The Freddie Krone Trio – A Portrait of Joe Henderson
Thursday 28th May 2026
Tickets: £20.00 Seat at a shared Table for 4 /£15.00 Seat – No Table
Doors: 7.30pm
Show: 8:00pm-9:30pm – Single Set 75 min
Please note you can book for dinner either before or after the show.
The Hampstead Jazz Club is pleased to present The Freddie Krone Trio – A Portrait of Joe Henderson.
FREDDIE KRONE
One of the defining saxophonists of the 20th Century, Joe Henderson was both a masterful improviser and composer, writing with a marked variety in style. Freddie Krone, drums, has deconstructed, reimagined, and rebuilt a selection of Henderson’s most famous and under appreciated tunes. The mark of a truly great composer is a body of work that can be adapted to the demands of posterity; by presenting these tunes in a completely new light, the trio hopes to prove just this and provide a portrait of a genius. Featuring Alex Wardill, tenor saxophone, and Joe Snelling, bass, the trio will play exciting arrangements, collective improvisations, new interpretations, and originals inspired by the life and work of Joe Henderson.
The main purpose of the show is, however, to completely reimagine the tunes of Joe Henderson. Some of them are famous, such as ‘Inner Urge‘ and ‘Recordame‘. Others are of an equally high caliber but have been underrepresented on the modern jazz stage, such as ‘Brown’s Town‘ and ‘Granted‘. We include free jazz, collective improvisations, and a variety of genres as techniques used to push the boundaries of these tunes. We have also carefully arranged each one to fit our pianoless set up. It is precisely the lack of an harmonic instrument which frees up rhythmic and harmonic space, allowing a close coordination when improvising and more room for our saxophonist especially to improvise.
Our approach to arranging always balances radical ideas with the foundational aspects of each tune, making sure to present Henderson’s work in a new light, whilst paying homage to the very genius of his compositional techniques. For example, in the piece ‘In ‘n Out’, we have adapted parts of the melody to fit ¾ time. What makes this melody particularly interesting, however, is the gravity of beat 1 which the tune constantly emphasises. Our re-working of the melody therefore includes this foundational component. There is also the original recording of ‘Serenity’ which launches straight into the melody in conjunction with important accents played by the rhythm section. In our arrangement, we develop, free of a time signature, motifs inspired by this melody before arriving at a climax which starts the melody proper and a much freer insertion of the rhythm section’s accents. In this case, the reworking of the tune is based on a thematic approach, we are focusing as much as possible on what serenity means and what it would sound like.
Ultimately, we are a paying tribute to a great saxophonist and composer who is sometimes overlooked when jazz fans consider his contemporaries (Rollins and Coltrane). We are not only foregrounding his work, and not only ‘updating’ it to fit our set up, we are performing the tunes in such a unique way that our performance should be considered as such, a unique chance to hear the arranging and improvising of today’s London jazz students and professionals.
“Opening with ‘I’ve Never Been In Love Before’ from Guys and Dolls, the group jump right into a smooth melody of dynamic instrumentation. The night’s programme had been advertised as ‘hard-swinging jazz, ballads, and bossa-nova’ that draws from the ‘American Songbook tradition’, and this opening song immediately delivers on that promise. ” – Durham Palatinate
LINE-UP:
Alex Wardill – Tenor Saxophone
Freddie Krone – Drums
Joe Snelling – Bass
Please note, The Club is not licensed to allow access to Children under the age of 16 after 9pm, so for evening performances, please do not book tickets for children under the age of 16. Children aged 16 and above are welcome at any time.
For £20.00 Tickets:
Seats are not numbered and you will be seated at available tables. Please note tables seat 4 people, so for bookings of less than 4 people, you will be seated and share a table for 4.
For £15.00 Tickets:
This is a fully seated event. Seats are not numbered and will be allocated on a first come first serve basis.
Please note the Jazz Club is situated in the basement of the Duke of Hamilton Pub and access is via a number of stairs. The nearest toilets are situated on the 1st floor of the Pub.
Showtimes
Doors: 7:30 pm | Show: 8:00 pm