Events

As a phenomenally talented UK singer/songwriter and bassist with a plethora of diverse musical influences, he fuses a remarkable intuition with a deeply ingrained musical understanding, resulting in songs that are at once world-worn and timeless.
As well as fronting The Most Wanted Band he is renowned for his prowess as a bass player and is almost unique in the UK with his Bass Day UK events. In other areas and styles however, he has proven himself a master record producer, mastering engineer and consistently astounding songwriter, a testament to his tireless work ethic and devotion to his craft.

‘Take Love Easy’ - Celebrating the duets of Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass.

Fifty years ago, Ella Fitzgerald, the First Lady of Song, and virtuoso guitarist Joe Pass recorded ‘Take Love Easy’ - beginning a series of legendary duet albums. To celebrate these iconic recordings vocalist Nina Clark and guitarist Sam Dunn bring you an evening of swinging, joyful and tender music from their songbook. Following several sell-out shows at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, Nina and Sam are delighted to bring you this intimate evening of song.

“Sam Dunn is a wonderful musician on all levels. He has a wide, interesting repertoire, beautiful sound...equally compelling with ballads and burners.” Judy Carmichael

“Sun-tinged…Nina Clark is cultivating a sound that marks her out from the crowd…” The Independent on Sunday

Sam Dunn is a widely respected jazz guitarist, whose swinging and lyrical playing has seen him perform at clubs, concert halls and festivals around the world. He is a regular performer at London’s legendary Ronnie Scott’s, and has also recently played at the Royal Albert Hall, the 606, the Royal Festival Hall, the Vortex and many other jazz clubs across the UK and beyond. Sam has toured Australia with Grammy nominated US pianist and singer Judy Carmichael, and recently performed with his trio in Valencia, Spain. He is a busy professional jazz musician, and can be heard performing with a veritable who’s who of UK jazz.

Nina Clark is a jazz vocalist with a passion for melodic performance, whose recent album was supported by Arts Council England. A respected songwriter, Nina’s vocalese of John Scofield’s “Jeep on 35” was arranged for the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra and sung by Grammy award winning jazz vocalist Kurt Elling, whose quartet Clark performed with at Chicago’s famed Green Mill Cocktail Lounge. Nina has performed in clubs, festivals and events around the UK, the US, Dubai, Europe and New Zealand. Storied music biographer Lesley Ann Jones wrote of Nina “she conjures songs both mellifluous and punchy which she delivers with charm and wit”.

What better way to be entertained than by another couple in love?

Celebrate Valentine's Day with The Retrosettes Duo – a well-established, fun, and high-quality favourite here at Zeffirellis.

Friday, 14th February 2025 (dining begins at 7:45 pm in the Jazz Bar, with entertainment starting at 8:00 pm)

Enjoy a specially curated three-course set menu, a glass of fizz and live music in the Jazz Bar, for £45.00 per person.

View the menu here.

Advanced booking is essential! To book, call us on 015394 33845.

A quartet of musicians from across the country and generations, celebrating the timeless music that brought them together. This quartet will perform a variety of compositions by members of the band and their favourite composers, including Thelonious Monk and Keith Jarrett.

Steve Berry

After two years studying Fine Art, Steve Berry's professors noticed he was

mostly absent from his workspace, busy writing songs back in his lodgings.

In 1977 they invited him to take a year out with the words “We think you might

actually be a musician.”

Now in his 47th gap year, it seems they were right.

A sequence of amazing fluke events - including encountering Jazz for the first

time in his life - soon saw Steve move to London (in 1979), taking up double

bass. There he became deeply embroiled in composing, arranging and

improvising music, eventually becoming a founding member of the iconclastic

21 piece not-really-a-big-band, Loose Tubes.

Since that time he moved north to Lancashire, and his freelance playing career

increasingly came to include sharing improvisational knowledge and skills with

emerging generations.

That is now his main driving passion, becoming Head of Jazz & Improvisation at

the RNCM in Manchester in 2019.

His playing and composing career has continued and he still performs

internationally, mostly thanks to his long creative association with Mike and

Kate Westbrook.

(photo Svetlana)

Hans Koller - Pianist, composer, and arranger born in Landshut, Germany in 1970. Resident in London since 1991, he studied ethnomusicology at the School of Oriental and African Studies, and also jazz composition with Mike Gibbs and Bob Brookmeyer. Koller has played and worked with Steve Lacy, Evan Parker, Phil Woods, Harry Becket, Kenny Wheeler, Bill Frisell, Steve Swallow, Jeff Williams, the BBC Big Band, the NDR Big Band, and the WDR Big Band. He is part of the Jazz Department at Trinity Laban in London where he teaches composition, arranging, and improvisation.

Louie Koller - Trombonist (valve and slide) and pianist born in London in 2012, joint Julian Joseph's Jazz Academy and World Heart Beat at a young age.

Taught and mentored by trombonist and composer Wilf Diamond, he has played with Byron Wallen at the Vortex and also worked with Tom Challenger.

He was a semi-finalist at the 2024 BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year, playing with Steve Watts, Rod Youngs, and Robert Mitchell.

Sam Nicholls -

Hailing from the Lake District, Sam carved his drumming from an early age under the tutelage of Dave Hassell and the fresh mountain air. Prior to moving to London, he was the Principal Percussionist of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and was part of the National Youth Jazz Collective. He is currently in is final year studying Jazz at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

He has worked with Byron Wallen, Hans Koller, Xhosa Cole, Tony Kofi, Michael Formanek and has a residency at the Albany Arts Centre in Deptford. Sam is currently under the mentorship of James Maddren, Mike Williams and Steve Williamson.

As a renowned jazz saxophonist and clarinettist, Frank Griffith has been performing for over 40 years, primarily in New York and London. He has also achieved great acclaim as an arranger, composing for a number of well-known singers and musicians for over 30 years. More recently Frank has proved himself as a successful educator, teaching in both the USA and UK. Counting John Dankworth, Joe Henderson, Duke Ellington and Burt Bacharach as some of his main influences, Frank plays many forms of jazz including modern, mainstream and traditional alongside funk, soul and some crossover Classical. Now living in Liverpool, Frank continues to perform across the North West, UK and Europe.