Tonight’s Musicians:

Lily Dior

“Dior’s voice has the depth, control and clarity of Gregory Porter” Kind Of Jazz "Since Australian vocalist Lily Dior arrived on the London scene she's been going from strength to strength and amassing a reputation as an exciting live performer and versatile singer who works across genres including jazz, groove and soul" 606 Club
Recognised as one of Australia’s finest singers, Lily Dior has shared the stage with a remarkable list of outstanding musicians from Australia and around the world and has performed at many of Australia's best venues including The Opera House Concert Hall, The State Theatre and the Sydney Town Hall.
A finalist at The National Jazz Awards she is also an experienced radio personality and three time host of The Freedman Fellowship Jazz Awards held yearly at The Studio, Sydney Opera House.
The daughter of professional musicians who met and married in London, Lily spent her first five years touring the world with her parents who later settled in Australia. Returning to her roots Lily has very quickly established herself as an in demand performer appearing regularly at iconic jazz venues such as Ronnie Scott’s, The 606 Club, The Bull’s Head and Pizza Express. She is a regular guest at The Hideaway, having recently performed an Aretha Franklin show for three nights with Janette Mason and Mary Pearce, and was invited to perform at The Budapest Jazz Club last year.

Her current album ‘Let’s Talk About It’, originally released in Sydney, was successfully launched at Pizza Express last year with an all star band and has received rave reviews:
“Backed by an undeniably impressive resume, her album soothes the very essence of soul right into 21st-century Sydney. Rich in musicality and pure talent, ‘Let’s Talk About It’ offers hints of Carole King, Aretha Franklin and Billie Holiday, all siphoned into the huge funky voice of Lily Dior. “ (Alternative Media Group)
“There’s an attention to detail in the arrangements and a beauty in the vocals that make this an album I’ll certainly be coming back to again” (Kind Of Jazz) “This is an impressive production – a tight core band, augmented variously with horns, strings and backing singers. Throughout, the spotlight is on Dior’s singing, sassy, soulful, passionate and strong.” (Rhythms)
Discovered by the late great Hungarian bassist Jackie Orszaczky as a teenager, performing a show she wrote and produced on the life of Billie Holiday, Lily became a seminal member of Sydney’s hottest Soul/Funk outfit, ‘The Godmothers’, wowing audiences with her electric stage presence and powerful voice.
Her debut album ‘Invitation’ released by the ABC, received universal praise and put Lily firmly on the Australian music map.“Invitation is a deep, moving piece of work that is almost ridiculously listenable and is destined to be required listening for any music lover possessing a cultured taste." (Drum Media).
Lily has performed at major festivals across Australia and New Zealand including the Sydney Festival, Melbourne International Arts Festival, Wellington International Jazz Festival, Adelaide Cabaret Festival and the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz where she placed second at The National Jazz Awards led by a panel of international judges including Kurt Elling, Laurence Hobgood, and Sheila Jordan.
Awarded a grant in 2000, Lily traveled to New York to study with jazz legend Mark Murphy, and was invited to perform at one of his rare appearances. That same year, she was singled out by legendary arranger/pianist Dave Matthews to perform with The Manhattan Jazz Quintet, which included Bill Evans, Charnett Moffatt, Victor Lewis, and Lew Soloff, at Sydney Casino’s Lyric Theatre.
A featured artist in ‘Testimony’, an audio-visual spectacular based on the life of Charlie Parker. with music by Sandy Evans and performed by the Australian Art Orchestra, the show received glowing reviews,
“One of the most memorable festival shows in Sydney for a very long time” (Real Time Arts)
“Lily Dior presided like a pagan priestess over the last rites” (Sydney Morning Herald)

Invited to sing with Brazilian guitarist Oscar Castro Neves and his all star band at ‘Noite Brasil’ for the Sydney Festival, Lily performed to an audience of 100,000 people with some of the world’s greatest jazz and latin artists including Airto Moriera, Alex Acuna, Abraham Laboriel, Don Grusin and Gary Meeks.
“Lily Dior has never sounded better than she did joining the magic for How Insensitive and, later in the night, Dindi, a charming duet with Castro Neves’s nylon string guitar.” (Sydney Morning Herald)

Lily has built a solid reputation overseas with performances in New York, London, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Shanghai and Hong Kong and has shared the stage with a who’s who of world-class musicians including Paul Grabowsky; Mark Isaacs; Dale Barlow; Mike Nock; Guy Strazzulo; Alister Spence; Kate Cebrano; D.I.G; The Mighty Reapers; The Bays (UK); and James Morrison. She’s been featured on TV and Radio programs including ABC’s ‘The Pulse’, the James O’Lochlan Show; ABC’s Arts program; as well as live performance broadcasts for the ABC and Eastside Radio.
An experienced radio personality, Lily became involved in radio as a teenager, and hosted a show on Sydney’s premiere jazz station ‘Eastside Radio’ for over 10 years. Her program ‘Voices’ featured interviews with leading Australian and International artists including Ron Carter, Kurt Elling, Marcos Valle, Cassandra Wilson, Theo Bleckman, Ricky Peterson, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Norma Winstone, Katie Noonan, Lulo Reinhart, The Idea Of North, Vika Bull, Fred Wesley, Gian Slater, Ingrid James, Kristen Cornwell, James Valentine and Vince Jones.

John Turville
John Turville has developed a reputation as ‘one of the leading jazz pianists of his generation’ (Ian Mann). He has performed at clubs and festivals throughout the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Africa with artists as diverse as Tim Garland, Ola Onabule, Gilad Atzmon, Yuri Golubev Trio, Matt Ridley Quartet, Transtango, El Ultimo Tango, and the London Tango Orchestra.
John has recorded five albums as a leader, which have won multiple awards including ‘Best Album’ in the Parliamentary Awards, the PRS Promoter’s Choice Award, and ‘Best instrumentalist’ prize in the inaugural London Jazz Awards. His most recent album ‘Head First’ featured the renowned saxophonist Julian Argüelles, and received 4 and 5 star reviews in the UK and European press. He has also recorded over 30 albums as a sideman with various jazz, tango and crossover projects.
    Besides performing, John is also an experienced composer, writing for his own groups and receiving commissions to write original music for Transtango, Living Room in London and the Almagro Ensemble.
John is the principal jazz piano tutor at Birmingham Conservatoire, the Purcell and Yehudi Menuhin music specialist schools, and has led workshops and taught at a number of international summer schools, including ‘Concertato’ (Capri), the Saarwellingen International Jazz Academy, the Piano Week festival and the Dartington International Summer School. He has also been on the audition panel for Help Musicians UK and Trinity Laban.

Brandon Allen
Originally from Perth, Western Australia, Brandon Allen relocated to London in 2000. Since arriving in the UK, he has worked with many high profile artists and groups/ensembles as a saxophonist, in various genres.
In recent years Brandon has toured the U.K. with a range of projects from playing the music of Stanley Turrentine and Wayne Shorter among others to playing his own original fusion and funky compositions.

He has performed with with Eric Clapton, Paloma Faith, Kyle Eastwood, Mica Paris, Jools Holland, Gary Barlow, Neil Diamond, Adam Nussbaum, Gary Husband, Ibrahim Maalouf, Antonio Forcione, Stefano Di Battista, Fred Nardin, Tony Lakatos, Charlie Wood, Jason Rebello, Gwylim Simcock, Omar Lyefook, Sarah Jane Morris, Camille Bertault, Jamie Oehlers, Mat Jodrell, Hamish Stuart, Mike Nock, Liane Caroll, Dennis Rollins, The Feeling, The Filthy Six, Gwyneth Herbert, Keith Tippett, Tony Hadley, Roachford, Candi Staton, US3, Carleen Anderson, James Torme, The BLOCKHEADS, Omar Kamal, Tony Christie, John Etheridge, Soweto Kinch, Noel McKoy, Guy Barker, Natalie Williams, The Laurence Cottle Big Band, Claire Martin, The BBC Big Band, Jesse Van Ruller, Stan Tracey, Peter King, Darius Brubeck, Ronnie Cuber, Lew Soloff, Mark Nightingale, Richie Cole, Benjamin Herman, Nigel Hitchcock, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Beverley Knight, Robin McKelle and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra.

Dave Jones
While Dave is the also organising force behind Grand Union Jazz his bass playing in recent years has included Hejira - a Tribute to Joni Mitchell, Ronnie Scott’s Soul and Jazz Orchestra, Pete Cater Big Band, Way Out West Jazz Collective, Stefanos Tsourelis Trio, Tom Seals, Brandon Allen Groove Band, Jeremy Sassoon and Julian Costello. He has played with some of the finest jazz musicians in the UK such as Pete Long, Jacqui Dankworth, Frank Griffith and John Etheridge and also with visiting American artists such as Howard Levy. He has played alongside drummers Steve Gadd, Steve Smith and Keith Carlock and he is active in jazz education teaching regularly at Richmond Jazz School, International Summer Schools and Kingston University.
Dave also leads a classic nonet line up featuring some of the UK’s finest jazz musicians including Henry Lowther, Mark Armstrong, Nick Mills, Tony Woods, Tom Ridout, Chris Biscoe, John Turville, Tristan Mailliot plus various special guests including Brigitte Beraha, Demi Garcia Sabat on percussion and Mike Outram on guitar.
Playing and exploring the Nonet arrangements of great American writers such as Bob Hammer, Marty Paich and Frank Griffith provided the inspiration for the band while the experience of playing with Pete Cater Big Band, Ronnie Scott’s Soul and Jazz Orchestra, BBC Big Band and in formative days ‘Eurojazz' the European Community Youth Jazz Orchestra provided a unique perspective on writing for this the classic Nonet line up.

Dave’s writing is sophisticated and nuanced. Just when you think you know where he’s going, there is a change of texture or tempo, you do find yourself in an unexpected place and …. it’s beautiful!! … “ London Jazz News’.

Demi Garcia Sabat
Demi Garcia Sàbat is a percussionist and drummer specialising in Flamenco, Jazz, Arabic, Latin and Iberian Folk. Originally from Barcelona he is now based in London since 1999 and is highly in demand for his authentic, creative an dhihly expressive work accross these many genres.
Demi originally studied at the London College of Music and continues currently to study with jazz legend Peter Erskine through ArtistWorks.
Demi's current projects include:
Jazz Samba! (Featuring Nigel Price, Mark Crooks)
Alec Dankworth,
Nicolas Meier,
Jose Almarcha & Lucia Ruibal,
Shirley Smart Trio,
Dave Jones & DJ FunkAffinty,
Bea Asurmendi,
Lourdes Fernández Flamenco Company,
Sam Mosqueton/Muchacho,
Nikki Yeoh Cafe Oran,
Flamenco Meets Maqam,
Martin ‘Youth’ Glover,
Mel C,
Pete Tong,
Melange,
Tim Garland,
Ahmed Mukhtar,
Giles Thornton....
He has toured all over Europe, North Africa, and USA and he regularly teaches Cajon/Percussion and Flamenco Rhythms every Mondays in central London.