Art Themen Organ Trio is Eastbourne Easter treat

Spokeswoman Annette Keen said: “Art Themen has been a star of the UK jazz scene for the past six decades. He learnt the clarinet at school but turned to the saxophone aged 16, after attending a concert by the Dankworth Seven, with a female cousin. The well-groomed saxophonist Danny Moss winked at her, and the impact this had convinced Themen that his future was with the saxophone. Art has played with all the top jazz musicians, British and American, in all the top jazz venues, and for most of those years was also a leading consultant orthopaedic surgeon until his retirement from medicine. He toured the UK and worldwide for many years with Stan Tracey's various bands, and also had a long and acclaimed musical partnership with pianist John Critchenson. Art's hard bop style owes much to the influence of Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane, but he is very much his own man. His current trio, with Pete Whittaker (organ) and George Double (drums) brings together three extraordinary talents in a band whose policy is 'to produce a collection of listenable and quirky tunes from a wide variety of sources'. It's fun and funky, groovy and nostalgic all at the same time and is a must-see gig for anyone who appreciates jazz.”

The venue is the Fishermen's Club, Royal Parade, BN22 7AA. Tickets are £15 on the door on the night if still available or in advance from www.WeGotTickets.com (booking fee applies). Under-25s concession is £7.50, only on door sales. Doors open at 7.15pm, and the music starts at 8pm, finishing at around 10.30pm. There is ample parking immediately next to the venue and a warm welcome inside, Annette promises.

Also coming up, featuring an impressive cast and accompanied by a live orchestra numbering more than 30 musicians, Ukrainian National Opera return to the Congress Theatre, Eastbourne, this time presenting Puccini’s Madama Butterfly on March 22 and his La Boheme on March 23. The operas will be sung in Italian with English surtitles.

Producer Alexej Ignatow said: “After last season’s premier in the UK, we are delighted to bring back Dnipro Opera theatre from the Ukraine. This opera and ballet theatre has a long-standing heritage of top-quality opera productions, and we are excited to bring it back to the UK in our 2024 opera season. One of the most colourful and exotic, no opera can match the tragedy and sorrow of Puccini's Madama Butterfly. Set in Japan at the turn of the last century, it is the story of a doomed love affair between an American naval officer and his young Japanese bride whose self-sacrifice and defiance of her family leads to tragedy. Though infinitely sad and tragic, the compelling tale of Madama Butterfly remained Puccini’s favourite opera – his supreme theatrical achievements also gave the world its most sublime and beautiful arias in history – One Fine Day and Love Duet, as well as the Humming Chorus which has been popular with opera-goers for over a century. This touching tale of innocent love crushed between two utterly different cultures resonates as strongly as ever in today’s world.

“La Bohème is Puccini’s passionate story of love at first sight set in 19th century Paris, in the Bohemian district where students and upcoming artists live. Rodolfo, the poet and his friends live their lives in freedom and independence but at a price of financial struggle.”