Fleece Jazz

It is such a pleasure to welcome the supreme guitarist and saxophonist, John Etheridge and Theo Travis, who front this great band. The music will be that of Ray Davies. Ray Davies’ songs are rooted in the blues, music hall, popular song, variety and musical theatre – the perfect vehicles for jazz interpretation.

John is an incredible guitarist whose playing is lyrical, restrained and over the top, simple and complex. His amazing history is too long for this note, just see the About page on his website. John has been a stalwart friend of the club.

Theo was last here with his own band and that was a wow gig. Theo Travis plays saxophone, flute and duduk and is a prolific composer and music producer. He was born in Birmingham but moved to London where he soon established himself as one of the finest tenor sax players on the British jazz scene. He has led his own jazz quartet for 25 years, recorded ten albums as leader having composed, arranged and produced the material and performed all over the UK including at Ronnie Scott's Club in London over 75 times.

Steve Lodder’s soloing is always both mellifluous and energetically inventive  He has the ability to select precisely the right keyboard timbre and texture to set off the overall group that marks him out as a master. One of Lodder's great strengths is his self-effacing skill as an accompanist and as a stunning soloist. Steve will be playing both piano and keyboard on this gig.

Ben Crosland leads the band from the bass. Ben is a fine composer and a wonderful bassist. He was commissioned by Marsden Jazz Festival to write a set of jazz arrangements of Ray Davies’ iconic songs. That commission led to the formation of his Ray Davies Songbook Quintet, which has been much acclaimed. Ben arranged Ray's songs for this jazz quintet. He has a habit of creating some great bands. I remember the trio "Threeway" with immense pleasure.

Nic France is one of the UK's most in-demand drummers performing with, among others, Ian Carr's 'Nucleus', Ronnie Scott, John Taylor, Jim Mullen, Bobby Wellins, Mose Allison, Billy Cobham, Django Bates and John Parricelli. He was also a founding member of 'Loose Tubes'. He also played from 1984 to 1986 with 'Working Week' with whom he played on several European tours and recorded three albums.

"I never wanted to be a star, just a highly respected musician like John Etheridge" - Sting

“Travis’ tenor sax borders on the superhuman in its passion and flow of ideas” - BBC Music Magazine

"I feel privileged to have you do renditions of my songs" - Ray Davies

• John Etheridge - Guitars
• Theo Travis - Saxophone
• Steve Lodder - Piano
• Nic France - Drums
• Ben Crosland – Bass

Fleece Jazz is an independent, non-profit association run by a voluntary committee who have been providing modern and contemporary jazz for 28 years. They book talented musicians and jazz bands from the UK and beyond to perform at Stoke by Nayland Resort, providing the perfect backdrop for these cherished and popular events.

Fleece Jazz events are generally held on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month.