Jazzacadabra  

Saxophonist and leader Chris Costin started learning the clarinet in Germany in 1947, formed Plymouth's first rock 'n' roll band, 'The Howlers' five years later, then in 1957 he formed 'The Saints' trad band. Many years & bands later, including 'Magic' & 'Bojangles', he formed 'Jazzacadabra' from the cream of local talent, playing saxophone with the emphasis on tonal quality & richness of sound. Ian Southcott, trumpet. Ian started playing the trumpet at school in 1970. While at school he was fortunate & talented enough to play for both the Devon and the National Youth Jazz Orchestras. Subsequently Alan Hempstead asked him to play lead trumpet for AJ's Big Band. Meanwhile, in Plymouth, he took over running the Open House Band, and joined the Griffinaires. In 1993, he gave up playing in order to pursue a career that took him to Holland then, three years later he returned to England and joined the Harold Elmey Big Band in Oxford as a featured soloist. Returning once again to Plymouth he joined the Carlton Big Band and in May 2007 made his debut with Chris and Jazzacadabra. Fraser Weekes, guitar. Fraser started his professional music career in the late 60's, as one of the original guitarists with the hugely popular soul band Clockwork Orange. In 1977 Fraser studied with the legendary guitarist Barney Kessel. He has provided backing for some of Britain's foremost jazz stars, including alto player Bruce Turner, pianist Brian Lemon, trombonist Roy Williams and famous multi-instrumentalist Slim Gaillard. Additionally Fraser has played with virtually every jazz artist in the area, including the late and sadly missed Dave Thompson, one of South West's finest jazz pianists, and heads his own trio and quartet with varying line-ups. Gordon Clarke, drums Gordon, who took up the drums at fourteen, is very well-known on the Plymouth jazz scene as a very fine and versatile drummer, playing with, among others, Roger Marks' Mainstreamers and Armada bands, Mike Westbrook & John Surman. Carl Jolliffe, piano, played his first gig in 1957 at a televised talent contest in the Plymouth Guildhall at 12 years old. Now an established jazz pianist and organist, his musical career has covered a spectrum of styles, including rock and blues and in addition to Jazzacadabra, Carl performs with the duo, "Mezzo" and rock band, "Nightschool". Brian Battle, bass, started his musical career in 1962 with the Plymouth Avengers until 1965 when he joined the Bob Francis Band and subsequently the bands Magic and Bojangle. It was also at this time that Brian became involved in the very active jazz scene in Plymouth. Work for the Plymouth Jazz Club followed, supporting many British jazz favorites, but the most memorable evening was playing with the American legend, Slim Gaillard. David White, percussion, began his interest in percussion in the late seventies and became a member of Magic, after which he joined Fraser Weekes in several progressive bands which featured music of, for example, Genesis and Steve Hackett. In time, David joined showband Silky, then, in early 2007 he joined Jazzacadabra. We look forward to a swinging evening of jazz from this seven-piece band with a wide-ranging repertoire.                      Jazzacadabra