WEDNESDAY August 21st, 8pm ANDY DAVIES with Dave Cottle Trio

Andy Davies is an award-winning Welsh trumpeter, comedian, script writer, voice over artist, actor and educator.  He has hosted the famous Wednesday night Ronnie Scott's Upstairs Jam Session for over thirteen years.  As a sideman, Andy has performed and recorded internationally with jazz artists such as Ian Shaw, Ronnie Scott’s All Stars, Guy Barker Big Band, Tony Kofi Quintet and Nigel Kennedy, to name a few.

He has released several albums with the Andy Davies Quartet, most recently the critically acclaimed ‘Rise of The Spidermonkey’.  His Quartet has toured internationally including a tour of Japan, culminating in a sold out performance at the Tokyo Opera House.

“I love to play Thelonious Monk, while creating a football crowd atmosphere...”, says Andy Davies. A format fine-tuned over the 11 years he’s run Ronnie Scott’s weekly upstairs jam

Andy Davies’ jam session has garnered a reputation as an intense, yet effective, training ground, where young players come to cut their teeth, push their playing to new heights and get to know the standards inside out. All of this makes it something of a mecca for straightahead jazz-heads looking to get the inside track on emerging players in the London scene.

That said, Davies is also well aware that many of those in the room are not jazz aficionados. “A lot of people who show up, they’re not necessarily jazz people, they’re just up for a good night, but they’re being potentially thrown into a lions’ den.” Here, the lions are players like Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane and Joe Henderson – musicians whose output, while beloved of its devotees, may be somewhat intimidating to the newcomer. Davies views his role as that of a go-between, someone to build up connections between musicians, audience and the music, as well as a fun and engaging atmosphere. “I’m not a big fan of people being quiet during gigs,” he says, “I want that sports crowd rowdiness of people enjoying themselves.”

Andy is an accomplished writer and recently released his debut short story, “Apocalypse Meow”, which follows the story of a house cat who, following a routine trip to the vet, wakes up in the midst of a human apocalypse. Can he find his brother Wynton?