Bass Room Sessions: An Evening with The Purcell School Featuring Special Guest Simon Allen

Bass Room Sessions is our new concert series, featuring performances from top-tier jazz ensembles, classical recitals, and singer-songwriters. Each event is a unique opportunity to see a wonderful mix of musician up close in an intimate space. From internationally acclaimed musicians to emerging talent, you are guaranteed an immersive musical experience. It’s not just a concert; it’s a shared moment between artist and listener.

The third concert in our series features the stellar Purcell School Jazz Department with special guest and department head Simon Allen.

The Purcell School, the oldest music school in Britain, has a reputation for developing young talented players into the finest of musicians. Their mission is to provide young musicians who demonstrate the potential to become exceptional (irrespective of background) with outstanding teaching and to equip them with the self-confidence, adaptability, maturity and perspective to sustain their professional development and personal fulfilment throughout their lives. The students at Purcell are next to none in regards to musical talent and it is a pleasure to be able to partner with them not just in our Bass Room Sessions series but also in regards to Thwaites' long standing relationship with the school.

The students performing in this rendition of the Bass Room Sessions are those from the Purcell School Jazz Department, who are acclaimed for their teaching programme and their rather extensive alumni including the likes of multiple Grammy Award winning jazz pianist Jacob Collier, BBC Young Musician Jazz Award winner Alexandra Ridout, Kit Downes, Jake Labazzi and Seth Tackaberry. We could not be more thrilled to be able to provide a performance space for the incredible jazz musicians of tomorrow. 

They are joined by special guest and department head Simon Allen, who has been teaching at the school since 2014. Having started his career in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and the Pendulum Jazz Orchestra, and trained at the Royal Academy of Music, Simon is a world renowned saxophonist having worked with Laurence Cottle All Star Big Band (of which he is a member), Colin Towns Mask Orchestra for the Birmingham Royal Ballet, the Matthew Herbert Big Band and Stan Tracey CBE. He has also backed artists such as Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Robbie Williams, Beverley Knight, Katie Melua and Jamie Cullum to name a few. We are delighted to have him join us at Thwaites in the first of hopefully many Purcell - Bass Room Session Collabs.

There will be two sets; 6pm and 7.30pm. If you are looking to see a particular Purcell Student, or have a preference over genre, please see the below list before confirming your booking. 

6pm Set - Jazz Ensemble                                                                  7.30pm Set - Improv Group

Miles - Vibes                                                                                         Ethan - Drums

Mahla - Drums                                                                                      Paawan - Drums

Julianna - Sax                                                                                       Otto - Sax

Marija - Vocal                                                                                        Seth - Trumpet

Flo - Bass                                                                                               Flo - Bass

                                                                                                                Marcus - Piano