Band Knockout five-star tunes

5:00pm Monday 7th April 2008

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The Filthy Six, Mill Hill Jazz Club, Grahame Park Way, Mill Hill, Wednesday, April 16, 8.30pm

"Music that puts a smile on your face" is what influences trumpet player Nick Etwell of band The Filthy Six, from Derby.

And this is the reaction the band provoke as well - a wide smile and the urge to start dancing to their funky groove songs.

The Filthy Six jazz band are made up of trumpet, saxophone, organ, guitar, bass and drum players.

Their music is in the spirit of soul jazz groups from the late Sixties, from musicians such as Lou Donaldson, Grant Green and Donald Byrd.

The band formed seven years ago at London's Trinity College of Music where all the original members attended, although only two of them are still involved - Mr Etwell and bass player Dave Chamberlain. Mr Etwell and the first guitarist of the band were both influenced by musicians like George Benson and decided to form a group.

"I really wanted to get a band playing this kind of music. We stopped thinking about it and started doing it," Mr Etwell says.

In the Sixties, he explains, jazz musicians were berated for over- simplifying jazz and selling out for commercial reasons.

"But Donaldson was playing some good funky grooves and getting into new jazz at the time. That sort of music has always appealed to me and got me going."

At Mill Hill, The Filthy Six will play tunes from their debut album, Knockout, which was released two years ago.

The band have toured across the UK and the rest of Europe, to destinations such as Stockholm, Paris and Geneva as well as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where they have received five-star reviews. They have also played at famous London jazz hotspot, Ronnie Scott's.

Band members have worked with artists ranging from David Axelrod and Amy Winehouse to the London Jazz and Syd Lawrence Orchestras.

The best part about playing live, Mr Etwell says, is the reaction of the crowd: "That's what it's all about."

Tickets cost £2 for members of Mill Hill Jazz Club and £4 for guests. For more information about the event, call 01923 859511.