About

Presented by Friends Of Thimblemill Library in association with Jazz At Wolverhampton

Ingenious saxophonist-composer Trish Clowes and pianist-organist Ross Stanley have been carefully crafting their unique sound world over a number of years, performing their own material, arrangements of music from jazz, folk and church organ traditions, and free improvisations. The duo's appearances include Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Drogheda Classical Music, Galway Jazz Festival, Symphony Hall (Birmingham), Buxton International Festival, Manchester Jazz Festival, St George's Bristol, and as saxophone and pipe organ duo, at Royal Festival Hall and Temple Church. In March 2024, Clowes and Stanley released their album 'Journey to Where' to wide critical acclaim, out on Stoney Lane Records.

"Two of the absolute masters we have in this country … so deeply devoted to their craft as improvisers."
Jamie Cullum, BBC Radio 2
" … vital music full of swing, emotion and atmosphere … a deep understanding, a musical bond, a little bit of magic perhaps."
★★★★½ from Philip Watson for The Irish Times

Trish has been described as "an improviser to be reckoned with" (Downbeat Magazine) and "one of the brightest stars to have emerged during the so-called British jazz boom" (The Irish Times). She is currently an Associate Artist at Wigmore Hall (London), and her recorded music can be found on US indie label Greenleaf Music, and UK labels Stoney Lane Records & Basho Records. Having been previously commissioned to write for ensembles such as the BBC Concert Orchestra and the London Sinfonietta, Clowes appeared as a guest artist with the NDR Big Band (Germany) in November 2024, performing a new set of her own music entitled 'Radiant Resistance'. Recent projects include writing for contemporary group Riot Ensemble, and a songs project featuring Norma Winstone.

Pianist and organist Ross Stanley is a Yamaha artist, Hammond endorsee and two-times winner of a British Jazz Award in the organ category. After being awarded an organ scholarship to Marlborough College, Stanley studied at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and since then his musical skills have kept him in high demand, seeing him work with musicians and ensembles such as Eddie Gomez, Seamus Blake, the Hamish Stuart Band, BBC Concert Orchestra, Nostalgia 77 Octet, Tom Jones, Alfie Boe, Maceo Parker, and Pino Palladino. Philip Watson of The Irish Times remarked "there are echoes in [Stanley's] singular playing of the quiet virtuosity of John Taylor, the harmonic sophistication of Bill Evans and the lyrical fluency of Wynton Kelly."
It's going to be a very special evening!