Shirley Smart Sextet

Doors 7:45 PM, Music 8:30 PM - 2 sets of music
Line-up:
Shirley Smart - Cello
Alistair Martin - Trumpet
James Arben - Tenor Saxophone
John Crawford - Piano
Marcus Penrose - Double bass
Demi Garcia Sabat - Drum kit
About:
Shirley Smart’s Sextet draws on a background of 10 years living in Jerusalem and working with the overlapping worlds of jazz, Arabic, Turkish and North African music. Her music draws upon this rich tapestry of influences to create an evening of vibrant melodies, grooves, swing and lively improvisation.

Showcasing her unique ability to explore the potential of the cello in a jazz context, performing multiple roles as bassist, lead and soloist on the instrument, and featuring also some of the UK’s leading lights in world-influenced jazz,this dynamic group promises an evening of inspired music-making.

Originally trained under Raphael Wallfisch at the Guildhall School of Music, and Janos Starker in Paris, Shirley subsequently moved to Jerusalem, where she worked with some of the region’s leading artists, including Avishai Cohen, Omer Avital, Khaled Jubran, Sabreen and Yasmin Levy.

Since moving back to London from Jerusalem, Smart has established herself firmly on both the jazz and world music scenes working with artists including Mulatu Astatke, Neil Cowley, Robert Mitchell, Misha Mullov-Abbado, Nikki Yeoh and Alice Zawadzki. Current projects in which she is involved also include Issie Barratt’s Interchange Dectet, which releases its debut album ‘Donna’s Secret’ in 2020 2019, and Nikki Yeoh’s trio project Cafe Oran which debuted at the Ronnie Scotts International Piano Trio Festival in 2019. She also appears as a guest on the upcoming NYJO album, and a duo album with pianist Robert Mitchell is planned for release later in 2021.

Shirley has appeared at numerous festivals in the UK and abroad and recent highlights include the Cheltenham Festival, EFG London Jazz Festival, Birmingham Jazz Festival Scarborough Jazz Festival, Vivacello Festival in Moscow,Biennale and Klaipedia Cello Festival in Lithuania.

She is also a keen educator, and has given workshops for the National Youth Jazz Collective, Jazzlines, Trinity Laban and Kent University, She is a Professor of Improvisation and Musicianship RCM and Jazz Musician-in-Residence at St. John’s College, Cambridge.