SOLD OUT - SUNDAY JAZZ LUNCH! Digby Fairweather & Friends Sunday 17th January

What better way to spend your Sunday than with live Jazz and great food! Ronnie Scott's Sunday Lunch with Digby Fairweather & Friends featuring Karen Sharp, Nick Dawson and Eric Delaney "Britain's King of the Drums"!

Approx set times:

12pm doors open

1pm-1.45pm DIGBY & FRIENDS

2.15-3pm DIGBY & FRIENDS

4pm Doors close

You can view a sample lunch menu: Click Here

Biography on Digby Fairweather:

Digby Fairweather - that most affable of jazzmen - has been in the music business for over thirty years. He continues to lead Britain’s most exciting jazz band his Half Dozen. First formed in 1995 the Half Dozen has been constantly praised for its versatility, professionalism, showmanship, and the virtuoso playing of its musicians. Their first album was issued in 1998, and an early review said :

There cannot be another band with quite this range - from Dixieland via hard-bop to R’ n B’ - and as if this weren’t enough they turn into a close harmony group at unexpected moments. Amazingly accomplished.

Dave Gelly

THE OBSERVER

From 2003 to 2007 they toured and recorded with George Melly, the legendary blues singer, their first CD collaboration being “Singing and Swinging The Blues!” which was voted THE OBSERVER Record of the Week in August 2003. George and The Half Dozen released a second CD on the Candid Label “The Ultimate Melly” with guests Van Morrison, Jacquie Dankworth, and The Swingle Singers. In March 2007 they recorded Melly’s last album of all “Farewell Blues” for Lake Records.

Since George Melly’s death in July 2007, Digby and his Half Dozen have teamed up with blues/pop legend Paul Jones (Manfred Mann, the Manfreds, The Blues Band, and RADIO 2) for a new show Rockin’ In Rhythm and their debut album will be released in late 2009.

For the last fourteen years the Half Dozen has appeared at jazz festivals, clubs, and theatres throughout the country, presenting a fusion of musical concepts with a strong vocal element. Close harmony is provided by four members of the band, adding a new and exciting strand to the show. The aim is simple : to play great music regardless of style, and entertain the audience.

This is done without compromising standards

ABOUT DIGBY

Digby turned professional in 1977 after twelve years of musical preparation. In the early years he worked, amongst others, with The Midnite Follies Orchestra of Keith Nichols and Alan Cohen, clarinettist Dave Shepherd, ‘Velvet’ (a co-operative featuring Len Skeat and two late, great guitarists Ike Isaacs and Denny Wright), and the band of Lennie Hastings, drummer and outrageous character, followed by his own band The Fairweather Friends, and as a regular deputy for that wonderful Scots trumpeter Alex Welsh. Since 1983 he has concentrated on his own projects, amongst them a touring tribute to Nat Gonella from 1983 until Nat’s death in 1998. He also led the Jazz Superkings, with Dave Shepherd, Roy Williams, Brian Lemon et al., and fronted a brief revival of “Salute To Satchmo” touring show in 1994/5.

In the 1990s Digby’s broadcasting career gathered speed, including shows for Jazz FM, BBC World Service, RADIO 2, and RADIO 3; at one point he was presenting seven shows a week! In 1997 he scaled back his radio commitments to concentrate on leading The Half Dozen, and also playing with The Great British Jazzband, which he co-lead with the late Pete Strange from 1984. The year 2006 also saw something of a resumption of his radio career, with a weekly show for ‘the Jazz’ (Britain’s first twenty four hours jazz station), which he presented from 3-5pm every Sunday until the closure of the station in 2008.

Digby has won numerous awards over the years; his work has also earned him the award of Freedom of the City of London, and of his hometown Southend-on-Sea - his own ‘proudest achievement.’ Digby’s acknowledged insight into the jazz world has made him an invaluable contributor to jazz reference books, including The Rough Guide to Jazz, and Grove’s Dictionary of Jazz. His memoir Notes From a Jazz Life was published to acclaim in 2002, followed by his DVD Scenes From a Jazz Life three years later, and his latest book about six years ‘On The Road with George Melly’ (Robson Books) received fine reviews in the national and jazz press in 2007. He is a superb trumpet and cornet player, with infectious enthusiasm and an affable, extrovert character.