The Night
One flight up from Greek Street, inside the Union Club a studio grand piano awaits. Alfie's runs two houses on a Friday, early and late, and both have a habit of selling through. Tonight the trumpet leads. Summer standards, played hot, in a room where you can hear the valves work. Wear something good, order the martini first, and let the rest of Friday take care of itself. Tickets are advance only, so decide now rather than at the door.
The Music
Andy Davies is Soho jazz royalty, a Welsh trumpeter who spent more than a decade hosting the most famous late night jam session in London, the one every visiting player asked to sit in on. The Guardian called him "one of the most sensitive and creative trumpeters to emerge on the British jazz scene in recent years", and the playing backs it up: Gillespie and Miles are the accent, the delivery is pure Davies, serious technique wearing a cheeky grin. He has sold out the Tokyo Opera House on tour. Tonight he plays a room that holds a tiny fraction of it, which is precisely the point.
The Summer Standards are exactly what they sound like: the songbook in shirtsleeves. Gershwin, Porter and the tunes everyone half knows, taken at the tempo of a warm July evening, with the bebop kept loaded for the second set. Davies is a showman first, a player who wants the room loud, happy and leaning in, closer to a soho crowd than a concert hall, at Alfie's you get the unbelievable talent, just an arm's length away.
I want that sports crowd rowdiness of people enjoying themselves.
Andy Davies, in Jazzwise
Plan Your Visit
above 49 Greek Street, Soho, W1D 4EG
///books.ranks.fans
· Tottenham Court Road 3 min
· Leicester Square 6 min
Sets (6.30-7.00PM, 7.15-8.00PM) & (8.30-9.15PM, 9.45-10.30PM)
Transfers or refunds are available up to 48 hours before the event. Members receive 50% off advance tickets and walk-in privileges. For assistance or private hire, email concierge@soho.live. Please check the date on your booking before checkout. Full terms.
