Speakeasy Jazz at Clarence House

11/05/2026

Speakeasy Jazz Club’s audience were totally enthralled by the breathtaking performance last Friday of Jeff Hooper and his fabulous trio: Nigel Hart -piano, Al Swainger – double bass, and Paul Shepherd – drums.
Jeff sang such a diverse selection of jazz and big band swing classics. His range, tone and swinging rhythms showed us all why he is held in such high esteem and is an all-round, world-class performer. Jeff was so warm, inclusive and charismatic. He filled the room withgreat humour and amazing stories and even threw in a good few impersonations J***y Mathis, Dean Martin and Sarah Vaughan!! His final sons, ‘How Do You Keep The Music Playing’ blew our minds.
Thank you so much to Jeff and his band for a wonderful, memorable night.

30/03/2026

We all had a brilliant night last Friday listening to the truly masterful Nigel Price on guitar with the equally fabulous Craig Milverton – piano, Ashley John Long – double bass and Alex Goodyear – drums. Nigel treated us to some of the best jazz classics, from Wes Montgomery to Jobim. The whole band were so exciting and the vibe in the room was electric. A massive thank you to Nigel, Craig and the band as well as our capacity audience who once again came out to support the club – it is so important to keep music live!

01/02/2026

Last Friday's gig with Julian Stringle and The Craig Milverton Trio was one of the most moving and emotionally charged shows we have ever put on at the club. You really had to be in the room to hear Julian's rich, warm and melodic tones on clarinet. As always, Craig Milverton (piano), Ashley John Long (double bass) and Nick Milward (drums) played with such verve, passion and flair, giving us all a night to remember. Thank you to our amazing audience who braved the terrible weather and traffic issues to join us for this amazing night of world-class jazz.

15/12/2025

What a way to spend a damp December evening last Friday, basking in the warmth of Maggie Reeday and The Craig Milverton Trio. It was a huge pleasure to listen to her unique interpretations of some of the best standards, swing, blues and soul, beautifully accompanied by Craig’s amazing trio. It was a nostalgic journey and they had us eating out of the palm of their hands.

18/11/2025

A huge thank you to Jim Mullen, Craig Milverton, Ashley John Long and Alex Goodyear who braved the torrential storms to perform for us at Speakeasy last Friday. What a wonderful night! Jim was exceptional as always and treated us to a fantastic two sets, playing all styles of jazz guitar from standards to Jazz/Funk. The 'boys' in the band had the best time and their musicianship was absolutely fabulous. Our wet and bedraggled audience soon warmed up and had a thoroughly good time. Thank you to everyone for all your lovely comments and feedback.

20/10/2025

Last Friday George Cooper's Jazz Defenders came to Speakeasy for their third visit. This time they were celebrating their 10th birthday. Their last two albums are in the top 10 of the US jazz charts and quite honestly when you see them in performance you can truly see why. They have achieved such great heights. Words like superb, extraordinary, iconic and magnificent are often bandied about too often these days, but not so with The Jazz Defenders - they are on another level and are awesome in the true sense of the word. The whole band were breathtaking and so exciting. The solo spots lifted us out of our seats and we want to send a huge thank you to George Cooper, Will Harris, Jake McMurchie, Steve Fishwick and Ian Matthews. They sold out within 24 hours for this gig and to be honest we could have had them for two consecutive nights!
Thank you so much to our brilliant audience who are always so supportive - we are truly grateful. We are all fighting the good fight to keep jazz music live and kicking ass!

17/09/2025

What a fabulous night we had with the Jim Blomfield & Michel Padron Afro/Cuban Sextet last Friday. Glorious Salsa beats and brilliant musicianship exploded on the stage bringing sunshine to Portishead! Thank you so much Jim, Michel, Martin Kearn, Roshan 'Tosh' Wijetunge, Lisa Cherian and Jon Clark for your wonderful arrangements and brilliant original compositions. Our audience went home with huge smiles on their faces.

21/08/2025

23/06/2025

Last Friday truly brought us a 'midsummer night's dream' in the form of Sinead and The Sinnermen. Sinead sang from the heart and wowed the audience with her unique vocals. She is certainly a force to be reckoned with. Her quirky take on some of the best jazz standards ranging from early New Orleans through to Dinah Washington was absolutely fabulous. Her band did her proud: Sam Joyce -piano; Ben Groenevelt - double bass; Eddie John - drums; and featuring Alan Bateman - saxes. They played with such sensitivity and flair and were the perfect accompaniment for Sinead.
We had a full house and our incredibly attentive audience had a wonderful night of first class jazz. A huge thank you to Sinead and the band and all of you who came out to support live jazz.
We will be taking a break until 12th September when we open our autumn season with the Jim Blomfield/Michel Padron Cuban-African Jazz Fusion sextet. Have the most wonderful summer and see you again in September.

04/05/2025

Gypsy Jazz at its best! Last Friday saw The Transatlantic Hot Club grace the stage at Speakeasy for an extraordinary performance.
Adrien Chevalier, Ben Creighton Griffiths, Ashley John Long and Jeremy Lohier thrilled our audience with their masterful musicianship, delivering with such honesty and passion the sounds of Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt. The inspired addition of Jeremy’s fabulous button accordion added spice and flavour to this wonderful band. We were treated to classics such as La Vie en Rose, and Corsican Folk with Arabic twists and turns from Jeremy.
The chemistry and rhythms between them were so exciting to hear and watch.
A huge thank you to this fine group of musicians and to our sell-out audience who once again came out in force to support live jazz.