Event Description

Martin and Derek’s relationship started with Be Bop star John Burch’s Kentish Octet, where they performed, toured and recorded together many times.  Their swinging bravado, showmanship and humour join together for a superb evening of Jazz standards in a style that remembers great sparring Saxophone heroes like Ronnie Scott and Tubby Hayes, or Zoot Sims and Al Cohn.

Martin has been a full time musician since the age of sixteen, he has played all over the world,including all the major UK jazz venues, such as Ronnie Scott’s, The 100 Club,Bulls Head at Barnes,The 606 Club,Pizza Express. Martin Dale is probably the leading South West saxophonist and one of its busiest and most popular. He runs his own quartet and appears regularly as a guest soloist. He played tenor sax with the John Burch Octet and is also a member of the London based group “Sax Appeal” and “Jack Bruce Blues Experience”.

Martin’s Plymouth based band has worked with Jim Mullen, Roy Williams, Derek Nash, Dick Pearce, Bruce Adams, Digby Fairweather and the highly acclaimed Peter King to name but a few. Martin has also worked with the 2008 X Factor winner, Alexandra Burke.

Derek is a full time member of the Jools Holland Rhythm and Blues Orchestra since 2004, has led Sax Appeal for over forty years, leads his award winning Acoustic Quartet, fronts the funk/fusion band Protect the Beat, the Latin band Picante, the “The Wonder of Stevie” show and is a member of the Ronnie Scott’s Blues Explosion. He is renowned for his energetic, vibrant, passionate and charismatic performances on all four saxophones from sonorous baritone to soaring soprano.

Derek has enjoyed sharing the stage with many great artists including Tom Jones, Eric Clapton, David Sanborn, Nile Rogers, Rod Stewart, Jack Bruce, Amy Winehouse, Michael Buble and Sir Paul McCartney. He is one of the most in-demand and respected guest instrumentalists for jazz clubs across the UK and has received numerous nominations in the British Jazz Awards. In the jazz-funk world he has performed with David Benoit, Brian Culbertson, Ernie Watts, Mezzoforte, Nelson Rangell and Don and Dave Grusin.