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Thursday 3 May - Peter Knight's 'Gigspanner'. £12 (£10 advance)
“Intelligent, multi-lingual music making” (Julian Cowley, The Wire)
“With Gigspanner, Peter Knight has put together a tight trio with which to let his playing fly…stepping lightly through folk, classical, baroque and jazz, Gigspanner produce music of intelligently crafted brilliance”. Andy Letcher, Songlines Magazine
"Altogether gorgeous…music to sustain the spirit. Rarely have I heard such insistent calls for encores" (Dai Jeffries, Rock 'n Reel Magazine)
“The Trio co-create a depth of multi-textured melody that belies the pared-down instrumental line-up. Exceptional stuff, and not to be missed” (Noel Harvey, Acoustic Magazine)
"Peter Knight can spin the World on his Bow" Sir Terry Pratchett
"Brilliant, moving and inspiring" (Chris Leslie, Fairport Convention)
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Saturday 5 May - Chester Comedy Club headlining Dominic Woodward
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Tuesday 8 May - Unplugged. £2 / free before 9pm
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Thursday 10 May - Nearly Dan. £14 (£12 advance)
"The spirit & sound of one of the most innovative songwriting teams of all times. I missed Steely Dan in 1973 - they were my band that got away. However I did get to see them a few years ago promoting their first album for 20 years. They were fine but in all honesty I prefer Nearly Dan, and this I see belatedly is the point of tribute bands. Steely Dan were remote, complacent, a little diffident. Nearly Dan were the opposite. Those sassy, cynical songss were given life by their sheer enthusiasm & passion for playing"...................Review of gig at The Jazz Cafe, London, The Financial Times
Limited to 120 tickets
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Saturday 12 May - Chester Comedy Club headlining Lee Camp
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Sunday 13 May - Root Chords. 2 - 5pm free
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Sunday 13 May - Keith James in Concert - The Songs of Leonard Cohen. £10
Each song stripped back - desolate, naked and sensual. The most enigmatic, mysterious and sub textural songwriter the English speaking world has ever known. Revered and covered by the entire music community; Leonard Cohen’s exact sense of prose, his wry humour and his courage to wrestle with the unspoken. Forgiving human frailty with the brush of each line.
Keith James; with an undying love of the pure song gives you a concert of this amazing material in the most intimate and sensitive way imaginable.
Also included are Poems by Federico Garcia Lorca and Leonard Cohen that Keith has set to music.
‘certainly the UK’s most celebrated and evocative interpreter of golden music’ The Guardian
‘Some of the most atmospheric and emotive music you will ever hear’ The Independent
‘Keith James has become a pillar of trust. A sublimely intimate and engaging voice’ Sunday Times
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Tuesday 15 May - Unplugged. £2 / free before 9pm
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Thursday 17 May - Bill Sheffield & Dave Saunders. £10 (£8 advance)
Acclaimed American blues guitarist Bill Sheffield from Atlanta Georgia makes a welcome return to the UK accompanied by Dave Saunders, bass player from The Producers. He is regarded as one of the finest acoustic blues and Americana guitarists from America and has appeared with many of the legendary bluesmen from that country including Muddy Waters, T Bone Walker, BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughan and blues queen Bonnie Raitt.
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Saturday 19 May - Chester Comedy Club headlining Brendan Riley
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Sunday 20 May - Roy Potts Five and a Penny Jazz Band. 2 - 5pm free
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Tuesday 22 May - Unplugged. £2 / free before 9pm
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Thursday 24 May - The Groundhogs. £10 (£8 advance)
The Groundhogs fronted by Tony McPhee on Guitar and Vocals were a top Progressive Blues Rock Group. Emerging in the early sixties as a blues band, noted for backing visiting American Blues Artists such as John Lee Hooker. The band evolved in the latter part of the sixties into a heavy rock group scoring a hit with their fourth and possibly most popular album ‘Split’.
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Saturday 26 May - Chester Comedy Club headlining Howard Read
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Sunday 27 May - Trevor Carlisle Quartet. 2 - 5pm free
Annie's vocal career has included everything from classical and folk through rock and cabaret, to finally arrive at jazz in the 1990s. Smooth jazz standards with velvety vocals.
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Tuesday 29 May - Unplugged. £2 / free before 9pm
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Thursday 7 June - Guy Tortora. £10
From Pasadena, California, Guy Tortora is now settled in London. He is a guitar player of some accomplishment and a talented songwriter. On both acoustic and electric guitars he plays finger style, and is a fine bottleneck and slide player. His playing is not the flashy guitar-slinger style beloved of bluesrockers everywhere, but understated, and leaves room for the songs to make an impact, whether those written from his own unique point of view or the "covers" he performs that include many old standards and traditional tunes as well as songs by more recent American writers such as Eric Bibb or Kreig Viesselman.
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Thursday 14 June - John O'Connell plays Simply Dylan. £12 (£10 advance)
Simply Dylan is as straight forward as the title suggests: no frills, no gimmicks, no pretence. It is John O'Connell's personal exploration and celebration of the rich and diverse work of Bob Dylan. With keyboards, fiddle, drums, harmonica, bass, acoustic guitar and female backing the band have successfully risen to the challenge of covering some of Dylan's more demanding songs. Gathering momentum and incredible interest Simply Dylan has gone from selling out the Cavern Club three times to receiving fantastic reviews from the Spanish press after a successful tour. No ordinary interpretation, this is a remarkable and exceptional project which promises to delight Dylan fans young and old and to ignite a new wave of passion for one of the world's most prodigious songwriters.
"I went to see Johnny O'Connell playing Simply Dylan at the Cavern Liverpool and it was absolutely stunning. Johnny is one of the most talented musicians I have come across and his Dylan set is effortlessly brilliant."..........Peter Hooton, The Farm
"...Simply Dylan is considered to be the best band version of Bob Dylan..."....... Antxon Etxeberria, Zarautz
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Sunday 17 June - Crowded Scouse.
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Wednesday 20 June - A Music Train to Jazz at Alexanders. £10.20
Now a regular series in the calendar. Take the Mid Cheshire Music Train to hear the Roy Potts Five and a Penny Jazz Band at Alexanders, - with music on the train to Chester, taxis arranged to and from Alexander’s, ‘sausage and mash’ as you listen to the jazz and more music on the train on the way back. On the train Dr Butler's Hatstand Medicine Band play a secret combination of early blues and jazz forms, a sprinkle of ragtime, a dash of hot swing, the essence of sweet spiritual, a pinch of the oldest of old-timey melodies and a teaspoon of Vaudevillian and Music Hall showoffery. All whisked together with the most esoteric of folk rhythms.
The plan
1 The train from Altrincham (18:44) to Chester (19:45) (Manchester Piccadilly 18.15)
2 Taxi from station to Alexander's
3 Jazz from Roy Potts Five and a Penny Jazz Band(see above)and food and drink at Alexander's
4 Taxi back to station from Alexander's
5 Train and music back from Chester (22:44) to Altrincham (23:40) (Manchester Piccadilly 00:18)
On the way to Chester the music on the train starts at Knutsford, on the way back it continues to Altrincham.
Please note ticket includes Jazz & Bangers 'n Mash at Alexander's & taxis to & from Alexander's from Chester station.
The Music Train is arranged by the Mid-Cheshire Community Rail Partnership with Alexander’s.
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Thursday 21 June - The Producers. £12 (£10 advance)
The Producers - back on the road again!!
The reformed version of The Producers includes original frontman Harry Skinner and bass player Dave Saunders. They are joined by Ray Drury on organ/piano and Biff Smith on Drums and percussion to complete the lineup.
Receiving rave reviews, The Producers are regaining the loyal following which made them so popular in their previous forms. New material is continually being written and incorporated into their set which contains many of the previously recorded tracks. Their latest album release 'London Blues', 11 years since their last recording, is out on CD and double vinyl. It is already receiving highly acclaimed reviews from national Blues magazines.
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Friday 22 June - Goodfellas. £8
OUTDOOR CONCERT
Book for a 3 course dinner, reserved table £24.95 including admission.
Tonight's dinner menu
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ALEXANDERS, Rufus Court
Chester, Cheshire.
Mon-Sat Doors 8.00 Bar 'til 2am
Sun Doors 7.30 Bar 'til 12.30am
Tel 01244 340005
email
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