Invoking the elegance of the great jazz era, Manteca seamlessly fuse hot gypsy jazz and elements of cool jazz funk to create a broad canvas of fascinating and wonderful original music.

Silky smooth vocals and rich saxophone tones combine flawlessly with a super cool keyboard and tasteful guitar licks so what emerges is a stylish blend of  humour, sophistication, and warmth creating a fresh and intriguing jazz sound. Manteca skilfully weaves every musical strand into an exhilarating and enchanting performance full of pizzazz, offering the audience a memorable evening of sparkling entertainment.

Manteca was formed initially by songwriters, Phil Harris, and Karen Gilbert who brought together their individual collections of songs to form a new project.  At the time Phil was playing with Route 61, whose keyboard player was Mark Faulkner, and Karen had her own band, The Karen Gilbert Band whose keyboard player was also Mark, so naturally they invited him to join the trio.

Karen Gilbert songwriter, vocals and sax

Karen is an experienced vocalist and songwriter and has contributed many of the band’s numbers ranging from the bluesy Magic to the very sultry Habit. A regular face at the Stroud jazz jam where she has enjoyed debuting many of her jazz compositions as well as performing at the Cheltenham Jazz festival. As an experienced performer, Karen’s vocals are warm and woody, and complement the overall sound of the band. She also enjoys contributing sax solos which gives an added dimension to the trio.

Phil Harris – guitarist and songwriter

There are many wonderful songs from Phil in Manteca’s repertoire, with gorgeous melodies and beautiful lyrics from the exciting and jazzy Talking About It, which flies along and gets the feet tapping, to the gentle and haunting Summer Breeze. Phil is an extremely competent and experienced guitarist who’s playing is both exciting and expressive. Among Phil’s musical heroes are Hendrix, Segovia, and Django.

Mark Faulkner – keys and songwriter

Mark has been playing keyboards for longer than he cares to mention. He is a gifted keyboard player and songwriter with an excellent ear for arrangements, fabulous bass lines and tasty riffs which have been put to good use in the trio. Mark has also recently begun contributing songs to Manteca’s repertoire with the fabulous Hanging On, and also This Must Be Love.

Advance tickets for this dazzling performance cost just £11.  On the door on the night they will cost £12.50.

Why not make it an evening out with friends and family.  We have a limited number of tables that can be reserved for either four or six people, costing £10 and £15 respectively.

Please telephone our Administrator on 01666 505496 to reserve a table