Andy Woon and his New All Stars:
A professional musician to his fingertips. Andy‘s mastery of trumpet and cornet owes much to a stint in the Royal Artillery Band, backing artists as diverse as Semprini and Larry Adler. However jazz is his passion and he is now in increasing demand of the festival circuit with a wide range of bands including Harry Strutters‘ Hot Rhythm Orchestra and Martin Litton‘s Red Hot Peppers. He also plays in John Sutton‘s London Hot Rhythm Boys.
He is accompanied by a fine set of excellent musicians e.g. Trevor Whiting who has worked with notable musicians such as Matin Litton, Clare Teal, Americans Al Casey, Scott Hamilton and Art Hodes. He toured Germany and Holland with Chris Barber. Jarrod Elks who plays amazing finger style guitar a la Django Reinhard, Chet Atkins etc. Accomplished pianist Pete Godfrey and bassist Paul Witten complete the line-up.
Sarah Spencer:
An international star, Sarah’s creed has always been to “play it Hot and Dirty”. She has been described as “one of the exciting, new, young breed of traditional jazz players and the hottest tenor saxophonist on the Jazz scene today”. Sarah has played with bands all over the world. Although her main love is the revival style of New Orleans jazz, she is equally competent and comfortable playing any style of traditional jazz (e.g. Dixieland, West Coast, New Orleans and small band swing).
Excelsior Vintage Jazz:
Formed in the late 1980s, The Excelsior Vintage Trad Jazz Band brings you the best of New Orleans Dixieland Jazz. Ably led by Ron Rumbol on reeds, this seven-piece band comprises trombone, trumpet, banjo, saxophone, double-bass and drums. And the band features Cuff Billett, probably the most famous British traditional jazz trumpeter still performing.
The six great musicians with a varied making your feet tap to many of the favourite traditional jazz tunes, and some lovely, but rarer numbers. Great entertainment.
Kevin Grenfell’s Jazz Giants:
One of our regular bands sporting a wealth of talent hand-picked from the British Jazz Scene. Trombonist, trumpeter, vocalist and raconteur Kevin Grenfell has appeared at the Club on several previous occasions with his Jazz Giants, which are now regarded as one of the leading forces on the British jazz club and festival circuit.
Kevin started his musical career as a boy with the Cornwall Youth Orchestra and brass bands in Cornwall.
With this firm grounding Kevin enlisted at the age of 18 as a musician in the Queen‘s Own Hussars, Royal Armoured Corps, and studied for 2 years at The Royal Military School of Music. On completion he returned to the QOH as principal trombone and featured soloist, which involved extensive touring and concert engagements all over Europe.
After leaving the army Kevin spent several years free-lancing in London before returning to the South-West for further study at the Dartington College of Arts where he obtained a B.A. in Music and the Performing Arts.
Since that time Kevin has become well-established and respected in the UK, as both a trombonist, trumpeter and vocalist, and tours extensively across Europe with a wide variety of ensembles.
John Maddocks Jazzmen:
John has been leading bands since 1963, initially in London where he helped to form the Blackbottom Stompers, and eventually his Jazzmen when he moved to Dorset in 1972, reaching their 40th birthday in 2011. The band has featured many musicians over the years but has John’s very distinctive clarinet style, resulting in the overall sound remaining constant. They continue to feature good arrangements, infrequently heard tunes, and plays in the energetic style for which the band has become renowned. The band is well known for its drive and cohesiveness and the inclusion of some seldom heard tunes in the repertoire, and it continues to be popular for all kinds of functions throughout the UK, including most of the major jazz venues and festivals. They have also toured extensively in Holland, Germany and Belgium and there have been broadcasts and many CD issues, including a recent one from PEK sound Behind Closed Doors which is now available.
Warren James’ Lonesome Travellers:
Warren has performed at the Gosport Jazz Club several times before with various groups and has always been a hit. He is a talented banjo player, guitarist and singer of vintage skiffle, jazz, country, rock ‘n’ roll and blues music of the 1920s, ‘30s, ‘50s and ‘60s, His band, “The Lonesome Travellers”, is dedicated to preserving and showcasing the music which many of our audience will have grown up with.
Warren is renowned for performing over 250 roots and blues concerts per year and has shared billing with Brian May of the rock band Queen, as well as veteran music stars of the 1950s and 1960s such as Joe Brown and Dave Sampson. He has worked alongside some of the top names in Jazz and Blues music, and he is in demand, having recently toured Denmark and is due to work in Germany and other European venues in 2026 – that’s in addition to his 250 British concerts.
Warren James has been working regularly for the original manager of Black Sabbath, Jim Simpson, whose management agency, Big Bear Music, has engaged some of the world’s most renowned rock, blues, and jazz stars since its launch in 1968. It was Jim who undoubtedly launched Ozzy Osbourne’s career into the stratosphere.
Copyright © of these photographs is owned by Malcolm Swire, Roger Lygoe, Jim Bevington or Jan Almond and they may not be reproduced or copied without their express permission. To request permission, please go to the Contact page. To discourage unauthorised use, the quality of the photos has been reduced from the originals, but the originals are still available. The photos were not necessarily taken at the gig mentioned above.