Barnes - O'Higgins & The Sax Section
Alan and Dave are now household names on the UK jazz scene. They first played together in the Pizza Express Modern Jazz Sextet which played weekly at the Dean Street club for over 10 years starting in the late 80s.
They were both keen to collaborate again and pool their considerable writing and arranging skills to create a unique repertoire for 5-saxes and rhythm section.
The material spans a large chunk of the history of jazz from early Ellington to original compositions. Barnes’ writing is imbued with Ellingtonian flavours, and O’Higgins shows a penchant for harmonising and arranging inspired improvisations of the greats like Dexter Gordon and Sonny Stitt.
A deep sense of swing and melodic accessibility are key to the band’s irresistibility, along with an inimitable presentation style.
All the members of the band are strong, individual and characterful soloists as well as consummate section players. This makes it the perfect band for a large stage or festival event.
Barnes / O’Higgins & the Sax Section cooking new cd, “Oh Gee!” is available on Woodville Records.
Dave O'Higgins
….has honed his jazz chops through 16 albums as leader, years on the road and in the studio with the likes of Joe Locke, Martin Taylor, Joey Calderazzo, Ray Charles, Jim Mullen, BBC Big Band, Ronnie Scott's Allstars, Frank Sinatra, Jason Rebello, Phil Dwyer, Stan Tracey and Eric Alexander.
He also leads, writes and arranges for the Two Minds Big Band, teaches saxophone, harmony and improvisation at the London Centre For Contemporary Music and runs a specialist jazz recording studio where he records, engineers, mixes and masters work by some of the finest jazz musicians on the planet.
