Fiona Pears and Andrew London
March 16 @ 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Fiona Pears and Andrew London
16 February 2025
Doors open 4.15pm.
Andrew London is well-known to the WJC audience for his ebullient renderings of swing classics and the quirky and cynical original songs that graced a string of recorded albums during his partnership with Terry Crayford in Hot Club Sandwich. Since 2012 he has released a similar output of recordings under with his Andrew London Trio, with partner Kirsten on bass and a variety of Wellington musicians including Nils Olsen, James Tait-Jamieson and Wayne Mason.
Fiona Pears featured on several early HCS albums after Terry and Andrew gently but firmly co-opted her into collaborating after meeting at a Nelson Jazz Festival in 2003. Their shared enthusiasm for continental ‘Hot Club’ swing music ensured an immediate bond.
‘She set the crowd on fire that day with her ebullience and charisma, so obviously backed up by innate creative genius and technical brilliance. It was a heady mix and Terry and I were determined that she be persuaded play some gigs and record with us’ says Andrew. ‘Terry was inspired to actually write several pieces specifically for her which we recorded on our album Toasted, and she played festivals all around the country with us for a couple of years’.
Her skills were also noticed by Hayley Westenra and her management, who appointed Fiona Concert Master of the group Hayley took on several World tours. This brought Fiona into contact with the jazz and classical communities in the UK and continental Europe, and she subsequently recorded her own original compositions with orchestras in Prague and Liverpool.
Now back in her home town of Christchurch, Fiona has been gracious enough to allow herself to be tempted North for a few days to reunite with the Londons and play some rollicking gypsy-style swing music. Strap yourselves in.