Brad Mehldau/Mark Guiliana Competition Winner

Congratulations to Alan Shirley, winner of tickets to see Brad Mehldau and Mark Guiliana at Howard Assembly Room on March 13th!

Thanks to all who entered and please stay tuned for more competitions soon!

Venue Profile: Shakespeares, Sheffield

Where? 146-148 Gibraltar Street, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S3 8UB

When? First Thursday of each month

How much? £4.50 on the door

What kind of jazz? Presents a varied programme, open to all styles

Who runs the night? Lee Hallam

After running jazz at the picture house for 4 years, trombonist Lee Hallam has recently moved his night to The Shakespeare pub. Committed to presenting high quality jazz in Sheffield, Lee's approach is to welcome any style of jazz as long as it's played well.

A bit about Shakespeare’s... They meld good beer and good music, to create a relaxed night accompanied by an excellent pint and some great sounds! You can be sure of a friendly welcome and a least 30 beers on offer as you walk through the doors (some will be bottled but 12 will be on tap!) and the best selection of whisky in the North of the City! The pub is situated is just down the road from the Fire and Police Museum at West Bar (Please see the map at the bottom of the page for directions) Parking can be found on Gibraltar Street itself or in the Car Park next to the Crown Court, which is free after 6:30.

Hallam is well-established as a professional trombone player in the UK. A winner of  an'Archer Scholarship’ to Trinity College of Music in London to study with the great Bobby Lamb and the recipient of an outstanding performance award at the I.A.J.E. conference in L.A. in 2005, Lee performs across the UK and beyond in a number of big bands and has performed with respected jazz musicians including Bobby Shew, Alan Barnes and Georgie Fame.

Upcoming highlights - Just Friends (led by Pete Moxon and Steve Holmes) - Thurs 7th March

Gig Preview: Cole Bennett Orchestra/Juxtavoices at Seven Arts

FUSEBOX Extra: Cole Bennett Orchestra + Juxtavoices

01/03/13

Seven Arts
31A Harrogate Rd
Chapel Allerton
Leeds
LS7 3PD
0113 262 6777
www.sevenleeds.co.uk

£8/6
http://www.ticketsource.co.uk/search/searchEventDetails.asp?event_id=31238&sid=

Doors 8pm

Pianist and composer Laura Cole writes about her upcoming gig at Seven Arts on March 1st, alongside Martin Archer's Juxtavoices -

The Friday Interview: Kathy Dyson

                               Photo credit: Denis Dalby

Dr Kathy Dyson is one of the most active musicians in the country. Alongside a busy schedule of performances with her guitar duo Emily Remembered with Deidre Cartwright and her group The Jazz Department, she is a well-respected figure in jazz education, winning Jazz Educator of the Year in 2010 at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards. On top of all that, she has just been appointed Chair of the MU Executive Committee. We caught up with Kathy to discuss her plans for the MU, her thoughts on jazz education and the music she's listening to...

Pete Churchill Jazz Workshop - February 24th

Renowned pianist, composer, arranger and jazz educator Pete Churchill will be hosting a one-day instrumental workshop on Sunday February 24th at Yorkshire College of Music and Dance. The emphasis on the workshop will be playing "in the groove" and working on time, feel and rhythm.

Pete’s work as a teacher has always been a part of his journey as a musician – always moving in tandem with his performing and writing career. His reputation for clarity is well known and his deep understanding of his subject is matched only by his ability to communicate its essence at all levels.

(from www.petechurchill.co.uk)

Venue Profile: HEART, Leeds

Where? HEART Arts Centre, Bennett Road, Headingley, Leeds LS6 3HN

When? Jazz gigs one Saturday per month, jazz workshops on monday nights, jams 1st friday of the month

How much? £8/5 for gigs

What kind of jazz? Varied programme, open to all styles of jazz

Who runs it? Lesley Jeffries and Kim Macari

Jazz at Heart ran their first jam session on February 4th 2011 and since then has been running a concert programme as well as jazz workshops, residential jazz courses and jam sessions. Run by Lesley Jeffries (Chair of HEART board, linguistics professor and trumpet player) and Kim Macari (trumpet player and teacher), the venue has established strong links with the Leeds jazz community and with LCoM students.
HEART has also established links with other UK jazz scenes through Apollo Jazz Network, hosting their touring bands once a season.

Upcoming highlights - Apollo presents: Jude Williams (February 23rd), Jim Corry/Rob Mitchell Quintet (March 9th) and Stuart McCallum Trio (April 20th)

Lancaster Jazz Festival 2013 - Open for Submissions

Planning for Lancaster Jazz Festival 2013 is under way and festival director Matt Robinson has been in touch to let us know that they are now accepting submissions from artists and bands who'd like to appear at the festival, which is scheduled to take place between 14th - 22nd September.

Festival director Matt says -

"We aim to promote the best in contemporary jazz from around the UK as well as locally. We're especially interested in promoting a diverse programme - giving space to new and original sounds and concepts alongside more 'straight-ahead' bands. We like things that other promoters might put on, things that you could only do at a jazz festival, things that are artistically risky and left-field. We also like established genres, classic sounds and feels done really well and scat vocal solos."

The deadline for artist submissions is 5pm on 31st March.

Lancaster Jazz Festival 2013 Artist Submissions

The Friday Interview: Andy Champion

                               Andy with band ACV


Bassist, composer and band-leader Andy Champion is one of the leading figures in the North-East jazz scene, and his reputation and performing experience have led to national and international recognition. He is a prime example of a professional jazz musician today - as well as being sought after as a player in a range of different contexts (big bands like Voice of The North, duos with vocalist wife Zoe Gilby, improv. collaborations with Chris Sharkey and of course his own band, ACV), he is also active as a teacher and as a promoter, running Splinter@The Bridge in Newcastle. Andy spoke to Jazz Yorkshire about ACV, music he's been listening to and his plans for 2013...

Plan Your Jazz Festival Visits for 2013...

There are 17 jazz festivals scheduled to take place in the North this year. Seven Jazz has done the legwork for you and listed them all in one place, with information on dates and artists booked to appear. Time to get them in the diary!

Jazz Festivals in the North

Venue Profile: FUSEBOX at Fox and Newt, Leeds

Where? Fox and Newt, 9 Burley Street, Leeds LS3 1LD

When? Various, use their website to keep up to date - www.fuseboxleeds.org.uk

How much?  £8/£6 on the door

What kind of jazz? Improvised music, cross-discipline work, free improvisation

Who runs it? Dave Hatfield

FUSEBOX has just celebrated their first birthday. On February 10th last year, they hosted Kane, Hession, D'Silva + Swinepipe and since then they have firmly established themselves as a valuable asset to the music scene in Leeds, playing hosting to some of the leading voices in the world of improvised music. Past gigs have included Trio VD, Roller Trio, Shatner's Bassoon and Batteries, as well as a live BBC3 broadcast and a collaboration with Howard Assembly Room. With no funding, the night relies on door money and good will, so a strong sense of community is key.

Upcoming highlights include Trichotomy and Stuart McCallum (Fusebox Extra at Seven Arts, Feb 14th), Billy Moon and Nut Club (Feb 22nd) and Shatner's Bassoon (Feb 24th).

Courtney Pine Competition Winner

Congratulations to Felicity Wheeler, winner of two tickets to see Courtney Pine: House of Legends at Harrogate Theatre on February 22nd.

Our Brad Mehldau/Mark Guiliana ticket giveaway closes on February 28th, so there's still time to enter!

Review: Iain Dixon/Mike Walker Quintet at Wakefield Jazz

Jazz North's Northern Line scheme hasn't officially started yet, but the Mike Walker/Iain Dixon quintet proved themselves worthy ambassadors of jazz in North on Friday, appearing to a packed audience at Wakefield Jazz.

There are no egos in this band, though it could be forgiven if there were, as these five musicians are some of the most interesting and exciting in the country; and their impressive musical CVs confirm that this belief is widespread amongst the jazz musicians of the UK and abroad.

Shatner's Bassoon UK Tour & Album

Shatner's Bassoon are shaping up to have a busy 2013, having already embarked on a UK tour (January 15th - 8th March), released an album (Aquatic Ape Privilege, released February 11th on Wasp Millionaire) and been selected to be part of Jazz North's northern line scheme.

8 Feb: Debut album reviewed today in Guardian and on LondonJazz (linked)

Jan 15th - The Lock-Inn @ Oporto, Leeds
Jan 29th - Schmazz @ The Cluney, Newcastle
Feb 13th - The Noise Upstairs, Sheffield
Feb 18th - The Lock-Inn @ The Fish Tank, Durham
Feb 19th - The Noise Upstairs @ Sandbar, Manchester
Feb 23rd - Shatner's Bassoon and Snorkel @ The Fox and Newt, Leeds
Feb 24th - The Splinter, Newcastle
Feb 26th - The Vortex, London
Feb 27th - The Safehouse, Brighton
March 7th - Club Integral, London
March 8th - Ort Cafe, Birmingham

The Friday Interview: James Hamilton

Ireland born, Leeds based composer and trumpet player James Hamilton has confirmed his place as one of the leading jazz composers in the North. His compositions have won awards (Jazz Yorkshire Award and BASCA to name but two) and have been played by groups such as NYJO, Voice Of The North, Trinity College of Music and Leeds College of Music. Alongside his big band writing, he writes and performs with indie rock band Hope and Social as well as being heavily involved in music education. Here, we talk to him about his new big band recording project and his other work...

We Want You! (To contribute to the website...)

We'd like to open our doors to some new contributors at Jazz Yorkshire. Whether you'd like to start a weekly column or just send us a one-off article, we want to hear from you.

Your thoughts and ideas are welcomed but here are a few suggestions of things we had in mind -

Previews from musicians/promoters - sending us previews of your upcoming gigs or recordings is a very effective tool to get people to notice and connect with your music. An article that describes the music, the group, how you brought it together and why you're excited about it is a lot more personal than 17 facebook invitations.

Reviews - if you have an album or concert you attended that you'd like to review, we want to hear it. We may also have a space for a regular reviewer on the JY team if you are an intrepid gig-goer.

Interviews - if you have someone you think we should interview, get in touch and let us know - we publish one per week and we're always looking for new people to add to the list.

Articles - Reactions to things in the media or within the jazz community, or anything else you'd like to write about. These can be one-offs or regular slots.

We want to grow our team of contributors to make the website as varied and relevant as possible. So, contact us at blogATjazzyorkshire.org (replace AT with @)


We look forward to hearing from you!

Venue Profile: Wakefield Jazz

Where? Wakefield Jazz at Wakefield Sports Club, Eastmoor Road, Wakefield WF1 3RR. (WF1 3SB for SatNav)

When? Most Fridays (35 to 40 per year) Doors and food 7:00pm,  early (support) set 7:30pm when included , main artist 8:30pm

How much? £14.00 standard entry, £12.00 concessions, £7.00 students. (Occasional exceptional artists £17.00 entry)

What kind of jazz? Modern to Contemporary, National and International Jazz; frequent local support bands.

Who runs it? Chris De Saram

Current promoter, Chris de Saram, took over in 2004 after 17 years of growth under its founder Alec Sykes. Chris is a life-long jazz fanatic and has gradually developed the programme of presentations to widen the range of high quality artists. In June 2012 the Club celebrated 25 years at the same venue having won the first Parliamentary Jazz Awards "Venue of the Year" in 2005 and being nominated twice since. Chris is active in seeking to experience the work of new bands at regional clubs and National Festivals. He also networks widely and is Chair of the Newly Formed NorVolJazz (Northern Voluntary Jazz Promoters Network) which has developed from the Jazz Promoters Group under Jazz Yorkshire.  He is a Trustee of Yorkshire Live Music Project which works to bring Contemporary Chamber Jazz and Classical Music to the Region. Wakefield Jazz is a Partner of the Wakefield Music Education Hub.

Upcoming highlights include Mike Walker/Iain Dixon Quintet, Jonathan Gee New York Trio and Christian Brewer quartet.

Ticket Giveaway: Brad Mehldau & Mark Guiliana

From February until April this year, pianist Brad Mehldau's live performances will be almost exclusively as part of a duo. He will tour Europe with Kevin Hays (piano) and with Mehliana, a duo project with drummer Mark Guiliana.

Jazz Yorkshire have teamed up with Howard Assembly Room to offer the chance to win 2 tickets to the Mehliana gig in Leeds.

 To be in with a chance of winning, send your answer to the following question to blogATjazzyorkshire.org (replacing AT with @) by February 28th.

Question: Which state was Brad born in?

Good luck!

Big Band Swing Jamboree

 



Sunday 10 February
Grammar School at Leeds

Jazz Yorkshire is holding The Big Band Swing Jamboree on Sunday 10 February at GSAL from 8.15 a.m  to 6.00 p.m.
A big band of selected young musicians from across Yorkshire will be mentored in the myriad aspects of playing Big Band Swing Music by Al Wood and John Ellis MBE.
Organiser Martin Coultas says "All musicians, band leaders and lovers of big band swing are invited to come along and observe the band at work."
There will be a final concert between 5:00 pm and 6:00pm

The Yorkshire Bank has generously supported the event with a Yorkshire Bank Employee Volunteer Grant.

Norvol Jazz Promoters Network awarded GftA Funding

We're thrilled to announce that our bid for Grants for the Arts funding to enable us to provide training and information days for all Northern Promoters has been successful.

A small group has worked with Jazz North on the bid for a number of months and it is a great step for the newly established Norvol Jazz Promoters network toward a sustainable network for supporting jazz in the North.

Details to follow on the events planned for the coming months.

The Friday Interview: Katie Patterson

Described as "hugely energetic and technically flawless", drummer and bandleader Katie Patterson hasn't stopped for breath since graduating from LCM in 2011. As well as her own projects, The Steely Dan Big Band and The Allsorts, gigging around the country, she is also involved in music education through Live Music Now and as a private teacher. Jazz Yorkshire caught up with Katie to discuss education, jazz in the North and The Allsorts...