Chesterfield Jazz Club presents Marianne Windham, double bass

Marianne is a jazz and classical double bass player, based in Guildford. She took up playing professionally at the start of 2011, leaving behind a career as director of a software consultancy in order to pursue a passion for playing the bass. In the Spring of 2011 Marianne set up The Cavern jazz club near Guildford. Her goal was to create a club that was both intimate and welcoming and which would attract some of the top jazz musicians in Britain. At the end of 2012 the club expanded to include a monthly Jazz Cafe evening at the Electric Theatre, and “Guildford Jazz” was born! Since then the club, known to locals as the “Ronnie Scott’s of Surrey”, has attracted an enthusiastic and regular following, and since it started, and has welcomed over 1500 musicians and 22,000 music lovers to a total of well over 300 events, including jazz workshops and jam sessions for local musicians. The club is proud to be part of the local community, and has raised over £70,000 for local charities, and organised a number of events as part of other local festivals. There’s more about the club , including events coming up, at www.guildfordjazz.org.uk. Marianne is also the Chair of Fleet Jazz Club, hosted at the Harlington Centre in Fleet, which runs a monthly programme of live jazz from some of the top UK jazz musicians on the 3rd Tuesday of each month. A list of upcoming gigs at the club are also listed on www.fleetjazz.org.uk Aside from the club involvement, Marianne plays in and runs a number of different contemporary jazz and function groups, from duos up to quintets, and plays with a number of big bands across the South East. She also does regular theatre and orchestral work (including the Surrey Mozart Players) and teaches double bass privately.