably Great’! ‘A Blinder’!

Superlatives are flying after Interplay’s concert with John Etheridge and Si Hayden for International Jazz Day! The event, organised by not-for-profit promotions group In The Moment, saw the Restaurant In The Park (Jephson Gardens, Leamington Spa) full to capacity with the kind of appreciative and enthusiastic crowd musicians long for. The venue itself lived up to high expectations with clean acoustics, a contemporary vibe, and fine views of the river Leam yielding to Rob Sargent’s atmospheric lighting as daylight gave way to dusk. Si Hayden’s opening set showed his unique mastery of the guitar while delivering his own compositions, that were by turns dynamic, expressive and humorous. It was no mean feat to start the evening as a solo performer, but Si did it with aplomb. John Etheridge and Interplay opened gently with Pat Metheny’s lovely tune Hermitage, and then from the following number Spanish Step, the first of several originals by Adrian, it was clear that John and the band were in exhilarating form. Adding a special flavour to the evening’s set were two Soft Machine tunes, celebrating the fact that Alan and John had both played in that epoch-making band, briefly overlapping around 1976 or so (forty years ago!). Gesolreut was a typical Mike Ratlidge up-tempo blast, while Kings and Queens by Hugh Hopper provided a contrasting sense of stately beauty. John gave a beautiful unaccompanied rendition of Goodbye Pork Pie Hat, which he introduced as his favourite tune. In another bandless spot he was joined by Dave on tabla and log drum in a spontaneous African piece that had the whole audience clapping and a few dancing too. A blistering Boogie Stop Shuffle gave everyone room to shine and produced outstanding contributions from Richard and Neil, before Si returned to the stand to exchange guitar wisdom with John over the band’s pulsating version of the Cuban classic Amor Verdadero. You can read more comments on the evening here. Les Grafton of In The Moment took some excellent photos of the night (in challenging conditions) and these are now up on our Gallery...

See More

Interplay Live Broadcast for Coventry Jazz Festival

Posted by on Nov 20, 2015

Interplay Live Broadcast for Coventry Jazz Festival

Interplay will be playing live on Coventry’s Radio Plus next Wednesday 25th November, to preview and promote the forthcoming Coventry Jazz Festival. The band’s set will form the climax of the evening which includes interviews and music from artists and organisers of the festival. With Interplay’s keyboard wizard Neil Hunter committed elsewhere, the band is delighted to welcome Al Gurr, one of the region’s outstanding performers, who will be more than equal to the challenge. The programme begins at 7.00pm, with Interplay’s appearance from 9.15 – 10.00pm. Radio Plus is at 101.5 FM or on line at Radio Plus The festival is organised by national jazz agency Jazz UK, (formerly known as Jazz Services), now operating from Leominster in the West Midlands. It is one of the organisation’s first forays into promotion following a period of...

See More

‘Truly exciting music embracing global influences’

Posted by on Jun 13, 2015

‘Truly exciting music embracing global influences’

These were jazz pundit Alan Musson’s words describing Interplay’s International Jazz Day gig with Claude Deppa and Three Way Split. Alan has reviewed the gig in SLAP (Supporting Local Artists and Performers), the multi-arts magazine based in Worcestershire. See the whole review here, or find it on page 29 of the June issue of...

See More

Interview with BBC Coventry and Warwickshire

Posted by on Apr 26, 2015

Interview with BBC Coventry and Warwickshire

I did an interview earlier today about International Jazz Day with Marian McNamee on BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire. Here’s the link if you want to listen back. The item runs for 12 minutes and starts at 1 hour 12 minutes into the show – straight after Adele! You can still book tickets for the gig on line or by phone – see here – and also get them at the...

See More

International Jazz Day – coming together for Interplay!

Posted by on Mar 3, 2015

International Jazz Day – coming together for Interplay!

Things are really starting to motor for our special concert on April 30th! With the artists all confirmed – Claude Deppa, Interplay and Three Way Split (Hill / Anderson / Matthews) I am turning my thoughts towards producing new musical arrangements. There will be familiar and new material too, featuring Interplay, Claude and Three Way Split all together for the finalé. The word is also getting out! Jazz Journal has already picked it up and other media outlets have also shown real interest. Tickets are starting to move, so don’t delay! – make your way to http://tinyurl.com/ouy5h9x...

See More

New Year’s Eve is fully booked!

Posted by on Dec 29, 2014

New Year’s Eve is fully booked!

Just heard from Wagamama in Leamington that they are fully booked for Interplay’s gig there on NYE! Really looking forward to this one… We’d like to take this opportunity to wish a happy, peaceful and musical 2015 to all our friends and fans. Thanks for all your support and company in 2014. We truly appreciate it. May the groove go with...

See More