The Swinging Cat Jazz Club

Saturday 11 May – 8:00pm

Ray Gelato

A sold-out favourite at Ronnie Scott’s with the Ray Gelato Giants, swing superstar Mr Gelato guarantees a finger-clicking night of jazz entertainment with blues-soaked tenor saxophone playing and dynamic vocals. Ray Gelato has been taking his special brand of swing, jazz and R&B music all over the world since 1988. This multi-talented singer, saxman, songwriter and band leader has appeared at festivals, clubs and concert stages from Brazil to New York City.

The legendary ‘Godfather of Swing’ and his band have had an illustrious and very successful career, including a long-established residency at London’s world-famous Ronnie Scott’s, where the band appears every Christmas. This must-see event is always a sell-out. He has also performed for HM The Queen (twice), opened for Robbie Williams at the Albert Hall, and was chosen to play at Sir Paul McCartney’s wedding. A memorable highlight was performing at New York’s Lincoln Center, fronting an 18 piece big band and wowing an audience of 3,000.

Ray has 10 albums to his name. The Daily Telegraph gave his last release 5 stars, stating, “Not for nothing is Gelato known as ‘The Godfather of Swing’ – this album is a joyous delight.” His music has also been featured in a number of Hollywood movies such as ‘Inventing The Abbotts’, ‘No Reservations’ and ‘The Perfect Man’ and TV shows such as the HBO series ‘Hung’, and UK cooking show ‘The Hairy Bikers’.

Just a few highlights of Ray’s impressive career include sell out shows at The Blue Note clubs in Milan and New York , twelve appearances at The Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy , San Sebastián Festival in Spain and The Montreal Music festival.

Read more about Ray here.

Friday 26 July – 8:00pm

John Etheridge 

John Etheridge rightly enjoys a glowing reputation throughout the jazz world and beyond and has been described by Pat Metheny as, “One of the best guitarists”.

He is a prodigiously gifted and creative player whose approach to music can only be described as ‘eclectic’ as he refuses to accommodate or even acknowledge artificial musical boundaries. His range is well illustrated by his years of touring and recording with the iconic Stephane Grappelli while simultaneously doing likewise with the legendary jazz-fusion group, The Soft Machine. John is equally at home on acoustic and electric guitar and his willingness to engage with so many styles is matched by his ability to excel in any of them. He has played with John Williams, Yehudi Menuhin, Dizzie Gillespie, Herb Ellis, Mundell Lowe, Nigel Kennedy, Pat Metheny, Birelli Lagrene, Barney Kessel, Vic Juris and countless others. John’s ability as an outstanding composer is sometimes overlooked but he is often under pressure from audiences to feature more of his own material.

Read more about John Etheridge here.

Saxophonist and composer Hannah Horton is back at HAC with a brand-new jazz club that is causing a significant buzz in the jazz industry. Keen to bring international standard jazz music to Haverhill, A-list guests and up-coming artists, Hannah is an artist who has carved her own unique sound and vision over her career. She will be bringing her highly acclaimed quartet which includes Tim Lapthorn on piano, Rob Statham on bass and Nic France on drums.

Hannah’s music is rooted in jazz, folk and funk and her established individual and sophisticated sound is edging through boundaries and creating waves worldwide.

She has showcased her skills alongside a plethora of great artists such as Amy Winehouse, Ian Shaw (who is also guest vocalist on Inside Out), John Etheridge, Georgia Mancio and has performed at all of the UK’s most prominent jazz venues such as Ronnie Scott’s, The Royal Festival Hall, the Barbican, 606 Jazz Club and selling out at London Jazz Festival shows.

Hannah’s official video