Tickets: £20.00 Seat at a shared Table for 4 /£15.00 Seat - No Table

Doors: 7.30pm

Show: 8.00pm-10.00pm

This special night at The Hampstead Jazz Club sees Pucciarelli taking a break from touring with his group, to play this intimate show with well-regarded pianist Sam Leak. 

The duo will perform the music from The Pucciarelli’s Group album ‘Uplift’ in a way that has never been heard before. The duo will also play a mixture of original pieces from their favourite composers and a small selection of jazz standard.

Giuseppe Pucciarelli is establishing himself as one of most interesting guitarists and composers of today’s European Jazz scene.

Giuseppe Pucciarelli

Giuseppe Pucciarelli is a jazz guitarist and composer. He has been playing the guitar since the age of five when his father bought him a classical guitar for his birthday. From the age of 10, Pucciarelli received classical guitar lessons. A few years later, keen to further his expertise in advanced jazz improvisation and composition, he decided to go further with the music studies and, as a result, he moved to London for studying at the Guildhall School of Music.

Shortly thereafter, he started to perform in the city’s most important jazz club including Ronnie Scott and Pizza Express and to teach all aspects of Music Theory, Jazz Harmony, Improvisation and Composition.

Pucciarelli’s high level of motivation let him record his first original album ‘Shall We Say It Is Worth” at the age of 23. He has released since then ‘Feel Free To Feel Free’ (2019) and ‘Tunes We Like’ (2021). His new album is entitled ‘Uplift’ (Ubuntu) sees him go back to record with the Italian quartet featuring Aldo Capasso, Ergio Valente and Marco Gagliano.

Martin Hummel, Director of Ubuntu Music: “I was seduced by Giuseppe’s composing and his music from the very first time I listened to ‘Uplift, the title track to the album. It’s an immaculately crafted album and warms the head and heart with each note. It’s a pleasure to welcome Giuseppe to the Ubuntu Music family.”

Sam Leak

"The 26-year-old pianist-composer Sam Leak is the man behind Aquarium, a quartet that a lot of critics picked up on following an impressive self-titled debut release two years ago on the Babel Label...Aquarium is made up of ex-Royal Academy graduates, all having noticeably matured of late into more self-possessed, discerning jazz players without sacrificing any of their youthful energy...Sam Leak was a name to watch at the beginning of last year and on the evidence of 'Places' he's certainly living up to his early promise"  - Selwyn Harris, Jazzwise Magazine

"Leak's well-worked, linear compositions are shaded with English eccentricity. Bucolic reveries toughen into grimy urban soundscapes, there are classical references and the band's performance has a gritty matter-of-factness....Improvisation remains at the heart of any jazz performance, and both Leak and Allsopp are strong soloists who grasp complex themes with a firm hand. Leak solos with long lines that move from near-abstraction to rootsy repeats and then fade tantalisingly into the lower register." - Mike Hobart, Financial Times

"The Royal Academy of Music jazz course is now widely renowned for delivering musicians and composers of exceptional quality, not least an impressive lineage of pianists that includes Gwilym Simcock, Tom Cawley, Kit Downes and Ivo Neame. The latest name to add to this roster is Sam Leak, a young musician whose debut album with his ensemble Aquarium is an immensely mature and sophisticated work... Leak is a committed musician, expertly constructing flowing, natural, singing lines and also unafraid of taking risks. His careful touch allows him to draw a distinctive, personal sound from the piano." Dan Paton, Music OMH

"A band full of the great heavyweights we have on the young British Jazz scene... it's got that beautiful mixture of extraordinary playing, a kind of chamber jazz feel but with great grooves and extraordinary improvising as well, I'm a fan of this band...I've been listening to it a lot actually, I'm a really really big fan of this record"  Jamie Cullum, BBC Radio 2

"Sam Leak is one of the brightest young stars in the jazz piano galaxy, a heavenly improviser and a brilliant prospect for the future." - Helen Mayhew, JazzFM

Line-Up:

Giuseppe Pucciarelli - Guitar

Sam Leak - Piano

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, there is NO food served in the Jazz Club, there is a bar for drinks. We advise booking a table for dinner at the Duke of Hamilton upstairs at least 1hr before show-time - Book Here