About Celebrating Women in Jazz

18 June

5 - 7pm

Come and relax with family and friends for this dreamy evening of smooth, summertime jazz. Bring a picnic and enjoy the ambiance of the beautiful landscape and Arts and Crafts setting, with top-quality musicians from Guildford Jazz playing a wonderful selection of Jazz favourites, on the gallery lawn.

Experience the magical atmosphere of the Watts Gallery - Artist’s Village on a summer evening and, on the final opening day of Halima Cassell: Into the Earth, why not take the opportunity for a last chance to visit the display, before joining us for some Summertime jazz vibes. A pop-up bar will be available to purchase drinks and you are welcome to bring along picnic blankets and food to settle in for a celebration of Women in Jazz.

Featuring

  • Hannah Horton - Tenor/Baritone Sax
  • Laura Impallomeni - Trombone
  • Wendy Kirkland - Piano
  • Marianne Windham - Double bass
  • Suzanne Cross - Drums

This event will take place come rain or shine, you are welcome to bring blankets, cushions and fold-out seats but no gazebos, please. To visit Halima Cassell: Into the Earth, an additional admission ticket is required, book here.

A photograph of a women smiling with brown and pink hair wearing a black dress holding a saxophone
A photograph of a women smiling with brown hair tied up and holding a trumpet
A black and white photograph of a women with blonde hair, leaning on her hand looking at the camera
A photograph of a women smiling wearing glasses and a blue shirt looking at the camera holding a cello

Meet the musicians

An official Henri Selmer Artist, alumni of the prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Trinity Laban, and member of award-winning Women In Jazz Media, Hannah Horton works the jazz world in her own authentic way. Her most recent album has received critical acclaim worldwide and she continues to wow audiences with her creative, compelling, emotive and alluring playing, alongside her warm and charming personality on stage. She has showcased her skills alongside a plethora of great artists such as Amy Winehouse, Ian Shaw, John Etheridge, Georgia Mancio and has performed at all of the UK!s most prominent jazz venues such as Ronnie Scott’s, The Royal Festival Hall, the Barbican, 606 Jazz Club and selling out at two 2021 London Jazz Festival shows.

“Rising star Hannah Horton is turning heads” BBC Music Magazine ****

The inspirational Laura Impallomeni brings the trombone to the fore, with an exciting evening of exhilarating music that will leave you wanting more. A graduate of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, Laura plays in a plethora of diverse projects, from swing to jive, reggae, afro beat and Latin music, as well as various experimental music projects. She has also toured with the renowned ‘Giffords Circus’ and runs 11-piece afro-jazz band ‘Yamäya’ that are about to release their debut album on Funkiwala Records. Laura has been named ‘one to watch’ by award winning legend, Maxine Gordon.

Pianist and singer Wendy Kirkland has been a mainstay of the UK Jazz scene since the late noughties, but it was her first album, Piano Divas, released in 2017 that began her ascent to wider recognition as a “Singing Pianist”, as dubbed by Jazz Journal. The ability to sing at the same time as comping and craft solos on the piano or unison piano/voice scat lines is her forte, with influences such as Diana Krall, Eliane Elias and Dena DeRose. Further accolades were given for her 2019 release The Music’s On Me. Both albums prompted ACE funded tours all over the UK and constant radio airplay ever since.

The founder and driving force behind Guildford Jazz, and co-founder of Fleet Jazz, bass player Marianne Windham started her musical life playing cello, switching much later to bass. In 2011 she left a successful career in software consultancy to pursue learning bass full time, and has become well established on the scene, performing with many of the UK’s best known jazz musicians at clubs and festivals around the country.

About Guildford Jazz

Guildford Jazz is a not-for-profit local arts organisation, bringing Britain’s finest jazz musicians to a local audience in an intimate and welcoming jazz club environment. Since its inception in 2011, Guildford Jazz has welcomed over 1800 musicians and 28.000 music lovers to over 400 events, and have raised over £80,000 for local charities. The club runs regular monthly jazz nights, as well as outdoor summer events and festivals, which this year includes the family-friendly Wood Street Jazz Festival on July 16th and a Stevie Wonder tribute at Guildford Castle on August 19th. To find out what’s coming up please visit www.guildfordjazz.org.uk