From the Northwest of England, Shez Raja is a seriously talented electric bassist whose work in a fascinating mix of Indo-jazz, funk and groove styles has propelled him to the forefront of the UK jazz scene, drawing comparisons to electric bass legend Jaco Pastorius.
The last four years have been a turning point for Raja - from the release of the critically- acclaimed albums Journey to Shambhala (ft guitar genius Wayne Krantz and Indian percussion guru Trilok Gurtu) and Gurutopia (ft global jazz legends Mike Stern and Randy Brecker), an ‘Inside The Mind’ feature on BBC Radio 3's Jazz Line-Up, to performing at the Royal Festival Hall for EFG London Jazz Festival and to a 800 capacity crowd at Islington Assembly Hall in London.
For Shez’s latest record - “Tales from the Punjab’ released on prestige label Ubuntu Music - he digs deep into his rich South Asian heritage to create his most exquisite and heartfelt recording to date. Inspired by ancient ragas, traditional melodies and free improvisations, the music creates a bridge between cultures with beautiful, exotic and timeless sounds and it is the official launch of the album that we are celebrating tonight.
The first set will consist of music from the album, while the second will include favourite tracks from Shez’ considerable back catalogue. This wouldn’t be possible without the talents of the two award-winning singers joining the band for this special show, Unnati Dasgupta and Japjit Kaur (both of whom have thriving careers as solo artists) and tabla player Gurdain Rayatt. And, in addition to Tomasz Bura (keyboards), Vasilis Xenopoulos (sax) & Sophie Alloway (drums), Shez has also asked internationally renowned, critically acclaimed saxophonist Tony Kofi to be his special guest.
This performance promises to be a mesmerizing and unique experience – highly recommended.
“The hip-shaking mix of Eastern song lines and funky Western dance-beats never wavers” **** Evening Standard
“Mahavishnu Orchestra with Jaco Pastorius in charge” The Guardian
“Shez Raja personifies the modernisation of jazz. He is fearless as a musician.” All About Jazz ★★★★+
“There is so much respect in jazz circles for Tony Kofi” Jazzwise
Shez Raja 'Tales from the Punjab' Album Launch ft Tony Kofi
606 Club
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Covid 19 Information
:: The Club has an extract system in full working order, which was installed even before we had air conditioning. This means means we are able to both extract air from the room and pump air in from outside at a significant rate. This will work in conjunction with our existing A/C so that the air in the room is not being recirculated but constantly replaced.
:: We have sanitizing units at the entrance, at the floor staff station, in the bar and at the entrance and exits to both toilets
:: We have a wonderful new (and quite fun, lol) "traffic light" system for both our toilets that shows when the toilets are occupied and also, somewhat cleverly, is also set to avoid "collisions" in the toilet lobby
:: We have reduced our capacity and increased the seated space between customers to a minimum of 1m
:: We have upgraded our cleaning protocols to include sanitizing tables and chairs plus regular deep cleans
:: We will be checking the temperature of all our staff before work and asking them to sign a declaration that they are fit to work
:: We have introduced new protocols for the staff with regard to hand washing and sanitizing
:: We have introduced "single use" laminated menus. After a menu has been used it will be put in to a container for cleaning and sanitizing before being used again (the following night and/or at least 24 hours later). We feel, incidentally, that this is actually a safer way to deal with ordering than providing machines or phone apps, which have the possibility of being passed around and also need to be stored together (a restaurant like the 606 would need at least 10), giving rise to the possibility of cross contamination if not treated properly at all times.
:: We will sanitize the credit card machines after every use (we were actually doing this before we closed in March...)
:: We have set up clear plastic round screens to attach to the microphone of singers to cut down the aerosol risk, plus when we have singers performing we will remove the front tables to provide a minimum 3m distance between the singer and any audience member
:: The Club has an extract system in full working order, which was installed even before we had air conditioning. This means means we are able to both extract air from the room and pump air in from outside at a significant rate. This will work in conjunction with our existing A/C so that the air in the room is not being recirculated but constantly replaced.
:: We have sanitizing units at the entrance, at the floor staff station, in the bar and at the entrance and exits to both toilets
:: We have a wonderful new (and quite fun, lol) "traffic light" system for both our toilets that shows when the toilets are occupied and also, somewhat cleverly, is also set to avoid "collisions" in the toilet lobby
:: We have reduced our capacity and increased the seated space between customers to a minimum of 1m
:: We have upgraded our cleaning protocols to include sanitizing tables and chairs plus regular deep cleans
:: We will be checking the temperature of all our staff before work and asking them to sign a declaration that they are fit to work
:: We have introduced new protocols for the staff with regard to hand washing and sanitizing
:: We have introduced "single use" laminated menus. After a menu has been used it will be put in to a container for cleaning and sanitizing before being used again (the following night and/or at least 24 hours later). We feel, incidentally, that this is actually a safer way to deal with ordering than providing machines or phone apps, which have the possibility of being passed around and also need to be stored together (a restaurant like the 606 would need at least 10), giving rise to the possibility of cross contamination if not treated properly at all times.
:: We will sanitize the credit card machines after every use (we were actually doing this before we closed in March...)
:: We have set up clear plastic round screens to attach to the microphone of singers to cut down the aerosol risk, plus when we have singers performing we will remove the front tables to provide a minimum 3m distance between the singer and any audience member
Event has ended
This event ended on Friday 4th of June 2021
This event ended on Friday 4th of June 2021
Admission
£16
£16
Tags:
Music
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