Sunday Swing Is Back: Huddersfield Jazz Opens Its Autumn Season with Dean Stockdale Quartet

If Saturday night is all riffs, reggae and packed pubs, Sunday afternoon in Huddersfield has something altogether smoother waiting in the wings.

Huddersfield Jazz launches its Autumn & Winter season tomorrow, Sunday 20 September, with the Dean Stockdale Quartet at Huddersfield Irish Centre — and it is exactly the sort of live-music gem we like shouting about at Monkey GigsList.

Celebrating Oscar — and keeping jazz live in Huddersfield

Pianist, arranger and composer Dean Stockdale is a familiar name on the UK jazz circuit, known for a lyrical, swinging style shaped by piano greats including Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Gene Harris and Mulgrew Miller.

Sunday’s set will feature music from his latest release, Celebrating Oscar, with fresh arrangements of Oscar Peterson material alongside Stockdale’s own originals and new takes on jazz standards. The quartet line-up is Dean Stockdale on piano, Tim Williams on guitar, Gavin Barras on double bass and Gaz Hughes on drums.

The Sunday-afternoon gig that deserves a crowd

The gig runs from 2pm to 4pm at Huddersfield Irish Centre, 86 Fitzwilliam Street, HD1 5BB. Tickets are £16 plus the booking fee advertised by Huddersfield Jazz.

There is something particularly good about a proper Sunday-afternoon live show: no midnight finish, no waiting until the evening, just a room full of musicians and an audience there because they genuinely want to listen. For a town whose music identity is often associated with rock venues and late-night gigs, Huddersfield Jazz is a useful reminder of just how broad our local scene actually is.

And there’s more to come

Tomorrow is the start rather than a one-off. Huddersfield Jazz’s announced autumn programme continues with Frank Griffith and the Andrzej Baranek Trio on 4 October, Larry Van Kriedt with Jeremy Platt and Ben Crosland on 1 November, and Ubunye closing the season on 13 December.

So if your Saturday night leaves you wanting one more dose of live music, Sunday afternoon has you covered. Support the people putting musicians on stages, support the rooms giving them somewhere to play — and we’ll keep doing our bit to make sure Huddersfield knows they’re there.

Helping To Keep Local Music Alive Since 2014.