(Click on pictures for larger images)
As well as running his own quartet Dave is a member of the “official” legacy band Brubeck’s Play Brubeck, with whom he tours the world. “A stunning player in the neo-bop vein, with an apparently effortless flow of coherent ideas, 
beautiful time and a highly developed harmonic sense.” Jazz Guide.
Undoubtedly one of this country’s finest modern jazz sax players, Dave has worked with the likes of Cleo Lane & John Dankworth, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Jimmy Smith and Annie Lennox. The winner of a multitude of awards, he has produced 9 albums to date of his own work and appeared on numerous sessions and festivals around the world. Currently he is working with his own terrific quartet, a storming 10 piece band (the “Biggish” Band) for which he also writes and arranges, an organ based “groove” band (“Organic Grooves”) and with one of New York’s leading sax players, Eric Alexander in a classic two sax “hard bop” quintet performing on both sides of the Atlantic. Dave is also a respected Jazz educator associated with Leeds College of Music, the Royal Academy of Music and the Universities of Natal and Cape Town. The music is a mixture of jazz standards and great originals and is powerful yet always lyrical and accessible. A brilliant gig – and so it proved again at Jazznights.
“…exceptional fluency. ..one of Britain’s finest musicians” Observer
“….virtuoso jazz/fusion saxophonist” Time Out
“….world class player” BBC Music Magazine
“…Dazzling” Guardian.
Dave O’Higgins played with the Jazznights Trio who were:
Graeme Culham At the age of 14 Graeme won the title of ‘Junior Genius’ on Thames Television’s ‘Nationwide’, performing with a Youth Jazz Orchestra. During this time he studied piano with John Baker from the BBC Radiophonic workshop. His first professional engagement 
was at 17 with country stars Miki & Griff, he then went on to work on the ‘Wheatley’ circuit backing TV artists such as Mike Reid and Freddie Star.
Jazz is Graeme’s real love in music and for some years he played with the Ray Ward Trio in his home county of Essex. During which time he recorded and produced two albums with the Trio and performed at various jazz clubs, Edinburgh Festival and the Royal Festival Hall. In the 1980’s he formed the ‘Graeme Culham Big Band’, playing the music of Buddy Rich and Count Basie as well as featuring original compositions. The band recorded its first album in 1986. Graeme has performed with jazz artists such as Eddie Thompson, Pete Jacobsen, Slim Gaillard, Buddy Tate, Kenny Ball, Art Farmer, Don Rendell to name a few and the late Ronnie Scott who was quoted as saying that “Graeme was one of the best jazz drummers he has worked with”
Graeme was deputising for Roger Odell who was away playing with Shakatak in Mexico.
Bernie Hodgkins – Double Bass
Inspired by an uncle, who played and recorded with Django Reinhart and Stephane Grappelli 
in the legendary Quintet de Hot Club of France, Bernie grew up in a Jazz-oriented family. Their influence led him to become a respected bass player behind such people as Matt Munroe, Dickie Valentine and Dennis Lotus, in the early stages of his career.
Touring in Europe and further afield with a wide variety of artists honed his skills and added to his prodigious repertoire. Supports to players like John Scofield, and singers such as Annie Ross always proved inspirational and served to reinforce his enduring love affair with jazz.
Spending much of his time in the recording studios, he is equally at home and in demand as an enthusiastic “live” rhythm section player, as is testified by his work with Don Rendell, Jack Parnell, George Chisholm, Pete Jacobson, John Etheridge, Kenny Baker, Allan Skidmore, Dave O’Higgins and many others.
Peter Lemer – Keyboards
Peter Lemer is an English jazz musician. He has worked with the Pete Lemer Quintet, Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Annette Peacock, Harry Beckett, Gilgamesh, Baker Gurvitz Army, Seventh Wave, Harry Beckett’s Joy Unlimited, PierreMoerlen’s Gong, Mike Oldfield 
Group, In Cahoots, Miller/Baker/Lemer. He currently works with In Cahoots, Peter Lemer Trio/Quartet, Barbara Thompson’s Paraphernalia, and the Peter Lemer-Billy Thompson Quartet and Duo. Peter made his recording debut as a leader (Local Colour) in 1996, the band by then including Jon Hiseman, John Surman, George Khan and Tony Reeves. A year in New York followed, which included extensive jamming, gigging and study. He also studied at the Royal Academy of Music and included Tommy Rajnaand Sven Weber among his classical coaches. In 1969, he worked with the Spontaneous Music Ensemble. In the last few years, Lemer has remained a fixture of In Cahoots – he can be heard on Parallel (1996), Out Of The Blue (2001), All That (2003) and Conspiracy Theories (2006), most of which also feature his writing – as well as playing one-off gigs with old friends Steve Cook (bass) and Roger Odell (drums), recording an album with them in Israel.
With additional vocals from
Larraine Odell – vocals
Beginning her professional singing career with the group CMU with whom she recorded two albums, Larraine performed at numerous venues throughout the UK and Europe, including the Purcell Room, RFH. Boxford Fleece & Ronnie Scott’s.Larraine possesses a unique smouldering tonal quality and a subtle jazz phrasing style that has elicited great praise from two of her own vocal mentors, Mark Murphy and Sheila Jordan. “A sensitive singer who exudes a fine-honed jazz sensibility with every phrase.” She has since appeared at Ronnie Scott’s Club as a member of the group Jimpster, at the Boxford Fleece with pianist Steve Lodder, most of the other jazz clubs in the region, and at the Aldeburgh, Layer Marney and Southwold Jazz Festivals.
Our MC for the evening was Gareth Williams-James
Larraine Odell opened the first set with the following:
Weaver of Dreams is an album by guitarist Kenny Burrell recorded in 1960 and 1961 and 
originally released on the Columbia label. The album features Burrell’s vocal talents as well as his guitar playing.
The film Broadway Melody of 1940 introduced I Concentrate on You with words and music by Cole Porter.
The ballad Another Spring was written by Angelo Badalamenti john Clifford.
Love Is Here to Stay is a popular song and a jazz standard. The music was written by George Gershwin, the lyrics by Ira Gershwin, for the 1938 movie The Goldwyn Follies.
Dave O’Higgins then joined the jazznights Trio to play:
Days of Wine and Roses is a popular song, from the 1962 movie of the same name and was written by Henry Mancini in 1962.
The Shadow of Your Smile, also known as “Love Theme from The Sandpiper”, is a popular and jazz standard. The music was written by Johnny Mandel in 1965.
Remarkably, You Don’t Know What Love Is and “I’ll Remember April,” two of the top jazz standards, were both written for Bud Abbott and Lou Costello films by Gene De Paul and Don Raye and published in 1941. 
Blue Monk (1954) by Thelonious Monk was the pianist’s favourite composition, according to Laurent de Wilde in “Monk”, and he recorded it often.
Following the interval and the Jazznights raffle of 3 jazz cd’s and bottle of wine we had the Jazznights traditional Jazznights sitting in spot which is open to all musicians who have an opportunity to play with the band. Tonight we had the pleasure of local musician Geoff Harriman on his chromatic harmonica playing Duke Ellington and Bob Russell’s Warm Valley
Dave O’Higgins then returned for his second set to play:
Nica’s Dream is a jazz standard composed by Horace Silver, named for Pannonica de 
Koenigswarter (nee Rothschild who was a leading patron of bebop music including Thelonius Monk & Charlie Parker) The song has been recorded by The Jazz Messengers as well as many other artists.
“The photographers song” Someday My Prince Will Come is a popular song from Walt Disney’s 1937 animated movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It was written by Larry Morey. Although Miles Davis is usually given credit for introducing this Disney movie piece into the jazz repertoire, another trumpeter, Donald Byrd, was one of the first to record it in 1957.
While in London, Hollywood songwriter/conductor Johnny Green wrote Body and Soul for Gertrude Lawrence. Jack Hylton & His Orchestra recorded the ballad first in Britain, but it was Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra (Jack Fulton, vocal) who popularized it. This was played unusually in the key of D flat.
Yardbird Suite” is a bebop standard composed by Charlie Parker in 1946. Yardbird Suite’ perhaps Parker’s most lyrical composition, and one for which he also wrote a lyric (he called the vocal version ‘What Price Love?’)”
A stunning finale from Dave which was an absolute delight and thoroughly enjoyed by another Jazznights full house.
Do not miss TIM WHITEHEAD (sax) who will be at Jazznights on Sunday 31st August 2014
‘It is his overall approach…that distinguishes Whitehead from many contemporaries. Sticking more closely to the tune’s melody than is customary these days, he succeeds in drawing unaffectedly on all his stylistic influences – from Soul and Funk through mainstream Jazz to Coltrane-like rhapsodising…’ Chris Parker – The Times.
THE BEST IN BRITISH MODERN JAZZ is at Jazznights, The Cock Inn, 3, Callis Street, Clare, Suffolk, CO10 8PX
Admission £10. Doors open 7.30pm. Music 8.00-10.30pm.
Reserve seating on 01787 237653 or email info@jazz-nights.com
Pay on the night.
You can join us at facebook, read reviews of previous performances on more opinions blog or tweet at twitter.com/jazznightsuk
For further information on future gigs which will feature Ben Cox (vocals), Josh Kemp (sax), Simon Spillett (sax) and Juliet Kelly (vocals) – live BBC recording and Karen Sharp (saxes) go to www.jazz-nights.com
People” and “Decision” with his own bands. “There are many fine tenor players on the current British scene but Tim Whitehead is undoubtedly one of the best we have” Peter Lund – Crescendo.
and Decision (1987) with his own bands, featuring at different times John Parricelli, Django Bates, Nic France and Pete Jacobsen. In the 90’s he recorded Authentic and Silence Between Waves, on Ronnie Scott’s Jazz House Label with Dave Barry, Pete Jacobsen and Arnie Somogyi, and received The Andrew Milne Award for Jazz, as well as several other commissions during this period. In 1999 Tim released Personal Standards, an album of soul and pop tunes arranged for jazz quartet, which received widespread interest and critical praise including Jazz Album of the Year in the BBC Music Magazine, and led to an educational project at Trinity College of Music under the same title.
Moreopinions's Blog at Jazznights 