Pizza Express All Stars at The Concorde

Peter Boizot – founder of the Pizza Express chain of restaurants in 1965 – founded the PIZZA EXPRESS ALL-STARS in 1979 as house-band for his club at 10 Dean Street. During its first years the All-Stars played at the club every Tuesday (and later, Friday) nights, recorded a successful album for Boizot’s ‘Pizza’ label, headlined at the great Northsea Jazz Festival and played host to countless American visitors from Scott Hamilton and Warren Vache to Al Cohn and Jimmy Witherspoon.

Initially the band was led by clarinettist Dave Shepherd and included Digby Fairweather (cornet) Roy Williams (trombone) Danny Moss (tenor) Brian Lemon (piano) Len Skeat(double bass) and Kenny Clare (drums) but later leadership was taken over by the late tenor-saxophonist Tommy Whittle....

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Peter Boizot – founder of the Pizza Express chain of restaurants in 1965 – founded the PIZZA EXPRESS ALL-STARS in 1979 as house-band for his club at 10 Dean Street. During its first years the All-Stars played at the club every Tuesday (and later, Friday) nights, recorded a successful album for Boizot’s ‘Pizza’ label, headlined at the great Northsea Jazz Festival and played host to countless American visitors from Scott Hamilton and Warren Vache to Al Cohn and Jimmy Witherspoon.

Initially the band was led by clarinettist Dave Shepherd and included Digby Fairweather (cornet) Roy Williams (trombone) Danny Moss (tenor) Brian Lemon (piano) Len Skeat(double bass) and Kenny Clare (drums) but later leadership was taken over by the late tenor-saxophonist Tommy Whittle.

Tonight’s celebration of thirty-five years of the All Stars (and fifty years of the PizzaExpress!) sees the reunion of four of the band's original members – Shepherd, Fairweather, Williams and Skeat – alongside a regular deputy with the band, drummer Stan Bourke and Martin Litton on piano!

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