Sunday, 9^th November 2025

Matt Wates Sextet

Matt Wates (alto Saxophone), Martin Shaw (trumpet/flugelhorn), Andy Panayi (tenor saxophone), Leon Greening (piano), Malcolm Creese (double bass), Matt Home (drums)

This great six piece band, boasting a 3 horn front line, is quite brilliant! The story of the Matt Wates Sextet spans three decades and around a dozen recordings, and it’s a story that speaks as much to the enduring popularity of the music the band play, as to Wates’ considerable gifts as a composer and arranger. Matt Wates’ swinging, accessible music has been described as “an infectious blend of Jazz Messengers-style bebop and West Coast cool, with some funky rhythm and blues thrown in”. A favourite at festivals, jazz clubs and concert halls throughout Europe, the music is a wonderfully melodic mix of classic jazz standards and beautifully arranged originals performed by some of the finest players on the scene. Matt Wates is a highly rated, melodic, alto saxophonist who performs in the classic bebop style. He studied at Berklee College of Music in USA and his impressive technique and liquid sound are testament to a fine talent. Matt has summed up the very essence of the band…“On style, the sextet certainly resembles many of the great small bands of the 50s and 60s, such as those of Horace Silver and Art Blakey. We take inspiration from the past, but we are not trying to replicate it, merely to add in a small way to the music for which we have the deepest respect and love.” With the sheer quality of all the musicians in the sextet, you are guaranteed an evening of superb, classic jazz.