Kansas Smitty's House Band is a London-based group that specialises in original jazz music. The band run their own bar and HQ on Broadway Market in the London Borough of Hackney.
History
Kansas Smitty’s House Band was formed in 2013 by Jack Abraham and Giacomo Smith. The band are a 7-piece group who describe themselves as ‘a group of jazz-addicted twenty-somethings who run their own bar’[1]
The current line up is:
Pete Horsfall- trumpet
Giacomo Smith- alto sax
Alec Harper- tenor sax
Joe Webb- piano
David Archer- guitar
Ferg Ireland- bass
Will Cleasby- drums
Past members:
Reuben James- piano
Ruben Fox- tenor sax
Adrian Cox- clarinet
Pedro Segundo- drums
Theon Cross- tuba
The band has collaborated extensively with Lewis Durham of Kitty, Daisy & Lewis. In 2018 the band has planned collaborations with Curtis Stigers, Lewis Durham, and Shingai Shoniwa.
Notable appearances
The band has performed at venues such as Ronnie Scott’s, Wilderness Festival, Jazz Café, Vortex Jazz Club, Shoreditch Town Hall, Rough Trade and the Vaults Festival. They have also hosted their own Mardi Gras events in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 and have produced their own events at The Peckham Liberal Club and the Dalston Pond.
The band has appeared on BBC Radio London, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 6, including twice on BBC Radio 2’s Friday Night is Music Night.
Kansas Smitty’s Bar
In 2015, Kansas Smitty’s House Band realised they needed a home for their music, and so, set up Kansas Smitty’s on Hackney’s Broadway Market. This intimate basement bar is a rehearsal space for the band as well as a live music venue. A musical community has been built around the bar which offers musicians such as Reuben James (pianist on Sam Smith’s world tour), Howe Gelb, Louis Cole, Bruno Major, Howard Alden and Joe Stilgoe. Kansas Smitty’s has received positive reviews in a number of publications, including the Evening Standard,[2] Design My Night and the Hackney Gazette[3]
Critical reception
The band has been awarded four stars in articles in The Times[4] and been reviewed in the Evening Standard.[5]
Their debut album was included in the Daily Telegraph's 50 Best Jazz Albums of 2015[6] and was included in The Arts Desk review of the best new vinyl in 2015.[7]
Their music has been played on Jamie Cullum's and Clare Teal's BBC Radio 2 shows and was broadcast live from Cheltenham Jazz Festival on Cerys Matthews' BBC Radio 6 Music show earlier this year.
Food critic, journalist, and author, Jay Rayner, is a supporter of the band and wrote the liner notes on their most recent album, Kansas Smitty's Live. He performed with the band at their London Jazz Festival performance at Shoreditch Town Hall in 2016.
Discography
| Year | Catalogue Number | Title | Format | Playtime |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | KS001 | ‘The Band’s Been Drinking/Kansas Smitty’s’ | 7" 45rpm vinyl | 7mins |
| 2015 | KS002 | Kansas Smitty's | 12" 33rpm vinyl, CD, digital | 38 mins |
| 2016 | KS003 | Kansas Smitty's Live | CD, digital | 39 mins |
| 2017 (projected November) | KS004 | Movin' On | In production | |
| 2018 | KS005 | Broadway 2018 | CD, digital | 37 mins |
References
- ↑ "kansassmittys.com". Official band website.
- ↑ "Kansas Smitty's bar review: an underground jazz cave that will leave you buzzing". Evening Standard. Evening Standard. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ↑ "Kansas Smitty's bar hopes to bring jazz to the people in Broadway Market". Hackney Gazette. Hackney Gazette. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ↑ "Jazz: Branford Marsalis at Bath Abbey and Kansas Smitty's House Band at Guildhall, Bath". The Times. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ↑ "Kansas Smitty's interview: introducing London's new swing princes". Evening Standard. Evening Standard. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ↑ "Best Jazz Albums of 2015". Daily Telegraph. Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ↑ "theartsdesk on Vinyl: Volume 10 - Fela Kuti, Simple Minds and more". The Arts Desk. The Arts Desk. Retrieved 12 May 2017.