Trumpeter Paul Higgs Guides a History of Jazz at the Corn Hall in Diss, UK

If you ask any Englishman (or woman): “Have you heard of a town called Diss?” they will almost certainly say “no.” Even if you asked the question in the East of England (where Diss is situated) you’d get mostly blank looks. And unless you happen to be an expert in obscure English market towns, I can guarantee that you haven’t heard of it either. And I would bet five dollars that it’s never been mentioned in this newspaper before.

It’s not the kind of place you’d automatically associate with top quality jazz practitioners. But that is exactly what I found there.

A Brief History of Jazz at the Diss Corn Hall was led by Paul Higgs on his green trumpet. Paul is a former Musical Director of the English National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. He’s played with the BBC Philharmonic and has appeared at Ronnie Scott’s, the Royal Albert Hall and Wembley Stadium.

And now he’s in Diss.

And his backing band were no slouches either. Chris Ingham, on piano, has contributed to a Mercury Music Prize nominated album. Malcolm Creese, on double bass, has played with Clark Terry and Art Farmer. Neil Bullock on drums works with the BBC Big Band.

Paul guided a packed crowd through A Brief History of Jazz, focusing mainly on trumpet. Interspersed with some history, some jokes and some trivia, we worked our way through King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Hot Club de Jazz, Dizzy Gillespie, Clifford Brown, Chet Baker, Miles Davis, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, Roy Hargrove, and Wynton Marsalis.

We touched upon swing, trad, bebop, hard bop and even had a seven second interlude into avant-garde jazz…which was just about enough for everyone concerned.

All this in little old Diss.

So next time you’re in England and you fancy some jazz, give Ronnie Scott’s a miss and turn your eyes eastwards. You never know what you might find.