Yamaha Jazz season at the 606 Club
10 December 2008
'Sax at the Six': a Celebration of the Saxophone' with a hands-on twist, opened the acclaimed Yamaha Jazz Season at Chelsea's award-winning 606 club in October.
The inaugural concert delivered far more value than the usual jazz gig for both jazz lovers and saxophone players alike with a high-powered bill of five of the UK's top saxophone exponents and in-demand session players performing to a capacity audience who loved every minute of Nigel Hitchcock, Dave Bishop, Aaron Liddard, Nik Carter and Simon Bates performing with the Gareth Williams Trio starring Ian Thomas on drums and Laurence Cottle on bass.
In addition the event also provided added value to players who were also able to get hands on with the extensive range of Yamaha saxophones. Students and players were invited to bring along their own mouthpieces and try out new instruments, whilst a team of Yamaha's highly skilled European technicians were on hand to help and advise on any instrument or technical issues.
The Yamaha Jazz season at the 606 is part of a wide ranging and innovative long-term partnership with the venue that will see the two organisations collaborating on a range of activities and events. The aim is to raise the profile of the genre, extend performance opportunities to emerging artists and to build international links throughout Europe.
Yamaha's Brass and Woodwind manager Ian Frankland, commenting on this special event said, "Yamaha are really proud to have been working with the 606 Club for some time now and this new partnership is delivering some great music and experiences for audiences. We are committed to promoting jazz and showcasing established and up-coming players. We're also very keen to encourage more people to listen to jazz and maybe even have a go themselves."