New Jazz Night at Trinity Church, Leeds

A new monthly jazz night is starting up at Holy Trinity Church on Boar Lane in Leeds.

The launch gig for the night (called Somethin' Else) will take place on March 18th and feature the Adam Frost trio (pictured above) with Adam Frost on guitar, Matt Aplin on piano and Sam Jackson on bass.

The gig is free entry. Doors 7.30 with music from 8pm.

Wynton Marsalis & Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra come to Harrogate

Harrogate International Festival have announced that the world-famous Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra will launch the UK section of their new tour at Royal Hall, Harrogate on June 20th.

The irresistably swinging Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and its musical director Wynton Marsalis celebrate the 75th anniversary of iconic record label Blue Note. Launching in the UK right here in Harrogate, this show embraces the entire history of modern jazz from bebop to the dancefloor, performing big band arrangements of unforgettable classics. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to see the most famous jazz musician of his generation right on your doorstep!

Tickets are on sale now and are priced at  £44, £42, £36, £28, £22, Boxes: £90, £60.

This gig is sure to sell-out so booking soon is advisable!

For more information, see the Harrogate International Festivals website.

Pink Lane Jazz Coop and The Globe - UPDATE

Pink Lane Jazz Coop are continuing with their mission to sell shares and purchase The Globe - a venue in Tyneside - to develop a new hub for jazz performance and education.

Dave Parker from the Pink Lane Jazz Coop has been in touch to spread the word about an event they are holding next week for potential investors.

LS6 Jam session ends

The popular LS6 jam in Leeds, run by tenor saxophonist Benji Powling, has come to an end after starting up in October.

The night has seen a number of LCoM students and graduates perform thee, and recently hosted touring group ULV, an international quartet led by Northern pianist Andrew Woodhead and featuring musicians from Sweden, Norway and Birmingham.

Despite strong numbers at the weekly jam, the venue have decided to stop offering the house band free drinks (bands play for free, aside from donations collected from attendees on the night).

Benji plans to find a new home for the jam soon so keep your eyes on the LS6 Jam Session facebook group for more information.

Review: Jay Phelps at Seven Jazz, 20th February

Our own Northern Jazz News editor reviewed Jay Phelp's new project, Projections of Miles, at Seven Arts in Leeds on February 20th for London Jazz News.

You can read the full review here -

London Jazz News Jay Phelps review

Jazz North in March

Jazz North has a number of events taking place in March for musicians, audiences, promoters and educators.

York Jazz Jam for Charity

Bassist John Marley has organised a charity jazz jam to raise funds for music charity Nordoff-Robbins, an organisation which specialises in music therapy.

The jam will take place on March 31st at 8.30pm at the Phoenix in York.

John says...

To celebrate the jazzinyork.com website being up and running for over a year, we've organised a jam session to raise money for charity. We wanted it to be a music charity so we've picked Nordoff Robbins who do great work helping people through music therapy. You can find out about them at http://www.nordoff-robbins.org.uk/
All guests are welcome to play...all instruments and vocalists.
The house band is -
Harry Orme - Guitar John Marley - Bass Matt Parkinson - Drums and maybe a couple of pianists!
Entry is £4 or £3 if you are going to sit in and play.

Upcoming Discus concerts in March

Discus Music, a label run by musician and composer Martin Archer, have been in touch to spread the word about two concerts in Sheffield in March featuring Northern Line group Engine Room Favourites and Coastguard Allstars.

Want to own a jazz venue? Here's how...

Pink Lane Jazz Co-op is a group of local residents, jazz listeners and musicians in the North-East who arrange gigs at various venues in Newcastle. They are offering people a unique chance to own shares in a new jazz venue they are seeking to buy, The Globe.

Liverpool Jazz Festival: February 27th - March 2nd

The second annual Liverpool International Jazz Festival takes place between February 27th and March 2nd this year at the Capstone Theatre. This year's programme features a varied line-up of groups featuring some of the UK's most well-known musicians, free workshops and an after-party.

Festival passes are available at £70 full price, £54 concession and tickets for individual concerts are available too, from £12 to £17.50.

For more information on the festival and links to purchase tickets online, see the Liverpool International Jazz Festival website.

Richard Turner Jazz Fund recipient announced

The Royal Academy of Music have announced that the recipient of this year's Richard Turner Jazz Fund is bassist Tom McCredie.

The fund was set up in memory of trumpeter Richard Turner, who sadly passed away in 2011 and is centred around musicians with a connection to Leeds or Yorkshire. McCredie, originally from Wakefield, is the second recipient of the fund; the first being bassist Alex Davis. A panel which included head of RAM Jazz Nick Smart and Richard's family and colleagues convened in January and decided on McCredie as the most deserving recipient.

From RAM website...

Richard’s Mum, Christine, said “We are delighted to continue to award this fund following the high emotions of the wonderful memorial concert in July 2012. Growing up Richard went through the youth music scene in the Yorkshire area and he was always appreciative of the grounding he received. Richard was proud of his heritage and we felt it was appropriate to direct the support toward this region where possible. I will always be grateful for the opportunities the Academy gave Richard, and the hard work that has gone into establishing this fund. There were many deserving applicants but I particularly enjoyed reading Tom’s account of his early experiences of the jazz scene in West Yorkshire, as they were so reminiscent of those of Richard. We felt there was an added connection through Tom’s support of the Con Cellar Bar and his performance on Richard’s composition “Too Minor” on Reuben Fowler’s Big Band CD. I hope that this award will be of some help to him at this critical time in his studies and as he embarks on his career as a professional jazz musician."

Coastival Jazz Day, Scarborough (Feb 15th)

                                                                      Clare Teal

Scarborough's annual 3 day arts festival takes place between February 14th and 16th this year and Saturday 15th is Jazz Day.

The afternoon will be kicked off by Kate Peters and her septet at the Grand Hall at 1pm with support from the Heavy Horns. In the evening, singer Clare Teal will appear with the Community Big Band at 8pm (which we interviewed Clare about when the project launched in October 2012).

Also going on at the Scarborough Art Gallery is Stoop Quintet (7.30pm), a group which features James Mainwaring, Jon Briggs, Dave Smyth, Mick Bardon and Chris Montague.

Launching the festival on February 14th will be the Brand New Heavies, who are supported by Leeds band Nubiyan Twist.

For full information on the entire line-up, plus details on prices and locations, see the Coastival 2014 website.

Juxtavoices seeks Sopranos

Composer and musician Martin Archer is looking for new members for his 30 piece antichoir, based in Sheffield.

Juxtavoices - 30 voice semi-improv leftfield music and performance poetry antichoir -  is currently looking for a couple or so new members who can sing in soprano range. You don't have to be a great vocal technician or even read music, you just need to be open minded and willing to experiment, learn to improvise and have some serious fun. We're a very friendly group! If you live within striking distance of Sheffield then do message us if you think this might be for you, or any of your friends and contacts. We rehearse once per month on a Saturday morning, do 8 - 10 gigs per year, and will be recording our third CD later 2014 / early 2015. 

If you're interested, information, photographs and videos are available in their EPK on the Discus Music website.

Wildflower Sextet Crowdfunding Campaign

The Wild Flower Sextet have launched a crowdfunding campaign to support the making of their debut album, which they are recording on February 22nd and 23rd in the Leeds College of Music recital room after receiving a place on the Jazz Services Recording Support scheme.

Gig Preview: Soul Rebels feat. Abstract Orchestra & The Colman Brothers

Saturday 1st March
The Wardrobe, Leeds
Doors 9pm, Colman Brothers 10pm, Abstract Orchestra 11pm. DJs before, during and after til 2am
Tickets £7 in advance (more on door) from www.seetickets.com – www.lunatickets.co.uk – www.crashrecords.co.uk – www.jumborecords.co.uk (0113 245 5570)

Following on from Riot Jazz Brass Band's appearance, DJ Lubi is hosting another Soul Rebels night on March 1st, this time featuring The Abstract Orchestra and the Colman Brothers.

Manchester Youth Jazz Collective Spring 2014

Supported by Jazz North and One Education, Manchester Youth Jazz Collective is returning to Band on the Wall for a spring programme of workshops.

Activities will run over two Sunday afternoons (February 16th and March 16th) and a three day course (7th-9th April).

From Band on the Wall website...

For young instrumentalists and singers aged 8-18. Learn the art of improvisation, create new music and play in groups. Led by leading Jazz educators and workshop leaders supported by established players and teacher...Working in small groups, each made up of young musicians of a similar standard, the participants will compose and devise arrangements and new music, learn ensemble skills and ways to further their improvisation skills.

The Sunday sessions cost £10 per session and the 3 day course costs £75. Band on The Wall's website gives full information and has an enrol button to sign up online. 

Gig Preview: Al Wood Nine

Thursday 27th March
The Cairn Hotel (Ripon Road, Harrogate, HD1 2JD)
8.00pm
Tickets £10


The renowned musician and bandleader Al Wood is bringing his nonet to Harrogate in March. The band features some of the most respected musicians in the North - Jim Corry, Si Kaylor, James Russell, Stuart McDonald, Sam Thornton, Graham Hearn, Garry Jackson and Bob Howard alongside Al himself.

BBC Young Jazz Musician Finalists announced

                                          Finalist Jake Labazzi

The finalists for the BBC Young Jazz Musician 2014 have been announced and two out of the five come from the North's Chethams School of Music.

Alex Bone and Freddie Jensen will join the other finalists - Tom Smith, Sean Payne and Jake Labazzi (pictured above) - at the finals on March 8th.

Congratulations to all the finalists and we wish them the best of luck in March!

City Vaults Bradford stops Sunday Jazz

Promoter and musician Keith Jevons has announced that the weekly Sunday jazz session at City Vaults in Bradford has come to an end after 6 years.

Keith took to facebook to say...

I'm really sorry folks but the Sunday night Jazz at City Vaults has come to an end.
We've had some good times over the six years we've been there.
Special thanks to Kevin Dean and partners, Scott Chan, Hayley Armitage, Lisa, Josh & all.
And best wishes to everyone who has supported the Jazz nights.