Bobby Wellins & Geoff Simkins with Gareth Williams Trio at South Coast Jazz Festival at Ropetackle Arts Centre

Multi-award-winning Bobby Wellins – Jazz Musician of the Year, Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2012 – is best known for his work with Stan Tracey, particularly on the legendary ‘Under Milk Wood’ 1965. Bob is a stylist on tenor saxophone, known and loved by US legends Sonny Rollins, Chet Baker, Dexter Gordon and Dizzy Gillespie. Anyone who hears his extraordinary tone will know at once what a truly individual modern jazz voice he has made on tenor sax.

Geoff Simkins leads his own quartet, which can be heard on the much praised CD Don’t Ask featuring Nikki Iles, Simon Woolf and Martin France, and continues to work as often as possible with long-time musical partner, guitarist Dave Cliff and as sideman to such luminaries as Art Farmer, Al Cohn, Tal Farlow. Geoff is also a respected jazz educator and visiting tutor at Trinity College, The Royal Welsh College of Music and The Royal Academy of Music. Described as “a master of the art of improvisation” by Jazz UK and “what can you say about Geoff Simkins except that he is a major, major talent who seems to hide away in the Brighton area” by Brian Blain in The Musician....

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Multi-award-winning Bobby Wellins – Jazz Musician of the Year, Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2012 – is best known for his work with Stan Tracey, particularly on the legendary ‘Under Milk Wood’ 1965. Bob is a stylist on tenor saxophone, known and loved by US legends Sonny Rollins, Chet Baker, Dexter Gordon and Dizzy Gillespie. Anyone who hears his extraordinary tone will know at once what a truly individual modern jazz voice he has made on tenor sax.

Geoff Simkins leads his own quartet, which can be heard on the much praised CD Don’t Ask featuring Nikki Iles, Simon Woolf and Martin France, and continues to work as often as possible with long-time musical partner, guitarist Dave Cliff and as sideman to such luminaries as Art Farmer, Al Cohn, Tal Farlow. Geoff is also a respected jazz educator and visiting tutor at Trinity College, The Royal Welsh College of Music and The Royal Academy of Music. Described as “a master of the art of improvisation” by Jazz UK and “what can you say about Geoff Simkins except that he is a major, major talent who seems to hide away in the Brighton area” by Brian Blain in The Musician.

One of the most intensely creative, dynamic and exciting performers on the UK scene, Gareth Williams has received widespread critical and public acclaim. He has dazzled audiences not only by his virtuoso approach to the piano, but also by his multi-instrumentalist talents on guitar and vocals.

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