"What a brilliant club" - Forbes 2025
THE VERDICT
APPJAG Jazz Venue of the Year 2024
The Verdict is a multi award winning grass roots music venue, the only full time Jazz venue outside of London in the south of England, it has been named as one of the best jazz clubs in the World by Star Insider. Weekly hosting the best in jazz music with Top International acts, playing blues, swing, funk, Latin Jazz and fusion.
Monkin’ Around Trio
Dave O’Higgins - tenor sax
Luke Fowler - bass
Billy Pod - drums
Oscar Wilde once said; ‘imitation is the highest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness’. Jazz musicians have always known this and have always done their best to stand on the shoulders of giants. While these three musicians are in no way mediocre they will happily afford every flattery to the great Thelonious Monk.
Here are three friends getting together to pay homage to one of the greatest Jazz composers of the 20th century, Thelonious Monk.
With a wealth of experience and artistry at their finger tips Dave O’Higgins, Luke Fowler and Billy Pod have set out to pay their respects to the works of Thelonious Monk and to use his compositions to express themselves and display their veracious talents.
Monkin’ Around are in the process of mixing and mastering their first album which will be available by September 2024. and Hang. She also runs her own label, Roomspin Records, and Eltham and Crystal Palace Jazz Clubs with drummer Dave Ohm.
Dave O’Higgins now has 24 albums as leader to his credit. His sound is highly personal and recognisable, with a clear sense of melodic development and adventure. A popular performer with the public, with an excellent sense of pacing and presentation, he has a wide palette from Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, John Coltrane and Joe Henderson through to Stanley Turrentine and Michael Brecker.
O’Higgins has relentlessly pursued artistic exploration and development always maintaining a deep respect for the tradition of the music. Now with the spotlight on Monk we will get to see yet another feather in Dave’s cap.
“A stunning player in the neo-bop vein, with an apparently effortless flow of coherent ideas, beautiful time and a highly developed harmonic sense.” ( - JAZZ GUIDE)
After spending his formative years in Perth, Western Australia studying at WAAPA until 2005, Luke Fowler moved to the UK where he has spent the last 18 years. He opened an award winning Jazz Venue in South London called ‘The Junction’ which soon became a hub for some of the best musicians in the UK, featuring the likes of Jim Mullen, Dave O’Higgins, Alex Garnett plus some of the new younger sensations coming out of London, including Mark Kavuma, Emma Rawicz and Rob Luft. The Junction was voted in the Guardians; ‘Top 10 music Pubs in the UK’
After recently graduating with his Masters in Jazz Performance at London’s acclaimed Guildhall of Music in 2020, Luke has been busy running a series of projects which he has presented in and around London. He has a strong sound and infectious beat on his instrument having been inspired by Ray Brown at an early age. His extensive knowledge of harmony makes him an engaging and interesting bassist to listen to and perform with.
After exploding onto the UK jazz scene, Billy Pod has worked with a number of leading musicians including; Jim Mullen, Dave O’Higgins and Rob Luft, Vasilis Xenopoulos and Mornington Lockett among others. He has recorded more than 20 albums as a side-man/co-leader and has performed in festivals and venues in EU, USA and Asia. In 2016 he performed at the Tribeca Performing Arts Centre in New York as a finalist of the “Made In New York” International Jazz Competition and in 2019 he was selected in the list of 'Top 10 new and upcoming drummers' by French ‘Βatterie’ magazine.
His debut album “Drums to Heal Society" released in 2019 has not just given him a prominent position among the new generation of drummers internationally but also demonstrated his compelling skills as a composer and music ensemble director. His latest album entitled ‘Quintessence’ was also well received by press, media and audiences during his UK and European tour in 2023.
Marcus Bunton Trio
The Marcus Bunton Trio is led by pianist, composer and bandleader Marcus Bunton, one of the most compelling young voices currently emerging on the UK jazz scene. Despite his youth, Marcus has already built a reputation for musical maturity, originality and fearless creativity, marking him out as a musician to watch. Currently studying jazz at the Purcell School of Music, he represents a new generation of British jazz artists combining deep technical grounding with a strong personal voice.
Marcus first developed his craft through Brighton’s highly regarded New Generation Jazz programme, where he was immersed in ensemble playing, composition and improvisation at an early stage. Wider public recognition followed when he became a finalist on Channel 4’s The Piano, where his distinctive approach to harmony and storytelling at the keyboard stood out. Since then, he has performed at a growing list of major venues and festivals, including Love Supreme Festival, Watford Jazz Junction and Brighton Jazz Festival, steadily building a national profile.
At the heart of Marcus’s music is a restless curiosity. Drawing on his parallel studies in jazz piano, trumpet and composition, his writing explores adventurous harmonic language, shifting and asymmetrical time signatures, and richly layered textures. These elements are balanced by a strong melodic sensibility, ensuring the music remains direct, expressive and emotionally engaging. Influences from contemporary jazz sit alongside classical structure and an improvisational openness that allows each performance to evolve in the moment.
Following the release of his second album, Marcus brings this evolving sound to The Verdict, a venue renowned for championing both established artists and emerging talent. He is joined by his regular trio collaborators: Harry Laws on drums and Joe Snelling on bass. Together, the trio demonstrates a deep musical rapport, combining rhythmic precision, dynamic interplay and a shared commitment to exploration.
For this special performance, the trio is joined by guest saxophonist Julien Hadwen, adding an extra dimension to the group’s sound. Expect a set that is bold, imaginative and full of energy — music that pushes boundaries while remaining grounded in the spirit of modern jazz. This promises to be an exciting evening showcasing a young artist at a pivotal moment in his development.
