Event Description

Join Matt Holborn and his quartet for a concert dedicated to jazz violin legend Stuff Smith. A major figure in jazz from the 1930s onward, Smith played with greats like Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Nat King Cole, and Ben Webster, and appeared in the iconic 1958 photo, “A Great Day in Harlem.”

This set will feature selections from Stuff Smith’s repertoire alongside original music from Matt’s upcoming album, For Stuff, inspired by Smith’s style and legacy. Expect carefully chosen pieces that highlight Smith’s innovative approach to the violin, along with new works that pay homage to his sense of swing and energy. Matt is joined by a stellar, all-star band of some of the UK’s finest jazz musicians.

Matt Holborn, a London-based jazz violinist, leads the London Django Collective and has toured the UK and internationally, performing with many of today’s leading exponents of Django Reinhardt’s music. He also hosts The Jazz Violin Podcast and works as a jazz strings workshop leader with Tomorrow’s Warriors.

“It’s almost possible to envisage these pieces as previously unknown Stuff Smith takes…” Anthony Barnett (Stuff Smiths Biographer, Jazz Violin Scholar)