05/09/2026
TOMORROW AFTERNOON — WORLD-CLASS JAZZ IN BARNOLDSWICK!
SUNDAY 6th SEPTEMBER
ADRIAN COX TRIO – THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF BECHET
Barnoldswick Music & Arts Centre
Doors 12.30pm | On Stage 1.30pm
If you think the words “traditional jazz” mean something polite, safe and stuck in the past, think again.
Tomorrow afternoon we welcome three quite exceptional musicians who are taking the spirit, swing and sheer excitement of New Orleans jazz and firing it straight into the 21st century.
And when we say these guys are good, we mean SERIOUSLY GOOD.
ADRIAN COX – CLARINET & VOCALS
Adrian Cox isn't simply a fine clarinettist — he's regarded as one of the leading contemporary exponents of the New Orleans clarinet tradition.
He started playing clarinet at just six years old, was gigging by 12 and by 15 had left home to become a professional musician. Since then he's built an international career steeped in jazz, blues, funk and ska, with New Orleans jazz at its heart.
Adrian has performed with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in London and New York, was a member of the brilliant Kansas Smitty's House Band, and has appeared at the Royal Albert Hall alongside artists including Paloma Faith, Guy Barker and Clare Teal.
Jamie Cullum has described him as “indisputably one of the great clarinetists of the world,” while Time Out called him “London's most charismatic reedsman.”
That's the level we're talking about.
HONEY BOULTON – GUITAR & VOCALS
Then there's the phenomenal New Zealand-born Honey Boulton — guitarist, banjo player and composer, and one of the fascinating younger musicians bringing genuine swing and bebop into today's jazz scene.
Honey graduated from the New Zealand School of Music with a BMus (Hons), specialising in swing and bebop guitar, before becoming deeply involved in the London jazz scene. His musical world stretches from Charlie Parker and Wes Montgomery through bebop, blues and classic swing — but crucially, he isn't simply recreating yesterday's music. He's writing new music from inside that tradition.
His 2024 album Honey Plays Boulton features ten original compositions, and his playing has already earned one hell of an endorsement from Jamie Cullum:
“Everything about this swings.”
Honey has worked with some formidable contemporary jazz names including Giacomo Smith, Georgia Cécile, Joe Webb, Snorre Kirk and Deschanel Gordon.
ALEX GILSON – DOUBLE BASS & VOCALS
Holding the whole thing together is Parisian double bassist Alex Gilson — an absolutely crucial part of the chemistry of this trio.
Gilson isn't there merely to keep time. His double bass gives this music its pulse, weight and movement, creating that wonderful rhythmic conversation between bass, Boulton's guitar and Cox's soaring clarinet.
And this isn't a hastily assembled touring band. Cox, Boulton and Gilson are a genuine working trio, touring internationally and recording together. Their new BECHET recording was made in Copenhagen in April 2026 and released in May, with all three musicians appearing on the sessions.
Together they have toured the music internationally, taking this wonderfully stripped-back combination of clarinet, guitar and double bass around Europe and considerably further afield.
AND TOMORROW THEY COME TO BARNOLDSWICK.
Their show THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF BECHET celebrates the extraordinary legacy of Sidney Bechet — one of the giants and true pioneers of New Orleans jazz — exploring his influence as clarinettist, saxophonist, composer and recording artist through music including the beautiful “Si Tu Vois Ma Mère” and “Summertime.”
Three magnificent musicians, three voices, three instruments and a century of jazz history brought roaring back to life in one of the most intimate rooms you're ever likely to experience them in.
You'll be close enough to see every finger move, hear every breath through Adrian's clarinet and feel Alex's double bass moving the air in the room.
If you love New Orleans, Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong, swing, blues, hot jazz — or simply watching truly exceptional musicians at the top of their game — DO NOT MISS THIS.
This is exactly what Barnoldswick Music & Arts Centre is all about.
And an afternoon you may be talking about for a very long time.
SEE YOU TOMORROW!
Here is the link
https://www.barnoldswickmusicandartscentre.com/adrian-cox-trio
Peter & Julie xx
