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The Musicians
Each year we create 400 employment slots in our jazz clubs for a number of musicians... here are two of them!
Neal Richardson
Neal is a powerful and rhythmic pianist/vocalist playing jazz, blues and originals, and an award-winning producer. Neal cut his teeth performing in jazz clubs, hotels, and cruise ships in over 50 countries, from Rio to Raffles, Norway to New Orleans, Vietnam to Venezuela. His Quartet has entertained Royalty, Hollywood celebrities and VIPs at world-renowned venues, including playing for George Clooney on his yacht at the Cannes Film Festival.
Neal’s arrangements and original compositions display his wide-ranging tastes and influences, and he and his band have a great swinging style influenced by Oscar Peterson and Gene Harris. His debut album “Better Than The Blues” was launched at the London Jazz Festival 2014, and his nine-piece band sold out Ronnie Scott’s in 2016.
He has produced 30 albums for various jazz artists, including two at London’s Abbey Road Studios, and ran his own label, Splash Point Records, for 10 years.
He now runs the hugely popular Splash Point Jazz Club nights (#splashpointjazz) – which have expanded to seven regular venues – and heads-up Splash Point Music Ltd. A recent huge honour was for him to collect a Gold Badge Award at the BASCA ceremony at The Savoy on behalf of Dame Cleo Laine.
He is also the festival director for the Eastbourne Splash Point Jazz Festival.
Sue Richardson
Since being tipped for the top by Jazzwise magazine, Sue Richardson’s career has gone from strength to strength. Her most recent album, Too Cool, The Life & Music of Chet Baker, cemented her position in the jazz world – gaining four and five star reviews in the jazz press as well as internationally, and sell out gigs at Ronnie Scott’s. It was also listed in The Sunday Times‘ 100 Best Records of The Year 2013 – “The trumpeter and singer Sue Richardson’s homage to Chet Baker brings the boy wonder back to life.”
“Sue Richardson’s trumpet playing catches [Baker’s] combination of delicacy and strength, and her singing has something of his candid simplicity. She even writes the kind of tunes that he might have invented.” 4* review in The Observer.
“I kid you not, you closed your eyes, you were listening to Chet Baker. A remarkable young woman.” Richard Wheatly, Jazz FM.
