The Tea-for-Three Trio: from left, Barry Green, Brigitte Beraha and Alan Barnes.

Jazz Hastings maintains standards with Tea for Three next Tuesday

For 20 years Jazz Hastings has been bringing top musical talent to town — nationally and internationally acclaimed artists, and highly promising newcomers, for its monthly sessions. The 2025 season continues the tradition and starts with an impressive lineup on Tuesday 14 January. Julian Norridge reports.

Jazz Hastings kicks off the new year with an intriguing trio featuring three quite distinct musicians. Brigitte Beraha (vocals), Barry Green (piano) and Alan Barnes (saxophone) will be performing music from their new album Tea for Three at the East Hastings Sea Angling Association on the Stade.

Highly creative vocalist and composer Brigitte Beraha and in-demand pianist Barry Green have a musical relationship that stretches almost 20 years. The new CD collaboration continues to explore new music and standards, this time with Alan Barnes, one of the best known and most popular saxophonists in British.

Three accomplished artists

Beraha was born in Milan to a Turkish father and Turkish-British mother, and grew up on the Côte d’Azur, where her first music memories are of sitting and listening to her dad play piano and sing. This musical, multinational and multilingual upbringing combined to inspire and mould one of the most innovative vocalists and composers on the UK scene.

Embracing a wide variety of music influences and genres, from jazz and latin to classical and, more recently, electronic, Beraha’s sound is free and fluid with an emphasis on exploration and expression, fearlessly testing the limits of the voice as instrument. Her unique style has taken all over the world. In the UK, she plays regularly at many of the top jazz venues such as Ronnie Scott’s, the Vortex, 606 and Pizza Express Jazz Club.

Barry Green studied classical and jazz piano at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and now plays regularly in jazz venues all over the UK and Europe. He has recorded a number of albums in the UK and the USA, most of which have received rave reviews.

Alan Barnes’ musicianship, indefatigable touring, and warm rapport with audiences have made him hugely popular in British jazz. He has received over 25 British Jazz Awards and twice been made BBC Jazz Musician of the Year. He began his career playing with such greats as Stan Tracy, John Dankworth and Humphrey Lyttelton. Since then he has played and recorded with the likes of Björk, Bryan Ferry, Jools Holland, Jamie Cullum, Freddie Hubbard and Scott Hamilton.

As they put it themselves, Beraha (Parliamentary Jazz Award nominated), Barnes (many times Parliamentary Jazz Award nominated), and Green (never Parliamentary Jazz Award nominated) bring a wide range of musical experiences to this unique gig.

Jazz Hastings

Jazz Hastings was started by renowned Hastings-based pianist John Donaldson, who summed up the venture when he said:

The idea was to provide a place for people to hear high quality live music. People said it couldn’t be done, that there was no audience for contemporary jazz here. But we’ve proved them wrong and the audience is growing.

The venue for Tuesday 14 January is:

East Hastings Sea Angling Association
The Stade
Hastings TN34 3JF

Doors open at 7:45 for an 8:30 start.

The rest of the season’s programme also impresses.

Also in: Music & Sound