World class guitarist to return

World Class Jazz Guitarist Ashton Sellars is returning to Martinborough for a show at The Village Cafe in December.

“Ashton is an outstanding talent,” says Jazz in Martinborough’s Music Director Lee Quayle.  “He’s played at a couple of our festivals and at a solo gig previously and always draws a crowd.  Those who’ve heard him before will want to see him again, and if you haven’t, you must!” added Lee.  Ashton will be playing as a part of a guest quartet.

Ashton graduated with a high level masters in Jazz Guitar from the Conservatory Van Amsterdam in 2018 and is back in NZ to share what he’s learnt and how he’s developed as a jazz guitarist.  He is returning to New Zealand for the first time in almost 3 years.

“I would love to share with listeners what I have discovered, learnt and achieved during this time away from home, studying and playing around Europe,” says Ashton.

Ashton has played guitar along side musicians such as Ambrose Akinmusire, Peter Bernstein, Bruce Forman, Jesse van Ruler, Reinier Baas and many more. Currently he is apart of the Deva Mahal Group (daughter of the great Taj Mahal) and has been touring all over Europe playing stages, concert halls and festivals like North Sea Jazz, Nice Jazz Festival (France), Jazz A Setu (France), London Jazz Festival, to name a few.

Ashton is also a band leader in his own right, with a trio, a quartet and Hiphop Quintet which have played regularly around Europe during his time away from Aotearoa.

Ashton’s sound is greatly influenced by musicians such as Bill Evans, Kenny Barron, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Gilad Hekselman and Jonathan Kreisberg.

Ashton will be playing on Friday 14 December 2018 at The Village Cafe, Kitchener Street, Martinborough.  Tickets ($30) are available from the venue or at the door on the night.  Dinner will be available from 6pm (bookings essential) and the show will start at 7.30pm.

Jazz in Martinborough is supporting Ashton at this gig, as we did before he went to Amsterdam, with proceeds going to assist him further in his career.