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Rochester: James Taylor Quartet to play Rochester Cathedral

Forget singing hymns and quiet contemplation - there’s going to be a party going on inside Rochester Cathedral this weekend - and you’re invited.

James Taylor, who lives a stone’s throw from the cathedral, is bringing the James Taylor Quartet to it for his local gig there, which has become something of a tradition, since he first staged it in 2009.

James said: “With my band this is the fourth time I’ve played at the cathedral. It is very much a community gig if you like, and a home gig for me of course. A lot of my friends come along - it’s like Friends Reunited for the night. It is our audience and they get up and dance around the cathedral. It is really lively and quite special. There’s also a bar inside the cathedral...”

James Taylor will play at Rochester Cathedral
James Taylor will play at Rochester Cathedral

Composer and musician James has been working with his James Taylor Quartet for more than 35 years, with funky acid jazz, made up of what James describes as the “cream” of Britain’s musical talent.

He has also recently written a choral work, The Magnificat, for the cathedral’s choir, which will be premiered infront of the Countess of Wessex on October 17.

“I have been making music out of Rochester all my life,” he said. “I don’t think there is a specific Medway scene, as there was with Canterbury in the 60s and 70s but there should be, and I do feel there is a Kent identity.”

“Playing in Rochester feels special. It has a different feel to me - if you play in the town where you live, it can be scary stuff!”

The James Taylor Quartet will play Rochester Cathedral on Friday, May 4 at 7.30pm. Tickets at £12 are available from 01634 810074 or by emailing development@rochestercathedral.org

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