Saturday 16th May 2026
Brandon Allen presents… The music of Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers feat. Mark Kavuma!
Saxophonist Brandon Allen leads a powerhouse new project celebrating the music of Art Blakey and the legendary Jazz Messengers. Featuring the outstanding Mark Kavuma on trumpet, the band delivers the fiery swing, hard-driving grooves and soulful energy that defined the Messengers sound - a bold, high-octane tribute to hard bop at its finest.!
This project captures the raw drive and soulful sophistication of classics like Moanin’, A Night in Tunisia, and Blues March. With Allen at the helm, the music is both reverent and refreshingly alive - a celebration of tradition delivered with urgency, passion, and a modern edge.
Line up:
Brandon Allen - tenor saxophone
Mark Kavuma - trumpet
Liam Dunachie - piano
Oli Hayhurst - bass
Dave Ingamells - drums
Australian saxophonist/composer Brandon Allen relocated to London in 2000. Since then, he has performed with numerous high profile artists across various genres including Eric Clapton, Paloma Faith, Kyle Eastwood, Stefano Di Battista, Camille Bertault, Ibrahim Maalouf and Adam Nussbaum. He continues to record and tour extensively with American bassist Kyle Eastwood. He leads ‘Some Kinda Mean’, OMAR + QCBA, Scofield, Metheny & Martino, The Brandon Allen Groove Band and Celebrating the Tough Tenors.
Named Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year (Jazz FM Awards, 2025), Mark Kavuma has earned a reputation as a leading figure in British jazz. Celebrated for his distinctive trumpet sound, blending lyricism, soulful tone, and graceful technique, his performances exude joy and inspire deep connection between artist and audience. Through the Banger Factory collective and its associated record label (Banger Factory Records), Kavuma is establishing a platform that empowers emergent talent to flourish creatively and reach their full potential while shaping the future of music beyond traditional boundaries of genre, gender, and geography.
Liam Dunachie is a pianist, jazz organist, composer and arranger. He has performed in a variety of settings as a pianist/organist with the likes of Dennis Rollins, Jim Mullen, Alex Garnett, Aubrey Logan & Alfie Boe. Liam also works in musical theatre, and has worked widely as both a Musical Director and keyboard player on a wide range of shows in both the West End and on UK Tours, including "Hairspray", "Phantom of The Opera", "Gypsy" and many others.
Oli Hayhurst graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in 2000 and is now one of the UK and Europe's most in demand and respected double bassists. He has performed with Pharaoh Sanders, Alan Broadbent, Jacqui Dankworth, Julian Siegel, Zoe Rahman, Ray Gelato, Cara Dillon and Seth Lakeman among many others.
Dave Ingamells has established himself as one of the most versatile jazz drummers of his generation. He performs regularly at major jazz venues in the UK, such as Ronnie Scott’s, the Vortex, the 606, Café Oto, and PizzaExpress Live, as well as concert halls including the Royal Albert Hall, Southbank Centre and Cadogan Hall. He has performed the London Jazz Orchestra, KIM Trio, Tom Ollendorff, Henry Spencer, Anthony Strong, Nick Costley-White & Brandon Allen.
Instagram@brandonallenartistbookings
Video 1 (Mark Kavuma and the Banger Factory – „The Banger Factory”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go3QawzpuNU
Video 2 (Brandon Allen – „Running Away with Me”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuF12coqLzM
