Eddie Henderson & Steve Davis Quintet

Eddie Henderson (trumpet), Steve Davis (trombone), Will Barry (piano), Mark Hodgson (double bass), Stephen Keogh (drums)

The Eddie Henderson & Steve Davis Quintet invites us to travel to the golden era of Hard Bop thanks to a quintet of brilliant musicians featuring true protagonists of the music from those years. A reflection of the importance of this movement, with a repertoire including classics from the day and compositions by Henderson himself who was, and indeed still is, a hard bopper.

Eddie Henderson is one of the most original Jazz trumpet players. At his more than 80 years, his talent keeps him on top form as he continues to produce music on a par with the greatest trumpet players in the history of Jazz. He first earned worldwide recognition for his work with Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi group in the early 70s. Since then, he has played with a wide variety of musicians including Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, Johnny Griffin, Slide Hampton, McCoy Tyner, Benny Golson, Max Roach, Jackie McClean, Dexter Gordon, Roy Haynes and Joe Henderson.

Henderson was born in the New York of 1940. His father was a singer with the Charioteers and his mother danced at the Harlem Cotton Club. Louis Armstrong gave Eddie his first trumpet classes at the age of 9. In 1956, Miles Davis was staying at the Henderson home when Eddie had a gig at the Black Hawk Jazz Club. Impressed by the youngster’s rendering of his famous “Sketches of Spain”, he encouraged Henderson to find his own original style.

Steve Davis, also known as "Stevie-D", the nickname pinned on him by the deceased Jackie McLean, was born in Worcester (Massachusetts) in 1967, raised in Binghamton (New York) and graduated in 1989 from the Hartt School’s Jackie McLean Institute. It was with McLean’s guidance and recommendation that Davis landed his first major performance with Art Blakey in New York. In ’98 Steve won the TDWR (Rising Star) and was later named consecutively Trombonist of the Year by The JJA (2010-2013). Widely regarded as one of today’s leading voices on the trombone, his lyrical, hard-swinging style has earned him widespread recognition.

Davis has released 20 albums, including: Think Ahead (2017), Say When (2015), For Real & Gettin' It Done (2014) featuring his lifelong musical colleagues Larry Willis, Nat Reeves, Billy Williams; saxophonists Abraham Burton and Mike DiRubbo; the trumpeter Josh Bruneau…

This brilliant trombonist has participated in more than 100 recordings with musicians such as: Chick Corea, Freddie Hubbard, Horace Silver, Cedar Walton, Hank Jones…

Will Barry is a young award-winning pianist from London and participant in a wide variety of international projects, particularly including his tour with the group 'Fellow Creatures' fronted by Phronesis bass player Jasper Høiby taking them to Turkey, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK.

Winner of the prestigious “Jazz Young Musician Award” bestowed by the Musicians Company, he has taken to the stage at the North Sea, Love Supreme, Green Hours and Umbria Jazz Festivals, also having performed with Madison McFerrin and Perico Sambeat, as well as with the Cuban musicians Julio Montalvo, Yoel Paez and Issac Delgado Jr.

"Will Barry’s touch is sensitive and fluid...a beautiful sound" - Chucho Valdes.

Mark Hodgson studied double bass, composition and piano at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Since leaving Guildhall, Mark has become one of the most in-demand double bass players on the European scene, playing and recording with artists including Randy Brecker, Cedar Walton, Eddie Henderson, Larry Coryell, Bobby Watson, Greg Osby, Bill Charlap, Sonny Fortune, Scott Hamilton, James Williams, Louis Stewart, Bruce Barth, Joe Temperley, Gary Smulyan, Gordon Beck, Jean Toussaint, Ingrid Jensen, Tommy Smith, Rick Margitza, Peter King, Georgie Fame, Jon Gordon, Tim Garland, Roger Kellaway and Gregory Hutchinson.

Stephen Keogh was a percussionist with the Irish national Symphony Orchestra in the 80s, all while touring and recording with the legendary Irish guitarist Louis Stewart. He left Ireland in the late 80s to join the band of the great contralto Peter King. He became the favoured drummer of many Jazz artists visiting Europe, such as Charles McPherson, Art Farmer, Harold Land and many more. Over the years he has played and recorded with an impressive list of big Jazz names: Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Jimmy Witherspoon, Harry Sweets Edison, Johnny Griffin y Benny Carter, and later with Brad Mehldau, Bill Charlap, Mark Turner, Larry Willis, Jeremy Pelt, Rene Marie, Edward Simon, Peter Bernstein...

Recent years has seen him tour and record with the Bruce Barth Trio, Jerry Bergonzi, Dick Oatts, Charles McPherson Quartet and others.

He is the founder and director of the Global Music Foundation, an organisation designed to encourage people all over the world to enjoy and learn about music while experimenting with high quality musical creation. It therefore organises seminars, courses on Jazz and world music, workshops and performances all over the world. Since 2005, the GMF has organised more than 60 events in Italy, the UK, Ireland, China, Croatia, Germany, New York and Spain.