Jazz at Progress | Martin Speake’s Charukesi | Tickets on sale soon

Friday 29 January 2027 | Progress Theatre, Reading | 7: 30pm | £20.00, £18.00 concessions, £10 under 16 plus 3.5% booking fee.

Martin Speake alto saxophone | Alyson Cawley tenor saxophone | Mike Outram guitar | Richard Fox tuba | Tom Hooper drums.

For 30 years alto saxophonist, composer and improviser Martin Speake has been exploring non-Western rhythmic and melodic approaches inspired by the music of many cultures. In particular Indian, Arabic, Turkish, African and Jazz traditions.

The latest incarnation is Charukesi, named after an Indian raga. It is direct, groove-based music with compelling and memorable melodies rooted in a dynamic tuba and drums rhythm section with impassioned soloing and interaction from Alyson Cawley’s tenor, Mike Outram’s guitar and Martin’s alto saxophone.

“Martin Speake is one of the most interesting and rewarding alto saxophonists now playing jazz on any continent.” – Thomas Conrad (Jazz Times)

“Speake is a strikingly talented improviser with a seemingly bottomless well of inspiration.” – Encyclopaedia of Popular Music

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