Jonathan Gee with special guests Gaetano Partipilo and Denys Baptiste
Voted the Guardian/Wire British Jazz Awards "Most Promising Newcomer" in 1991, pianist/singer Jonathan Gee has since gone from strength to strength as a bandleader and sought-after sideman. He has worked with numerous of the jazz world’s most acclaimed artists, including Pharoah Sanders, Benny Golson, Craig Handy, Mark Murphy and Claire Martin and leads a number of different groups performing his own and other music. And, as well as all of that he is also a founding member, along with Award-winning saxophonist Tony Kofi, of the highly acclaimed Monk Liberation Front, and has recorded eleven albums, including his latest “The Lions Revisited” (also featuring Jonathan on vocals!).
This show features Jonathan's special guest, Italian altoist Gaetano Partipilo, who has played with everybody from Jason Moran to Dee Dee Bridgewater to Billy Cobham, and has been co-leading a quartet with Jonathan since 2018. The programme will be drawn in part from their recent album "Reimagining The Beatles", which combines their musical thoughts on Lennon/McCartney and was described by London Jazz News as "...harmonic shifts, groove combined with rhythmic flexibility, and fluid and imaginative soloing combine to make this a great listen." In addition, their set will include material from Jonathan’s 80’s Show, with the music of Spandau Ballet, Peter Gabriel, Wayne Shorter and the like. And if that isn't enough, MOBO & Mercury Prize-winning saxophonist Denys Baptiste (McCoy Tyner, Incognito), along with bassist Mikele Montolli and drummer Tristan Mailliot will complete this exceptional jazz group!
"The fire and invention that marked his recent performances with Pharoah Sanders are in full evidence ...his breathlessly sparkling originality shines through" Jazzwise; “[Gee] a performer of flexibility, resourcefulness and technical command to rival any of his generation” Guardian; "Denys Baptiste…taking Europe by storm and becoming the icon of British jazz" Time Magazine