An afternoon with 'Stablefolk'!

Stablefolk are a contemporary jazz band fronted by James Pettinger, passionate composer and pianist, who gathers songs and sounds from folk, singer-songwriters, and music that falls between the cracks. In the midst of its sweeping arcs and epic builds, Stablefolk balances the joyful alongside the melancholy, creating musical moments that transcend genre. Touchstones for this ensemble include such diverse artists as Pat Metheny, James Taylor, Shai Maestro, and Dave Matthews Band – though truly this band forges its own path.

Their recently released EP Unspoken Tales is greatly inspired by James’ love of fantasy books. Music is one step more abstracted from words, and James’ desire is that the listener will form their own version of a story from their performances.

The band contains two young players with local backgrounds: James Maltby is well known to JCUK audiences from his performances here with his bands Elephant Talk and St Barbe, while drummer Adam Woodcock was, like James, a Southend High School pupil before heading off to study jazz in London. Sax man Tom Ridout emerged from music college with the distinction of being a finalist in the 2016 BBC Young Jazz Musician contest.

Stablefolk are:

James Pettinger piano & accordion

James Maltby guitar

Tom Ridout saxophones, bass clarinet & bird whistle

Adam Bahmaie bass

Adam Woodcock drums