May 09: Recently played two lovely gigs with Brazilian songstress Angelita Jimenez at Ronnie Scott's upstairs - great to play with Brazilian rhythm section of Kita on bass and Uira on drums ... and delighted to have fixed up a couple of dates for the tremendous singer China Moses (Dee Dee Bridgewater's daughter) at Ronnie's in April, which went down a storm ...
April 09: The excellent Alexia Gardner was recently voted artist of the week on Sellaband.com - with three of my songs ... Angelita and I are playing the Brazilian night upstairs at Ronnie Scott’s on Thursday 30 April and 7 May … I'm off to the Jazzahead conference in Bremen at the end of the month ... I've added some great videoclips to this page, do have a look ...
March 09: "Webb has that reliable musician's ear for well-crafted and pleasant songs" – from a review by londonjazz.blogspot.com of a sold-out gig at Pizza Express Jazz Room on 1 March, with Jo Harrop – which also featured a guest appearance by wunderkind Alex Stewart … Ayanna Witter-Johnson performed our co-written song Free Trade at the Royal Festival Hall on 27 February – in a gorgeous orchestral arrangement …
February 09: "An amazing songwriter" - kind words from multi-talented Ayanna Witter-Johnson in February's Jazzwise magazine ... Great three-night run playing keys for Brazilian songstress Angelita at the end of Jan supporting the James Taylor Quartet at the Pizza Express - what a gas to play with some really swinging Brazilian musicians! Jo Harrop and I are playing at Shanghai Blues on Saturday 7 Feb and the Ice Wharf on Weds 11 Feb in advance of our own Pizza Express show in March ...
January 09: A lightning visit to New York ends in a jam session with uptown jazz singer Pauline Jean who is definitely a name to watch (see 'my friends' below) ... Jo Harrop and I are getting ready for a Pizza Express show in March ... song publisher Neal Richardson and I hope to repeat the success of the Old, New, Borrowed, Blue shows later this year. My Brazilian partner in crime Angelita is in the studio ...
December 08: What a great way to finish the year! The London Jazz Festival show which I co-authored and played on, Old, New, Borrowed, Blue, was a resounding success at two gigs - the Royal Opera House and the Blackheath Halls. Featuring the cream of UK jazz vocal talent - Liane Carroll, Ian Shaw, Nicola Emmanuelle, Tammy Weis and Sue Richardson - it looked behind the great songs and why they still mean so much today. I also played an exciting double bill at the Spice of Life in Soho on Nov 26 with rising stars Jo Harrop and Ayanna Witter-Johnson ... meanwhile more of my songs are being performed regularly by excellent Swiss-based vocalist Alexia Gardner. Look in "my friends" below.
Recently I've been collaborating a couple of very hotly-tipped singers: with Jo Harrop (see 'my friends') we're writing and performing a very contemporary take on cool jazz. She's a must-see talent. Likewise Alex Stewart, a young singer from Manchester who could be very big news. Check his own page out.
Had a great gig at Pizza on the Park back in September with Nicola Emmanuelle, which got a 4-star review in the London Evening Standard - me and the band were, it said, "as impeccable as our snappy tuxedos". Our Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald at Pigalle in April, with guests actor Joe Woolfe and trumpeter Guy Barker, was a great success, with a packed and appreciative house. And we got a great review in Jazzwise! I'm delighted to have played piano and written for Nicola, who has the spirit and sound of the classic 1950s jazz singers - and she's an excellent songwriter in her own right. Have a look at Nicola's own website www.nicolaemmanuelle.comI have been lucky to work with some great vocalists. In 2007 one of my songs, The World Stopped Turning, was chosen by the great Liane Carroll for her album, Slow Down - which featured in a number of "best of 2007" lists. Do check out Liane's own page (see "my friends" below). I'm also collaborating with Tammy Weis (also below), a really swinging Canadian jazz singer currently resident in London, and the stunning Brazilian singer-songwriter Angelita Jiminez (also below) too. Back in 2006 I was marrying my songwriting with Kocoa Brown's amazing vocals. As Time Out described her: "A top-knotch soulful jazz vocalist - with a hint of Rachelle Ferrell or early Dee Dee Bridgewater".
I am fascinated by the craft of songwriting and love to work with interesting singers, and not just in jazz - I'm always interested in collaborations and great new voices, so let me know. Unless, of course, it's Country & Western :)
To contact me or to book a group, just send me a message here or email [email protected]