Live Music: Billy Marrows + Grand Família
(LITTLE VENICE)
October 23rd 7.30pm
Puppet Theatre Barge • Little Venice
*THIS IS A LIVE MUSIC CONCERT, NOT A PUPPET SHOW*
The most intimate version of Billy Marrows' acclaimed 12-piece chamber-jazz ensemble, the Grande Família Quartet features an unusual line-up of some of London’s finest young jazz musicians. They return to play at the Puppet Barge after their 2024 concert sold out 6 weeks in advance.
Grande Família was formed in 2023 to record Billy’s debut album 'Penelope', a surprise for his mother Penny during her struggle with pancreatic cancer. Released in her memory in early 2024, the album has raised over £6,000 for World Child Cancer and is shortlisted for Jazz Album of the Year in the Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2025. Grande Família play Billy’s emotive, melodically driven contemporary jazz compositions, blending classical, folk and Brazilian influences. This gig will also include new compositions and arrangements of some of Billy’s favourite pieces.
The 'Penelope' album launch at Pizza Express Jazz Club Soho sold out over two months in advance and was released as a live album in March 2025, celebrated with nine-date UK tour in spring 2025, including a sold-out two-night return to Pizza Express. 'The Penelope Album Live', received 4-stars in both Jazzwise and All About Jazz, who noted that it "magnifies the invention, charm and compositional strength of the original".
The members of the Grande Família Quartet are highly creative, versatile musicians who have worked with artists such as Mark Lockheart, Chelsea Carmichael, the Bryan Ferry Orchestra, and Wynton Marsalis’ Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
Press:
“A triumph…Marrows has created a spectacular new ensemble” Jazz Views
“An exhilaratingly original sound, at once intimate and expansive” ★★★★ Editor’s Choice, Jazzwise
“Melodic and distinctive” ★★★★ All About Jazz
“66 minutes of grace, beauty, and fire” Exposé (The Penelope Album Live review)
“He offers something rare: a body of work that is both deeply personal and utterly universal…book early” London Mums Magazine (live review)
Photo credit: Marta Gornitzka
