Saturday 28th Nov: a beautiful concert in a beautiful setting. Alastair Penman, Professor of Saxophone at the Guildhall School, performs with a superb quartet, playing exciting & unusual interpretations of the famous jazz repertoire, together with folk, the Beatles, the blues, and 3 stunning classical pieces.
Ensemble members
Alastair Penman - Award-winning saxophonist and Professor of Saxophone at the Guildhall School of Music. Alastair performs across a variety of genres with highlights including the Montreux and London Jazz Festivals and the BBC Proms. He can also be heard on film and game soundtracks including Deadpool and Wolverine, Call of Duty and Lady Chatterley’s Lover. He's also a performing artist for Henri SelmerParis, Vandoren UK, Buffet Crampon and Key Leaves. Alastair is a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Musicians.
Steve Kershaw - one of the UK’s best bass players with a propulsive yet melodic style. Steve has recorded extensively and in 2025 he toured Europe with the Vintskevich trio. He also performed with Deidre Cartwright and toured the Netherlands with Simple Harmonic Motion. In the UK, amongst many performances, Steve took part in multimedia events inspired by the Nine Muses and gave numerous performances of Stan Tracey’s jazz adaption of Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood.
Claire Jones - trained at the Guildhall School of Music and went on to develop a fine jazz voice and a keen ear for jazz language. She has sung in various jazz ensembles including Pressure, Stormy Weather and Language Games and has performed at many jazz venues in the Southeast including the Vortex and the ‘Outside In’ festival. She “blends the voice into the fabric of the music, improvises and bends notes like an instrument, a trick only the most vocally blessed can achieve”.
Rory McInroy - jazz educator and a fine jazz pianist of 40 years’ experience playing jazz, blues, funk and rock. In addition to performing with leading jazz artists like Alan Barnes, Mark Aston and The Lee Jones Quartet, he also works with Groove Alchemy, Broadband, the prog rock group Newspaper Taxi and the Radio Days Big Band. He has also been musical director for many theatre shows, including 'Oliver', 'The Lion King' and 'High School Musical'. He currently works as a freelance jazz pianist and is in constant demand.
One third of ticket sales from this concert will be donated to The Oxford Head Injury Service
Location
St Mary's Church, Church Road, Thame, Oxfordshire, OX9 3AJ
Buy tickets here! Advance booking recommended. Tickets also available on the door
