Archives: Events

Paula Jackman’s Jazz Masters, is made up of great musicians and great friends – ‘we enjoy our music and enjoy our time together. When a band has fun, you can guarantee the audience will too.’ We play Dixieland jazz from its roots in New Orleans through to its heyday during the British Trad boom.’

‘Magic’ Mike Henry – cornet
Paula Jackman – reeds
Hugh Crozier – piano and vocals
Warren James – banjo & guitar
’Lord’ Marc Easener – sousaphone

The Easy Street Spankers started off as the New Toledo Jazz band playing locally in the Sheffield area. Pete Childes and Wil Robinson have always run the band together alongside Andy Bramhall and Rob Cotterell as founder members. The band changed their name to the Easy Steet Jazz Band, and Wil suggested adding “Spankers” to the name to give us a stand out difference to other bands (might have known it was Wil!)…….. and as they say the rest is history. The band line up is as follows; Wil Robinson – Trumpet, Eugene Farrah – Trombone, Peter Childes – Clarinet, Andy Bramall – Banjo/Guitar, Chris Bramall – Bass and Rob Cotterell – Drums. The band have been together for over 20 years playing as requested, your passion is our passion and all of us love our music.

As one of the most versatile and in-demand rhythm sections in the country, our jazz trio brings an unmatched energy and expertise to every performance. Individually, we’ve worked with an impressive roster of renowned artists and established jazz musicians, including Amy Roberts, Alex Clarke, Greg Abate, Simon Spillett, B.D. Lenz, Ray Gelato, Kenny Ball, Idina Menzel, and Dave Stewart.
Our performances have taken us to some of the world’s most prestigious venues and festivals, including the Umbria Jazz Festival, Lincoln Center (New York), Ambassadors Theatre, Glastonbury Festival, South by Southwest (SXSW), and La Bâtie Festival (Geneva).

Recent highlights as individuals include a live performance on BBC Radio 4 Women’s Hour and appearances at one of London’s premier jazz venues, Pizza Express Jazz Club.

In addition to our role as a rhythm section, we are an established trio in our own right, presenting the innovative project ‘Fugue and Groove.’ This venture explores the fusion of jazz and classical music, delivering fresh and inventive arrangements of beloved classics such as Massenet’s Meditation, Mozart’s Turkish March, and Dvořák’s Humoresque. With solos showcasing our individual virtuosity, improvisational brilliance, and seamless interplay, we create a dynamic experience that is both lyrical and high-energy, ranging from evocative ballads to fast, driving swing.

Our performances captivate audiences with a mix of recognition and surprise, offering melodies that feel familiar but come brilliantly disguised. ‘Fugue and Groove’ is proving popular with audiences, blending timeless musical traditions with contemporary creativity in a way that continues to push boundaries and delight listeners.

On a gig with the Harlem Jazz Orchestra, Zoltan and Sarah were talking and Zoltan said that he wanted to play a New Orleans Revival-style gig with himself and Sarah. Inspired, Sarah has formed a band of some of the best musicians in the UK who play in that idiom. She decided to highlight the 2-reed front line and go without a trumpet player but, instead, have Mike Owen join them, which makes the band about as authentic in the New Orleans dance hall style as possible.

Gary Wood [trumpet/vocal], Tad Newton [ trombone/vocal], Tomas Pedersen [bass], Ronnie Fenn [drums] Alan Haughton [piano] and Richard Exall [clarinet/sax]

The Jake Leg Jug Band brings you the authentic sounds of 1920’s and 30’s America – jazz, blues, ragtime and gospel. Songs of murder, betrayal, gambling, liquor and redemption.

After self-releasing their debut album Cotton Mouth, the band signed to one of the UK’s most prestigious Jazz labels, recording three albums as part of the ‘Vintage Recording Project’, recording live around ribbon microphones, as it would have been back in the 1930’s. ‘Next Stop!’ ‘Everythin’s Jake’ and ‘Break a Leg’ all met with rave reviews;

“A masterpiece of nostalgic music. The band display real virtuosity and create a wonderful sound that will be hard for any other band to repeat”  Folk North West

The band followed up with the compilation ‘Fifth Avenue’, their debut release for the Green Bullet record label in late 2018.

“Pick any track at random and prepare to be entertained ”  RnR​

January 2020 saw the release of album number 6, ‘Goodbye Booze’ which commemorated 100 years since the start of the American prohibition, followed in 2021 with an additional vinyl release on Coastal Light Records.​

“Pretty damn good! There isn’t a weak number on the album”  Blues Matters​​

2022 marked the 10th anniversary of the band and saw them play over 100 gigs plus the release of their first ever live album – ‘Live at Audley Theatre’.

“It’s hard to pick out favourites. Thoroughly entertaining” Blues in Britain

In 2023 they released ‘Hello Central’. The album proved to be the band’s most successful release to date both critically and commercially, receiving airplay on BBC Radio 2.

“A truly unique and talented group of musicians, their talent shines through on each and every track” Blues Blast Magazine (USA)

“In its genre, this album is simply indispensable” Rootstime (Belgium)

“Probably their best CD. Thoroughly enjoyable – excellent entertainment” Just Jazz

In 2024 the band released its 9th album in 12 years, the award winning ‘Some Glad Morning’ a full album of Gospel songs.

“An entertaining and varied mix…the Band shows how warming and moving spirituals can still be today…” Rootstime (Belgium)

In 2025, the second live album – ‘Live at Green Note’ was released.

The Jake Leg Jug Band brings you the authentic sounds of 1920’s and 30’s America – jazz, blues, ragtime and gospel. Songs of murder, betrayal, gambling, liquor and redemption.

After self-releasing their debut album Cotton Mouth, the band signed to one of the UK’s most prestigious Jazz labels, recording three albums as part of the ‘Vintage Recording Project’, recording live around ribbon microphones, as it would have been back in the 1930’s. ‘Next Stop!’ ‘Everythin’s Jake’ and ‘Break a Leg’ all met with rave reviews;

“A masterpiece of nostalgic music. The band display real virtuosity and create a wonderful sound that will be hard for any other band to repeat”  Folk North West

The band followed up with the compilation ‘Fifth Avenue’, their debut release for the Green Bullet record label in late 2018.

“Pick any track at random and prepare to be entertained ”  RnR​

January 2020 saw the release of album number 6, ‘Goodbye Booze’ which commemorated 100 years since the start of the American prohibition, followed in 2021 with an additional vinyl release on Coastal Light Records.​

“Pretty damn good! There isn’t a weak number on the album”  Blues Matters​​

2022 marked the 10th anniversary of the band and saw them play over 100 gigs plus the release of their first ever live album – ‘Live at Audley Theatre’.

“It’s hard to pick out favourites. Thoroughly entertaining” Blues in Britain

In 2023 they released ‘Hello Central’. The album proved to be the band’s most successful release to date both critically and commercially, receiving airplay on BBC Radio 2.

“A truly unique and talented group of musicians, their talent shines through on each and every track” Blues Blast Magazine (USA)

“In its genre, this album is simply indispensable” Rootstime (Belgium)

“Probably their best CD. Thoroughly enjoyable – excellent entertainment” Just Jazz

In 2024 the band released its 9th album in 12 years, the award winning ‘Some Glad Morning’ a full album of Gospel songs.

“An entertaining and varied mix…the Band shows how warming and moving spirituals can still be today…” Rootstime (Belgium)

In 2025, the second live album – ‘Live at Green Note’ was released.