Cambridge Jazz Co-op

Cambridge Jazz Co-op A group of jazz musicians meeting on occasional Saturdays in Cambridge

In a little over a week, on Saturday 5 September, we resume Cambridge Jazz Coop activities (in Cambridge, UK) with a ses...
27/08/2026

In a little over a week, on Saturday 5 September, we resume Cambridge Jazz Coop activities (in Cambridge, UK) with a session led by the irrepressible Alan Barnes. He has been a regular favourite tutor with for quite some time now; a world class clarinettist, saxophonist, composer, arranger and wit, in fact. Please, do not miss an opportunity to learn from this great musician who's also an excellent teacher/communicator.
On this occasion, Alan has chosen two interesting tunes: one by saxophonist Phil Woods, titled 'Johnny Hodges', and a Thelonious Monk piece with a relatively simple melody and form, 'Green Chimneys'. Parts for both are attached for everyone to check out and print out.
Links, too, for versions of the tunes (also available on Apple Music and Spotify).
'Johnny Hodges'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5SCIbHhO5c&list=RDP5SCIbHhO5c&start_radio=1 on soprano sax
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2Eg7tcRZok on alto with Lee Konitz
'Green Chimneys'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10cYHU9j31Q

The full CJC programme is now complete and ready for your perusal at:
https://cambridgejazzcoop.org.uk/wp/index.php/current-programme/
There has been one exciting further addition to the list, tying in with the Jazz Festival in November. We have secured the remarkable young bassist Fergus Quill as a tutor. Fergus is bringing his remarkable, and remarkably huge, (30+ participant!) jazz orchestra to the Junction on 21 November, and he's coming to lead a session (on his own) with us in the morning. More details to follow!

Current Programme Please always check this online schedule or our page before setting out in case any last-minute change of tutor occurs and check the other pages for further information regarding the Cambridge Jazz Coop if you haven’t been along before! Newcomers, guests and visitors wel...

I hope that everyone is continuing to have a pleasant summer. At the end of our last session in June I was touched by s...
11/08/2026

I hope that everyone is continuing to have a pleasant summer. At the end of our last session in June I was touched by several regulars asking me when the next Jazz Coop season would start. Well, it's finally been put together with the first one of the autumn/winter season being on Saturday September 5, with the popular and insightful saxophonist, Alan Barnes, kicking things off for us in less than a month.

Apologies for the delay in getting this to you, but it has been a very hot and busy summer. Apologies for the somewhat 'lumpy' spread of dates that you will see in the calendar for this autumn. We are victims of the way Saturday's fall this year, (with Christmas being on a Friday, that has taken out two potential dates). Also, the venue has apologised for some long standing pre-booked events that have meant I've had to work around certain unavailable dates. All this means that we sadly only have 8 opportunities to meet before the end of the year.
What's good is that we're working closely with the impressive Cambridge Jazz Festival organisation this year, putting on both a special guest and a new tutor, I hope, for two Saturdays with them (yet to be confirmed).

Anyway, if you head on over to https://cambridgejazzcoop.org.uk/ and you'll see what we have on offer for you in the next few months.

Welcome to the Cambridge Jazz Co-op “If you don’t make mistakes you’re not really trying..” — Coleman Hawkins The Cambridge Jazz Co-op is an informal group of keen, local jazz musicians that meet on Saturday afternoons in Cambridge, England to play under the guidance and tuition of profess...

We only have two meetings left before the summer break. (We reconvene in September.) On June 6 we have the top UK trumpe...
02/06/2026

We only have two meetings left before the summer break. (We reconvene in September.) On June 6 we have the top UK trumpeter and educator, Steve Fishwick. https://stevefishwickjazz.com/ Steve has come to us a few times now, and is always thoughtful and stimulating in his musical choices and ideas.

This time he is going molecular in exploring time and rhythms using basic elements: the Blues and Autumn Leaves. A welcome change, perhaps, from the tune/standard/repertoire focus of the last few weeks. Variety of approach to the creative jazz moment is what keeps the Coop fascinating, after all.
Here's the journey he's planning to lead us on this time:
"I'd like to do some rhythm exercises and talk about motivic development in solos.. two note motifs, three note motifs, rhythmic replacement and setting up hemiolas (3 over 4) cross rhythms and things like that. Rhythm section comping patterns would also come into it too, so this would be a good way to include the rhythm section more than usual. We'll just do this on a Bb blues, so no need for music.
I'd also like to do Autumn Leaves and talk about playing in a 2 beat feel, improvising around the melody, and some stuff on chromatic chord substitutions (a la Miles Davis).

Home page of stevefishwickjazz.com, a jazz artist from London. Jazz trumpeter, composer, arranger, teacher

A big thanks to everyone who came along to the Coop last Saturday with Mick Foster who shared two excellent tunes with u...
14/05/2026

A big thanks to everyone who came along to the Coop last Saturday with Mick Foster who shared two excellent tunes with us, that we all played and improvised on even better at the end.
Next up, on Saturday 23 May is the popular tutor, saxophonist Sam Bullard. ("Sam hops between groups such as the Pasadena Roof Orchestra, Syd Lawrence Orchestra and many West End shows. He has performed at all major jazz venues in London and also enjoys teaching..")
Sam has been coming to us for a number of years now and is one of our favourite tutors.
He is always well-prepared and is a natural teacher and enthuser of all things jazz.
This time he has chosen two Wayne Shorter tunes:
‘Speak No Evil’ (from the 1966 Shorter solo album of the same name, with Herbie Hancock and Elvin Jones in the rhythm section), and
'Fall' (from the 1968 Miles Davis album, Nefertiti)

As Sam puts it:

"These compositions are a superb lesson in motivic development of a melodic line within shifting distinctive harmonic structures and rhythmic hooks. An exciting framework from which to develop improvisation techniques."
(I will forward the parts to you in a few days time if you are on the mailing list.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvRkGglLe-U&list=RDfvRkGglLe-U&start_radio=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmWX1erp_u4&list=RDBmWX1erp_u4&start_radio=1

1.7K likes, 54 comments. "Fall"

First of all, a very big thank you to everyone who attended our last Coop with the wonderful guitarist Jamie Leeming. It...
02/05/2026

First of all, a very big thank you to everyone who attended our last Coop with the wonderful guitarist Jamie Leeming. It was great to get his wisdom on the Monk tunes he brought along and to learn them essentially by ear.
I always try to book interesting tutors who are going to be popular and within our limited budget, so let me know if there are any others you would like me try and secure for the autumn season, preferably living and reasonably local (so that rules out Django Reinhardt and Pat Metheny for a start).
Next up, (on Saturday week, May 9) is the Guildhall School tutor/lecturer baritone and bass saxophonist Mick Foster. https://mickfoster.org/
He's been coming to us for a number of years and proved to be excellent at providing well-planned and thought-through sessions that identify areas that we can work on directly, such as scales/harmonic ideas/tricks, - and enthusing our playing generally.
On this visit he's bringing us two tunes: one reasonably familiar standard and a Latin tune less well-known to me, Out Of Nowhere and Clouds.

He's also suggested possible examples of recordings to listen to:

Out Of Nowhere

Chet Baker

https://open.spotify.com/track/3shpR63IsgTgzqoBQptlSA?si=7512bbe268e34ac5

Clouds

Canonball Adderley

https://open.spotify.com/track/65lfucKzmFE6YkXuXE5nt5?si=6790eeccb3d14834

See you there!

Cannonball Adderley, The Bossa Rio Sextet · Cannonball's Bossa Nova · Song · 1963

First, a big thanks to all of you who came along to the excellent session with Phil Meadows last Saturday. A lot of fun ...
04/04/2026

First, a big thanks to all of you who came along to the excellent session with Phil Meadows last Saturday. A lot of fun was had.
Next up we have a pianist, Nick Tomalin, who first visited us last year. He's going to be with us on Saturday 11 April.
A tutor on the Grafham course, he's a pro player based in North London.
If you Google: 'Nick Tomalin Jazz Musician London', it will tell you more.
This is what he's planning for us:
"I'll do Jive Samba by Nat Adderley and look a bit at soloing over one or two chords, and Vignette, written by Hank Jones as played by Coleman Hawkins (based on Sweet Sue). I'll probably talk generally about the changes, but focus a bit on the bridge as it descends chromatically, also look at possible different approaches to it."
If you are interested in coming along, check out our website for full details, start times, etc.;
Here are links that he'd like us to look at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3GGWqXQ278&list=RDd3GGWqXQ278&start_radio=1
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Xkd0XDIauk&list=RD2Xkd0XDIauk&start_radio=1

Coleman Hawkins All Stars Buck Clayton (tp) Coleman Hawkins (ts) Hank Jones (p) Ray Brown (b) Mickey Sheen (d) New York, February 18-19, 1958

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