Ronnie Scott’s All-Stars

The classic Ronnie Scott’s All-Stars line-up is a quintet led by the ebullient and highly acclaimed pianist James Pearson. Joining James is bassist Sam Burgess, drummer Chris Higginbottom, saxophonist Alex Garnett and young talented trumpetist Freddie Gavita. A versatile combo, the All-Stars have an array of repertoire ranging from classic jazz standards such as Caravan, A Train, through composers including Cole Porter, Oscar Peterson, all the way up to more modern classics from the likes of Aretha Franklin and Joni Mitchell.

James Pearson

Artistic Director at Ronnie Scott’s and the owner of a ferocious piano technique coupled with a sense of musicality rarely heard, James Pearson is one of the most exciting musicians to have emerged from the UK in the last 25 years. After working with him, the late jazz legend Sir John Dankworth declared, ‘James Pearson is an exceptionally gifted artist. His masterful playing makes him head and shoulders above the rest of his contemporaries. He shows signs of true greatness’.

Sam Burgess

Double bass player Sam Burgess is a stalwart of the UK jazz scene. As well as appearing on numerous film soundtracks such as ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ and ‘Hannibal’. Sam’s thumping, pounding, relentlessly driving bass lines have been heard accompanying the likes of Bob James, Billy Kilson, Gary Novak, Joe Lock, Dave Kekowski, Guy Barker, Dave O’Higgins, Pete King, Gareth Williams, Claire Martin, Jim Mullen, Alan Barnes, Tim Whitehead, John Horler, Gwyneth Herbert, John Dankworth, The BBC Big Band and Robbie Williams.

Alex Garnett

Alex Garnett has been one of the leading tenor sax men in the UK and mainland Europe for nearly two decades being instantly recognisable by his deep husky sound. Since emerging from the bands of legendary blues man Buddy Guy, Ray Gelato, Jim Mullen, Dick Morrissey, Jools Holland and others, tenor and alto-sax player Garnett has taken the jazz world by storm. He regularly leads bands under his own name and accompanies visiting US stars such as Joel Frahm, Alex is in constant demand.

Chris Higginbottom

A Royal Academy of Music graduate, Chris lived in New York for eight years where he played with many of the biggest names in jazz including Mark Murphy and Seamus Blake. He has performed all over the world including the Blue Note Tokyo, Birdland in New York, the House of Blues in Chicago, The Roxy in LA, Montreal Jazz Festival and countless other venues. Since relocating to London in 2010 Chris has also performed/toured with Kyle Eastwood, Westlife, Marti Pellow, Georgie Fame, Carleen Anderson and Omar. He has released two albums as a leader – ‘One’ (2005, Basho records), and ‘Where Land Ends’ (2013, F-IRE)

Freddie Gavita

Having been described as “a cross between Kenny Wheeler and Freddie Hubbard” during the Norwich Students’ Jazz Orchestra performance at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in 2002, Freddie Gavita went on to gain a place on the inaugural Royal Academy of Music Junior Jazz program. He then graduated from the degree course in 2008 with first class honours in Jazz Trumpet, having studied under Gerard Presencer, Pat White, Martin Speake, Mike Lovatt, Noel Langley, Nick Smart and Tim Garland.d Robbie Williams.

Natalie Williams

In demand vocalist Natalie Williams has been a veteran of the British jazz and soul scenes for over a decade. Her Ronnie Scott’s residency, Soul Family Sundays has sold out every month for over 8 years. Her two year stint as a lead vocalist in Incognito brought her world wide acclaim and saw her perform at Festivals throughout the globe. As a lead artist in her own right, Natalie has performed to large audiences at Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Manchester Jazz Festival, Love Supreme Festival and the London Jazz Festival in recent years.