How we became a quartet and how to get in touch.......
Guinea Lane Saxophone Quartet were formed in 2019 by four friends with diverse musical backgrounds - Rob Bartholomew (soprano sax), Barbara Dalton (alto sax), Jude Jackson (tenor sax) and Fiona Stamp (baritone sax). Use the Contact Us page to get in touch, or give us a ring on 07806 612101. Our email is guinealanemusic@gmail.com
original | diverse | entertaining
Although we started off playing a wide range material for sax quartet, we soon chose to take the road less travelled by specialising in traditional folk music of the British Isles. Most of our pieces have been arranged by ourselves and others have been created especially for us by composers such as Karen Street, Chris Lawry and others with an empathy for the way we play and a sensitivity for traditional music. Thus, we are confident in saying that our repertoire is wholly original despite, in many cases, having been around for hundreds of years. We relish playing beautiful melodies and rich harmonies.
We believe that by playing traditional music as a saxophone quartet we are doing something both original and captivating, as has been proven by our enthusiastic audience response.
We had an extraordinarily exciting 2025 playing at folk festivals in Whitchurch, Chippenham (supporting Phil Beer and Paul Downes) and Sidmouth (supporting Tamsin Elliott and Tarek Elazhary), also Romsey’s Beggars Fair and Andover Rocks. Other highlights include supporting Patakas at Ace Space, Newbury and a series of concerts in churches culminating in the magnificent St Thomas’s in Salisbury. We’re now looking forward to playing in many more folk festivals folk clubs, arts centres and diverse other events in 2026.
the musicians...
Fiona Stamp
Fiona was a late starter to the delights of playing saxophone aided by a good grounding in flute and piano. However, at a local festival, she fell in love with the tenor sax and now enjoys playing a wide range of repertoire on alto, tenor and baritone saxes. The Antonians Swing Orchestra gave Fiona her first big-band experience on tenor and alto. Further experience came with playing salsa,
samba and cumbia with various Latin-American and World Music ensembles. She was then invited to join the Pitmore Saxophone Quartet playing everything from Early Music to avant-garde jazz. This led directly to her position of baritone player with GLSQ. Additionally, Fiona can be seen dancing with the ‘big fella’ (baritone saxophone) in The Mighty Hump, a dynamic 10-piece jazz/funk band (available for weddings and parties!).
Her free time is spent with her family and a spot of running including a couple of ultra-marathons. She earns a living running her family agency for lorry drivers. Look for Fiona at the bottom of her garden, nurturing plants and weeds.
...fell in love with the tenor sax...
Jude started making music when she was given an accordion 20 years ago...
This reignited her joy in playing after many years’ absence. She then started
playing folk music with friends, started a Tango band , and got involved with community choirs in west London and joined the St Margarets Elastic Band as an oboist, playing big band and swing. It might have been the regular proximity to their large sax section that lead to a saxophone epiphany and a move to Wiltshire 5 years ago.
She first joined the Bathtub Orchestra and now plays with the Wiltshire police band as well as Guinea Lane Saxophone Quartet. When not playing saxophone ,she enjoys time at home with family, walking her dogs and growing vegetables
Jude Jackson
Barbara Dalton
Barbara studied for a degree at the Royal College of Music majoring in clarinet and flute. After further studies at the Guildhall School of Music and some years performing, she fulfilled her long term dream of taking a post graduate teaching degree and becoming a full time music teacher in Dulwich,
latterly becoming Director of Music at a co-ed school which enjoyed a purpose built music school and theatre, a large team of full time music staff and 40+ peripatetic teachers. Having not played or practised for many years, Barbara is now busily occupied during retirement playing
the flute, clarinet, saxophone, accordion, piano, organ and recorders in various Wiltshire ensembles and choirs.
..a fulfilled musician..
Rob's playing career started on guitar and mandolin...
Rob’s playing career started on guitar and mandolin in folk clubs and ceilidhs, most successfully with The Threepenny Operators, who managed the unlikely feat of combining English folk dance music with the songs of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill.
A spiritual conversion to the saxophone led to a drift towards rock and jazz.
This was followed by an increasing involvement in Latin-American music and the formation of the ten-piece Los Latinos Perdidos, playing salsa and samba. Either side of the millennium, Rob was a member of Roger Watson’s multi-cultural ceilidh band, Boka Halat, with musicians from India, Africa and South America, playing folk & roots festivals, concerts and ceilidhs.
He directed the Cricklade College Big-Band for fifteen years and acted as musical director for community and youth theatre productions including Lark Rise to Candleford, Happy End and The Threepenny Opera.
In addition to GLSQ, Rob also plays in the Spanish influenced jazz ensemble The Ingenious Gentlemen and sings in Paul Sartin’s Andover Museum Loft Singers.
