Saturday 14 December 2024, Bar 7 pm / music 8 pm, Jazz Cafe POSK
Tickets £15 on the door and Eventbrite:
Jazz Christmas is returning to Jazz Café POSK with Christmas favourites. This time with tunes from around the world. Be prepared for a special evening filled with festive favourites and jazzy Christmas classics in English, Polish, Spanish, Italian and other languages. Marta Radwan, Anita Łazińska, Freddie Benedict and Francesco Nansone together with the band, will take you for a joyful swinging journey and set the mood for the most wonderful time of the year.
After the concert, there will be a Christmas “sing-along” with the band.
Line-up:
Marta Mathea Radwan – voice, host
Anita Łazińska – voice, keybord
Freddie Benedict – voice, flugelhorn
Francesco Nansone – voice, guitar
Alberto Ferro – piano
Jakub Cywiński – double bass Lester Ridout – drums
Marta Mathea Radwan is the award-winning conductor, composer, arranger, vocalist, and workshop leader. She has over 30 years’ experience on stage and in the music industry. Marta holds a doctoral degree from the F. Chopin University of Music in Warsaw with a specialism in jazz conducting. She works internationally, in Poland, Denmark and the United Kingdom. Currently she is a leader of several music projects in London including Offbeat Choirs, Norden Farm Centre for the Arts choirs, and others. She teaches at Brunel University London and actively performs as a jazz singer with her quintet.
Anita Łazińska is a versatile musician – vocalist, pianist, composer, graduate of the Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz (Poland). Currently a leader of Anita Łazińska Quartet – a band in which she presents her ideas of compositions and arrangements. Anita is also a member of H3O, Muze Voices and Wild Whispers – bands in which improvisation and searching for unusual sounds plays an important role.
Freddie Bennedict – hailing from a London-based theatrical family in the United Kingdom, Freddie’s speaking voice has brought him many opportunities in animation and as an impressionist, but singing remains the cornerstone of his world. He regularly sells out the Spice Of Life, The Savoy, The Ritz, Ronnie Scott’s as well as Crazy Coqs, Toulouse Lautrec and Pizza Express in Soho. Alongside his jazz endeavours, he studied classical singing and trumpet at the Katarina Gurska Conservatoire in Madrid, which helped him create the warm, soaring baritone sound that you hear today. He was awarded a first-class honours Master degree in Jazz Singing at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. As the lead male vocalist with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra for 7 years, he performed nationally and internationally and has sung for HRH Prince Edward on several occasions. He was recently delighted to be invited to be a guest soloist with the BBC Concert Orchestra this September at Proms 2024 singing the works of Mancini, Bacharach, Esquivel and Baxter.
Francesco Nansone – praised for his “warm silky vocal timbre” and “incredible improvisation skills”, Francesco is an eclectic multi-award-winning singer, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist, author, Vocal improviser and Circlesong leader whose music fuses jazz, Brazilian music and global grooves with Italian melodies. After terminating his musical studies summa cum laude and special distinction with visionary thesis research on “The narrative improvisation”, he toured around Europe developing a reputation as one of the most interesting voice players of his generation, combining storytelling and deep melodies with an original and acrobatic instrumental use of the voice.
Alberto L. Ferrois a pianist, composer, blogger and podcaster. Creative Director at the London Contemporary School of Piano, he teaches piano from classical to improvisation. His music explores all musical genres and is available on all major platforms.
Jakub Cywiński is a double bass player and composer who currently explores his interest in collaborating with various contemporary composers and jazz musicians such as Ola Onabule, Marco Marconi, Partikel, Duncan Eagles Quartet among others. He studied double bass as a postgraduate at the Royal College of Music. His varied freelance career has taken him to India, Russia, Lebanon and other places around the world.
Lester Ridoutis a busy young London based drummer who is studying at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Already an in-demand musician he has been cutting his teeth in many London jazz venues such as The Vortex, Jazz Café POSK, The Green Note, The Shed, Alfie’s and Olivers Jazz bar. Lester is the resident House Band drummer for the popular Monday night jam sessions at sYp in the City. He can be seen in jazz clubs outside of London such as The Stables, Derby Jazz and Berkhamsted Jazz Club.
More about Marta Mathea Radwan: www.mmradwan.com
More about Freddie Bennedict: www.freddiebenedict.com
More about Alberto L. Ferrois: www.albertoferro.com
Video 1 (Jazz Christmas @ POSK Theatre in 2021):