Guildhall Jazz Festival: The Alexandra Ridout Quartet
- from 7pm
About this event:
- Category:
- Guildhall Jazz Festival | Jazz
- Event type:
- Free | In-person
- Admission:
- Free No tickets required
- Location:
- Milton Court Concert Hall
Guildhall Jazz Festival x EFG London Jazz Festival: The Alexandra Ridout Quartet
A thrilling triple-bill of fresh jazz talent, starting with the vibrant Sara Dhillon Group fusing jazz with Indian rhythms, followed by the dynamic tenor-led Lester Ridout Quartet, and culminating in a set from the internationally celebrated Alexandra Ridout Quartet – showcasing cutting-edge compositions and bold interplay.
This peformance by the Alexandra Ridout Quartet follows their 3pm Workshop earlier in the day.
Part of the School’s annual Jazz Festival, presented in partnership with EFG London Jazz Festival, celebrating the creativity and originality of the Guildhall Jazz community.
Scroll down to view the full line up for this event.
Full line up
Tue 18 Nov 2025, from 7pm onwards
All events are free, no tickets required - just turn up to Milton Court Concert Hall!
7pm
Sara Dhillon Group + Guests
7.45pm
Lester Ridout Quartet
8.45pm
The Alexandra Ridout Quartet
Event ends approx. 9.45pm
About the artists
Sara Dhillon piano & vocals
Eliot Whitehouse bass
Isaac James drums
Arun Thavasothy guitar
Nel Begley vocals
Guests:
Sandy Watkin trumpet
Will Annat saxophone
Anmol Mohara tabla
Pianist and composer Sara has worked or collaborated with various artists from different musical genres. She composed the music for a contemporary version of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night set in modern day India which was a mixture of Jazz, Indian Classical Music and Hindi pop songs featuring the wonderful Kuljit Bhamra on tabla. Her current project, the Sara Dhillon Quintet, brings together a talented group of musicians she met whilst studying at Guildhall School and have been a creative catalyst in helping her bring to life her most recent compositions.
Lester Ridout drums
John Alcock tenor saxophone
George Johnson tenor saxophone
Lorenzo Morabito double bass
The Lester Ridout Quartet is an exciting group of exceptional young jazz musicians playing music in the style of the classic tenor sax led, chordless bands such as the Sonny Rollins Trio, the Johnathan Blake Quartet and Carl Allen (with Christian McBride and Chris Potter).
The quartet, led by superb drummer Lester Ridout, features two top-notch tenor saxophonists - John Alcock and George Johnson and the highly in-demand outstanding double bassist, Lorenzo Morabito.
Lester has brought together this fabulous new generation of jazz musicians to explore his love of the chordless line up and the rich musical opportunities it offers.
Lester Ridout is a busy young London based drummer who recently graduated from Guildhall School. An already in-demand musician he has been cutting his teeth in many London jazz venues such as The Vortex, Jazz Café Posk, The Green Note, The Shed, Alfie’s and Olivers Jazz bar. Lester is the resident House Band drummer for the popular Monday night jam sessions at ‘sYp’ in the City.
“Despite his young age, Lester drove the band with fire and imagination. His explosive interaction with both horn players was particularly striking” (UK Jazz News)
Alexandra Ridout trumpet
Yvonne Rogers piano
Simón Willson double bass
David Sirkis drums
The Alexandra Ridout Quartet has been formed thoughtfully with musicians who are each young prominent voices on the buzzing New York contemporary jazz scene. They beautifully capture Alexandra’s views of life and music as seen through the lens of her compelling compositions. The music aims to bring together Alexandra’s diverse musical background and influences with counterpoint and artistic interplay at the forefront.
At only 26 years old, multi-award winner Alexandra Ridout is already one of the most talented trumpet players on the international scene. Since winning the BBC Young Jazz Musician in 2016 she was catapulted into a busy high-profile career and has been captivating audiences ever since.
Her awards include the British Jazz Awards “Rising Star” 2018, Keep an Eye International Jazz Awards “Best Soloist” 2023, and most recently the Next Jazz Legacy 2025 Award through New Music USA.
Alexandra’s distinctive trumpet voice is sought out by numerous prominent musicians such as Yazz Ahmed, Zoe Rahman, Artemis, Orlando Le Flemming, Kit Downes, Jochen Rueckert and Pablo Held.
“Pretty much from the first note you know that you’re dealing with an original voice” - Matt Penman
The remaining three members of the Quartet all have impressive credentials, performing and recording with world class artists including Bill Frisell, Sullivan Fortner, Linda May Han Oh, Ethan Iverson, Joel Ross, Gilad Hekselman and Walter Smith III.
Artist photos
Lester Ridout
Alexandra Ridout
This event is part of the 2025 Guildhall Jazz Festival in partnership with EFG London Jazz Festival - five days of electrifying jazz at Milton Court.
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Venue information
Milton Court, based across the road from our Silk Street building, provides the School with world-class performance and training spaces, including a state of the art concert hall, a lyric theatre, a studio theatre and several major rehearsal rooms.
- Milton Court, 1 Milton Street, London, EC2Y 9BH