Pianist professor bringing jazzy Christmas with free gig at Sunderland's Fire Station

Jazzed-up Christmas carols and hit songs are coming to the Engine Room bar and bistro on High Street West in a free show.

The venue, part of the Fire Station complex, will host the festive-themed jazz night on Monday, December 4 with Professor Michael Young on piano, Paul Grainger playing bass, drummer Abbie Finn and vocalist Lindsay Hannon.

The jazz night will start at 7pm, after the completion of the University of Sunderland’s carol service at nearby Sunderland Minster the same evening. Walk-ins for drinks only are welcome, but pre-booking for dining is recommended.

Michael is also deputy vice chancellor of the University of Sunderland, but was born into a musical family and was an organ scholar at Oxford before completing a PhD in music composition at Durham University.

While at Oxford, he played in a much-respected band, jh4, which made many appearances in the city’s vibrant jazz scene and produced albums of their own music and the music of others.

His jazz heroes are Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett.

However, after years of following his dream of playing jazz while building his successful university career, Michael stopped playing. But now he's back.

He said: "We’ll be playing jazzed-up carols, some traditional Christmas music and some Christmas pop hits. So expect our own interpretations of Silent Night, Jingle Bells, Hark the Herald Angels Sing as well as some modern tunes that people will undoubtedly recognise.

"Our previous gigs have featured some jazz standards as well as our own versions of music from the likes of John Lennon, Kylie Minogue and Jimi Hendrix.

"We’re hoping to perform every couple of months at the venue and build an audience while doing so. Jazz does seem to be becoming more popular at the moment.”

Rhys McKinnell, chief executive of Pub Culture which runs The Fire Station and The Engine Room, said: “Our jazz nights are increasingly popular and in Michael, Paul, Abbie and Lindsay, we’re featuring four brilliant musicians at the top of their game.

“We think our Christmas-themed jazz night will be a lovely, chilled way to ease into a busy festive season.”

For more information on The Engine Room, view menus or book for Jazz Night please visit www.pubculture.com/engineroom.