Harwich Festival Performance – Chris Allard and Charlie Wood

Wivenhoe-based guitarist Chris Allard has worked with a who’s who of international jazz musicians and singers including Dame Cleo Lane, Jacqui Dankworth, Claire Martin, Gwyneth Herbert, John Helliwell of Supertramp, Gwilym Simcock, Jamie Cullum, Tim Garland and the BBC Big Band to name but a few. He also fronts his own acclaimed ensemble, the Chris Allard Band, with whom he has recorded four CDs, the latest Invisible Landscapegarnering praise for its variety, intensity and distinctive melodic gift. Chris was appointed Jazz Guitar Professor at the Guildhall School Of Music And Drama in 2017.Pianist and organist Charlie Wood has been described as having “the growl and moan of Eric Burdon, the otherworldly lilt of Donald Fagen, and the scorched majesty of Kurt Elling”. Born in Memphis, he cut his teeth playing with legendary blues guitarist Albert King, performing regularly at his Beale Street club in the company of BB King, Joey de Francesco, Georgie Fame and many others. Now resident in the UK with his wife Jacqui Dankworth, Charlie has performed at the London Jazz Festival at the Barbican, BBC Radio 2’s  Friday Night Is Music Night and R2’s The Jools Holland Show, alongside many top venues and festivals across Europe. His seventh CD Tomorrow Night features self-penned numbers with songs by Otis Redding, Bobby “Blue” Bland and Al Green. “Music so smooth you could slide a whisky tumbler down it.” The Guardian