THE PTA of St Pauls School Chipperfield can count themselves very lucky to have the likes of composers Nikki Iles and her husband, Pete Churchill, in the neighbourhood, since the Kings Langley couple have arranged a fundraising concert featuring Grammy nominated jazz singer Norma Winstone, MBE. Nikki, an award-winning pianist, has hand-picked Norma for her sextet, which also features legendary guitarist Mike Walker, saxophonist Mark Lockheart (Loose Tubes, Radiohead) with Steve Watts on bass and New Yorker Jeff Williams on drums, who previously played alongside the late, great Stan Getz.

Under the guise of The Printmakers, this illustrious group of musicians cross the boundaries between jazz, folk and contemporary music presenting a number of jazz standards, originals and songs from artists as diverse as Joni Mitchell and John Dankworth.

Nikki and Pete’s careers as musicians, educators and composers have taken them all over the world but both are thrilled to be playing at Chipperfield Village Hall.

“The community apsect is very important to us,” says Pete. “I’ve run a community choir in Kings Langley and at St Pauls School and I do a concert with my trio once a year.”

Pete will be opening the concert with a performance by The London Vocal Project. The group is made up of jazz singers and instrumentalists from colleges across London who have attended workshops with Pete at The Guildhall School of Music.

“It’s a support network,” he says. “There are about 20 members and we sing different repertoires including gospel, soul and a jazz/folk crossover.

“We sing everything from Carole King to James Taylor, Kenny Wheeler and my own arrangements and even some Bulgarian folk music.”

The students will also have the opportunity to perform alongside Norma at the end of the evening.

“They idolise her,” says Pete. “They have been to her workshops and have all her records.”

Norma’s latest album, Distances with her current group members Italian pianist Glauco Venier and German saxophonist Klaus Gesing, was voted top vocal CD in 2008 for the Academie du Jazz in Paris and Norma has recently been nominated for a Grammy.

She says: “I was very surprised by the Grammy nomination as in the jazz field it tends to be the domain of the US. It was a thrill for this very European CD to have got to their notice!”

Norma’s career has seen her collaborating with a number of distinguished artists including working with pianist John Taylor and trumpeter Kenny Wheeler in Azimuth in the late ‘70s and St Albans’ godfather of jazz, Stan Tracey. Her double CD Amoroso…only more so with The Stan Tracey trio and saxophonist Bobby Wellins garnered five star reviews.

Norma recalls: “I have always loved Stan's playing since I first heard him at Ronnie Scott's Old Place in the late ‘60s. All I can say is that it was like working with a very great individual voice in jazz; that's what he is.”

Norma’s original voice is ably demonstrated on her classic album Somewhere Called Home. In July 2001, she won the title of Best Vocalist in the BBC Jazz Awards and was nominated again in 2007.

I ask Norma what she is most looking forward to working with Nikki’s sextet?

She says: “I absolutely love the sound of this group. The way that Mike Walker and Nikki Iles play together is pretty unusual; never getting in each other's way, always listening and complementing the other's playing. I had never sung with Mark Lockheart before this and it has been a joy discovering his beautiful sound and ideas. I've always loved Steve Watts' playing and Jeff Williams is tremendous. Nikki gets better and better, everyone is willing to give everything to the music and they are all great to be with.... What more could you ask?”

Nikki also picks up on the fact that everybody involved is bringing something unique to the mix. She says: “It was important to me that everyone had an individual voice. While obviously steeped in American jazz everyone was clearly a product of where they live – Norma’s love of English song and poetry, Mark’s experience with early English music working with the Orlandos and everyone very connected to folk music. Also, they are all people from various stages in my life and wanted to celebrate this as I brought the different elements together.”

The Printmakers come to Chipperfield Village Hall on Saturday, May 30 at 8pm. Tickets: 01923 269974