Merry Christmas from NJN!

We hope you've all enjoyed our Advent Calendar this month and now it's time for our annual sojourn. We'll be back in early 2016 and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

NJ Advent Calendar - Venues in Yorkshire & Humber part 2 (December 24th)

                                                                   The Phoenix Inn, York

It's Christmas Eve! For our final advent calendar door, we take a look at part two of our Yorkshire and Humber venues.

The Phoenix Inn, York

This independently run pub in York programmes live jazz two or three a week. Trumpeter Ian Chalk has a residency that brings him there every 1st and 3rd Sunday and there's a weekly jam session with James Lancaster, Chris Moore, Christian Topman and Trevor King every Wednesday.

NCEM, York

The National Centre for Early Music occasionally includes jazz in their year round programming. The hall lends itself well to acoustic jazz and in early 2016, there will be a celebration of pianist John Taylor and then a visit from guitarist Martin Taylor.

Jazz in the Spa, Boston Spa

The team at jazz in the spa are champions of traditional and mainstream jazz and have been hosting live events every Saturday evening for a number of years. Early 2016 will bring Frank Brooker's Happy Chappies, Alan Barnes and the Savannah Jazz Band.

The Lescar, Sheffield

Pianist Jez Matthews runs Jazz at the Lescar and programmes a huge variety of acts year round, with a gig every Wednesday. There are touring groups and local acts and everything from vocal jazz to experimental improvised music.

Sheffield Jazz

Sheffield Jazz at the Crucible Theatre and the Millenium Hall. Their focus is on national and international acts, many of whom stop by to perform as part of UK tours. 2016 will bring Pete King, Gilad Atzmon, Jason Rebello and Partisans amongst others.

Wakefield Jazz

Wakefield Jazz has been named Best Venue in the Parlimentary Jazz Awards and continues to promote high quality live jazz on Friday evenings thoughout the year. Early 2016 sees performances by two Northern Line groups Panjumby and Graeme Wilson Quartet as well as Iain Dixon/Les Chisnall duo and the Manhattan Sound Big Band.

Huddersfield Jazz Club

The team at Huddersfield Jazz programme music at the Keys Restaurant on Friday and Saturdays throughout the year. Their programme focuses on UK jazz and recent gigs have included Bruce Adams and Snake Davis.

Jazz at Heart, Leeds

Open since 2011, Jazz at Heart have been programming monthly jam sessions and gigs and weekly workshops since then. Their gig programme is varied and often features emerging talent and their workshops and jams are run by musicians Kim Macari, Ben Lowman and Sam Dunn.

Sela Bar, Leeds

Sela Bar is a well known gig destination in the centre of Leeds and currently the monthly jazz gigs are run by bassist Tom Riviere. Groups like the Sam Leak Trio and pianist Andy Woodhead have played there recently, as well as guitarist Stuart McCallum.

NJ Advent Calendar - Video: Stretch Trio (December 23rd)

 Stretch Trio met while studying at LCoM and have won both Jazz North Introduces and the Peter Whittingham Jazz Award. This film was shot by photographer and film-maker Maria Alzamora.

  Live electronica unit, Stretch Trio, blend digital ambience and soundscapes, with driving drum & bass grooves. Blurring the line between the premeditated structure of programmed electronic music and live real-time interaction, Stretch Trio appeal to both the die-hard dance fans and astute improvised music fans. At the end of 2015, Stretch Trio will be recording their sound defining second album, to be produced by Pete Wareham. Expect fierce sub-bass, ambient effects loops and precision drum grooves that grab you by the throat.

NJ Advent Calendar - Summer Jazz Festival part 2 (December 22nd)

Here's part two of our look at summer jazz festivals in the North...

Hull Jazz Festival (late July)

J-Night, the organisation behind jazz in Hull, programmes a summer jazz festival at the end of July each year. It takes place at the Hull Truck Theatre and the programme is mixture of established UK acts and emerging artists. The line up for the festival in 2016 has already been announced with YolanDa Brown's reggae love songs, Helen Watson, Jean Toussaint and Northern Line's Manjula.

Manchester Jazz Festival (late July - early August)

2016 marks the 21st year of Manchester's Jazz Festival. MJF is one of the biggest in the country and pulls in thousands of people annually to the North. There's a huge programme with a mixture of local, national and international artists at venues across the North. There is a commission fund each year, lots of support for emerging artists and a specially brewed beer!

Chapel Allerton Jazz Sunday (early September)

The Chapel Allerton Arts Festival takes place each year and is a local festival which contains arts, theatre and community projects. At the end of each festival, Steve Crocker and his team at Seven Jazz programme a full day festival of live jazz. There's a focus on Northern artists and audiences can attend for the whole day for £3 - what a bargain!

Lancaster Jazz Festival (early September)

Lancaster Jazz Festival is growing year on year and is run by LCoM graduate Matt Robinson. This festival is populated by emerging artists playing original music. They programme at venues across in Lancaster and almost every gig is sold out at each festival!

Scarborough Jazz Festival (late September)

This highly popular festival just sneaks into the summer list in late September. Tickets are already on sale for the 2016 edition and ticket holders will be treated to performances by Nathaniel Facey, Trish Clowes and The Abstract Big Band.

NJ Advent Calendar - Venues in the North West (December 21st)

The North West has a number of venues and festivals programming live jazz year round and with only four days left of our advent calendar, we take a look at some of them...

Matt & Phreds, Manchester

Situated in Manchester's Northern Quarter, Matt & Phreds programmes live music every day of the week. There's quite a mixture in the bands they programme but you can expect to see Manchester's favourite Stuart McCallum, New York Brass Band and regular jam sessions. Plus you can get a pizza named after drummer Dave Walsh, so who can say fairer than that?

Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester

The RNCM has a year round programme of live music events, often programming international and touring jazz musicians. Their own RNCM Big Band often appears with special guests and in January trumpeter Ryan Quigley will join them. Early 2016 will also bring Clark Tracey to work with the band.

Ribble Valley Jazz Club, Clitheroe

As well as the annual Jazz Festival, there is also year round jazz going on in Ribble Valley. Most of the gigs take place in the Atrium Cafe Bar and happen one Friday a month. Coming up after the Christmas break will be Graeme Wilson Quartet, JJ Wheeler and Tim Garland.

Southport Melodic Jazz, Southport

Southport Melodic Jazz programmes jazz gigs on Sunday evenings and is programmed by Geoff Matthews. Early next year brings a focus on emerging talent with Artephis and the Jam Experiment. And of course, their festival is in February!

The Cinnamon Club, Altrinham

The Cinnamon Club programmes jazz, soul and Motown at their venue in Altrinham. Their schedule has some local musicians like Sam Healey as well as touring and international acts like Liane Carroll and Barb Jungr.

Wigan Jazz Club

Wigan Jazz Club hosts gigs on Sunday afternoons, usually on the last Sunday of the month. They are big fans of big bands so expect a few of those popping up on the programme. There's a big band bash on the 28th December and Al Wood's quintet plays tribute to Mulligan and Carter in March.

NJ Advent Calendar - Video: Phil Meadows (December 20th)

 Saxophonist Phil Meadows has been extremely busy in the last few years, leading his own ensembles, setting up and running Engines Orchestra and releasing albums. As a graduate of Chetham's School of Music and Leeds College of Music, Phil flies the flag for Northern Jazz. You can find out more on his website and the Engines Orchestra site.

NJ Advent Calendar - Summer Jazz Festivals part 1 (December 19th)

                                                                 Cleethorpes in summer

With less than a week to go until the big day, we look behind door number 19 to some of the jazz festivals taking place in the summer in the North.

Cleethorpes Jazz Festival (late June)

Grimsby Jazz promoter Gill Wilde also runs this weekend festival in Cleethorpes each year. It runs over a weekend at the end of June and is a celebration of British Jazz. It all takes place at McCormacks Bar and the line-up for 2016 features Alan Barnes, Dave Newton and Doncaster Youth Jazz Orchestra amongst many others. Tickets go on sale on January 2nd!

Burton Agnes Jazz and Blues Festival (early July)

Set in the picturesque surroundings of Burton Agnes Hall, this is another weekend festival. You can camp out at this one and make a holiday out of it! This is another one that focuses mainly on UK artists with people like Paul Baxter, Alan Barnes and Digby Fairweather making appearances regularly.

Buxton Beer & Jazz Festival (early July)

Buxton might be pushing it a bit in terms of North of England but it's Christmas so we'll relax the rules a bit! Buxton's beer and jazz festival is a weekend of traditional and dixieland jazz and of course, beer. Last year's festival had performances from Spat Langham's Hot Fingers, The Wabash Jazzmen and the Incredible Bibbington Limeburners.

Wigan International Jazz Festival (mid July)

We recently reported on the good news that Wigan Jazz Club has taken over the running of the Wigan Jazz Festival. 2016 will be in it's 31st year and it's bound to have a good programme. There's a good focus on Big Bands with groups like Echoes of Ellington and Gerry Mulligan Concert Jazz Band making appearances last year.

NJ Advent Calendar - Venues in Yorkshire & Humber part 1 (December 18th)

                                                           Scarborough Sea Front


We're splitting the venues in Yorkshire and Humber into two parts for this one because there are so many of them! 

Scarborough Jazz

As well as running the annual festival, Mike Gordon and his team run weekly Wednesday gigs at the Cask in Scarborough. They have visiting musicians perform with the house band each week (with Mike himself behind the piano) and occasionally have full bands there, too. Upcoming gigs include Russ Henderson and Dennis Rollins.

Grimsby Jazz

Gill Wilde is another promoter with seemingly limitless energy, promoting both a year round series of gigs at the Old Clee Club in Grimsby and an annual festival in Cleethorpes. Their Thursday evening gigs host a range of UK jazz artists, from local groups to visiting touring groups. Upcoming gigs include Rob Barron Quartet and Chetrio with Neil Yates and Percy Pursglove. 

Hull Truck Theatre

J-Night, the organisation responsible for the Hull Jazz Festival also promote gigs year round at the Hull Truck Theatre. There's a focus on established UK acts with people like Ruby Turne, Snake Davis and the James Taylor Quartet scheduled to appear in 2016.

JATP, Bradford

Run by Martin Powell and his team, this jazz night has been running for many years. Recently, it moved home to The Glyde in Bradford and it continues to host a whole range of groups, many visiting as part of a UK tour on the first Friday of every month. Their upcoming gigs include Emily Brown and the Matt Holborn Quartet.

The Shed, North Yorkshire

This venue was described by BBC's Jez Nelson as North Yorkshire's hub of improvised happenings and its hugely varied programme features comedy, poetry and music. Simon Thackray schedules all sorts of music with people like Lol Coxhill and Mark Sanders making appearances. (As an added incentive, there is also a special Shed Bitter to enjoy at the gigs...)

Square Chapel, Halifax

Like the Shed, the Square Chapel promotes all sorts of arts event including theatre,film and music. Jazz audiences in Halifax can look forward to a big band swing night and Snake Davis in early 2016.

Fusebox, Leeds

Fusebox is a champion of experimental and improvised music. Set up by the late Dave Hatfield, it's played host to artists from all over the world and has a loyal following in the region. Recently, they hosted Metamoprhic and Royst as part of their tour as well as Beats & Pieces and Loz Speyer's Inner Space Music and their next gig is the Graeme Wilson Quartet in January.

Seven Jazz

Seven Jazz is run by Steve Crocker and his team and programmes gigs year round in addition to a busy workshop and jazz choir schedule. They host gigs on Sunday afternoons and jam sessions as well as an international programme on Thursday evenings and their upcoming gigs include Rommi Smith, Zoe Gilby and Pete King.

Leeds College of Music

LCoM has a concert venue attached to its premises and hosts a year round series of concerts in all genres of music. They're currently celebrating their 50th year with a series of events and the programme in early 2016 includes Mike Walker, Steve Fishwick and Stuart McCallum.
 
 

NJ Advent Calendar - Video: Alan Barnes (December 17th)

A celebration of Jazz in the North wouldn't be complete without a nod to one of its most well known exponents, Alan Barnes. As his bio says

Alan Barnes’s unique musicianship, indefatigable touring, and warm rapport with audiences have made him uniquely popular in British jazz.  He has received over 25 British Jazz Awards, most recently in 2014 for clarinet, and has twice been made BBC Jazz Musician of the Year.

See him in action in this video, recorded at Seven Arts in Leeds with Bruce Adams on trumpet. 

Good news for Wigan International Jazz Festival

                                Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra at Wigan International Jazz Festival

 
 We hear that celebrations are in order in Wigan as it has been announced that Wigan International Jazz Festival will go ahead in 2016 after some uncertainty.

Wigan Jazz Club will now take over the management of the festival with Ian Darrington MBE as the new Festival Director and plans are now underway to programme the 4 day festival for its 2016 edition.

Well done to all involved and we look forward to a packed festival being announced in the coming months!

NJ Advent Calendar - Workshops part 2 (December 16th)

Behind door number 16 is part two of our look at the jazz education initiatives happening in the north...


Seven Jazz Workshops, Leeds

Seven Jazz in Leeds promotes a year round programme of live gigs, both international and local. But somehow, they also find the time to run regular jazz workshops AND a jazz choir, too. Their Jazz Choir is run by vocalist Tessa Smith and meets fortnightly. The instrumental workshops are led by a number of professional musicians with Tom Sharp and Dominic Moore being the most recent tutors. These happen on a Saturday afternoon and are usually multiple times a month.

York Jazz Initiative, York

Trumpeter and teacher Ian Chalk has been on a mission to provide top quality jazz education to musicians in York and his success so far has been inspiring. He directs a number of ensembles like the York Music Forum Jazz Orchestra and Big Band Initiative which meet regularly and leads weekly workshops that deal with improvisation and harmony. Recently, all three ensembles performed in York and you can see videos of the ensembles in action here.

Play Jazz!, Tyneside

Play Jazz! is a series of monthly workshops provided by the Jazz Coop and the Sage Gateshead. On the first Saturday of each month, a number of tutors that include Jim Birkett, Stu Finden and Zoe Gilby lead a 4 hour workshop which deals mainly with the practical side of playing jazz and improvising.

NJ Advent Calendar - Jazz Christmas Single! (December 15th)

Behind door number 15th is something we are certain is unique to the Northern Jazz scene - a Christmas single! Recorded at Leeds Fold as part of their opening celebrations, The Honeybirds wrote and recorded an original christmas song with help from a handbell orchestra.

On the 29th October 2015, Leeds Fold, a newly established recording/rehearsal studio, workshop and gig spaceopened up its’ doors to the public in the first of a series of monthly live jazz events. The celebrations kicked off with a house band made up of some of Leeds finest jazz musicians, a mountain of fresh samosas, homemade sweet chill jazz jam, and beer from Leeds brewery.
As if that wasn’t enough merriment for one night, Leeds’ vintage vocal songstress' “The Honeybirds” recorded their Christmas single live in front of an audience armed with handbells and well oiled vocal chords. This little piece of Christmas cheer can be yours to take home for whatever price you like. Proceeds will go towards helping The Honeybirds, Leeds Fold and New Jazz Records do what they do.
 
Vocals: Daisy Thurkettle, Jenny Smith, Tessa Smith
Trumpet: Kim Macari
Tenor Saxophone: Will Howard
Guitar: Kathy Dyson
Piano: Jamil Sheriff
Double Bass: Sam Quintana
Drums: Jordan Dinsdale
Crowd of handbells conducted by James Hamilton

Click here to buy the single - pay what you feel.

NJ Advent Calendar - Venues in Merseyside & Nearby (December 14th)

Behind door 14 is a look into the venues that promote live jazz in Liverpool and the surrounding areas. This is a scene that continues to grow, with the Liverpool International Jazz Festival running annually and venues that promote jazz year round, too.


Parr Jazz, Liverpool

PARRJAZZ is now 6 years old and presents live jazz weekly in a number of venues. Their usual home is Frederiks on Hope Street, where they put on gigs every Tuesday evening. They also host gigs at Monte Carlo restaurant in Heswall on Thursdays and move to the Capstone Theatre for their larger events. The team that runs everything consists of Geni Lamb, John McCormick, Danny Ward and Anthony Ormesher. Previously, they've hosted a huge number of musicians from the UK scene like Corey Mwamba, Steve Parry, Ant Law and Dave O'Higgins and international acts like Snarky Puppy and the Robert Castelli Boom Quartet.


Jazz@Davenham

Davenham Jazz is NORVOL's most southern member and are based in Davenham Theatre. They host monthly gigs, mostly on Thursdays but with the occasional Friday thrown in and their upcoming gig season will see performances by a number of Jazz North's current Northern Line groups like Manjula, Graeme Wilson quartet and Cameron Vale.

Capstone Theatre, Liverpool

The Capstone Theatre is the home of Liverpool's International Jazz Festival which runs annually in February and is run by Neil Campbell. The venue also hosts year round events - as mentioned above, they have ParrJazz's large events.

The Caledonia, Liverpool

This venue hosts a huge number of events all year round and they are a regular home for Liverpool's jazz musicians. The Weave play there regularly, as do Marley Chingus Jazz Explosion and more. All of their gigs are free to attend.

Honourable Mention - Liverpooljazz.org

This incredibly informative website keeps audiences in the loop about all the live jazz going on in the region as well as providing information on the musicians in the area and details on how to book a band if you want jazz for your venue or event.

NJ Advent Calendar - Gogo Penguin (December 13th)

 Manchester trio Gogo Penguin have enjoyed a rise to fame in recent years, picking up numerous awards along the way. 2015 saw them selected to perform at Rochester Jazz Festival, receive a nomination for an Urban Music Award and a signing to Blue Note Records for their upcoming album (released on Feb 5th 2016). Behind door number 13 is a video of their tune, One Percent.

NJ Advent Calendar - Venues in the North East (December 12th)

Jazz audiences and musicians alike are fortunate to have a huge number of venues that promote live jazz in the North. Some weekly, some monthly, festivals and jams - there is something for everyone. We're using broad strokes with the categorisation of these articles - we'll be giving a list for the North East, North West, Yorkshire & the Humber and Merseyside. We hope no-one is offended if we've mentioned your venue in the wrong region (!) but we wanted to include as many as possible. As ever, if we've missed anything out let us know by commenting and sharing a link.

The Globe, Newcastle- Run by the Jazz Coop there are gigs, workshops and jam session that run in this cooperatively owned venue. Programming is varied from mainstream to contemporary and recent artists include Euan Burton quartet and Maciek Pysz Trio

Jazz Cafe, Newcastle - Situated on Pink Lane in Newcastle, the jazz cafe promotes live jazz upstairs and a cafe bar downstairs. Gigs are usually on Fridays, Saturdays and Tuesdays and there also jam sessions held there. Recent artists include Manjula, Unfurl and Loz Speyer's Inner Space Music.

Lit & Phil, Newcastle - Pianist Paul Edis programmes live jazz at this historic building in Newcastle. Local and touring bands play there and recently, Paul's duo with Graham Hardy and Sue Ferris have featured in the programme.

Darlington Jazz Club - A club that focuses on New Orleans jazz, Darlington Jazz Club is found at St Augustines Parish Centre and they host gigs monthly on a Saturday. Frank Booker and Thomas 'Spats' Langham are amongst their latest gig offerings.

The Sage, Gateshead - Jazz is just one of the many strands that the Sage feature in their year round programme. Of course, there's the International Jazz Festival in April but events happen year round like Jambone & Paul Edis on December 20th and the Glenn Miller Orchestra on December 29th.

Saltburn Jazz, Saltburn - This arts centre hosts many things with Saltburn Jazz Club being just one. There are monthly gigs, often featuring musicians in the North East scene and coming up next is LEASH, a trio with Mark Williams, Andy Champion and Adrian Tilbrook on January 8th.

Jazz North East - Jazz North East just celebrated their 50th birthday and continue to programme jazz at various venues. Their programme is varied but they are real champions of contemporary and improvised music. Roller Trio and Entropi will be hosted in early 2016.

NJ Advent Calendar - Spring Festivals (December 11th)

As the wind howls and days get ever colder, let's open door number 11 and look at all of the jazz festivals we can look forward to in spring...


Gateshead International Jazz Festival (early/mid April)

Starting off the festival season is Gateshead's annual weekend festival at the Sage. This festival is run by Ros Rigby and her team and is produced by Serious so expect big name acts from the UK and abroad. The line-up for 2016 has already been announced and will feature performances from Gregory Porter, Evan Parker and a special large scale performance by Phil Meadows' Engines Orchestra and the Northern Sinfonia, amongst many others. Everything takes place under one roof too, which is pretty handy.

Darlington Jazz Festival (late April)

Running over a long weekend, this festival presents performances across Darlington. There's a strong focus on Northern artists and last year they had acts like Durham Alumni Big Band, Al Wood, Matt Roberts and Jamil Sheriff. There's a great tradition of jazz education and big band playing in this area and it's reflected in the festival programming.

Ribble Valley Jazz & Blues Festival (Bank Holiday weekend, May)

A 5 Day Jazz Festival with over 40 bands, 350 musicians, a blues stage, a soul stage, lots of free music in pubs, a picnic in the park and a Saturday Street Party - what better way to spend your bank holiday monday. Geoff Jackson and his team run this festival annually and are always looking for volunteers (see the website) to help out. 2016's programme includes headliners like Ben Crosland, Ray Gelato and Courtney Pine.

Keswick Jazz Festival (mid May)

Set in the picturesque Lake District, this festival is a celebration of traditional, New Orleans and Mainstream jazz. The programme showcases a wealth of UK talent and as well as many live performances, there are also talks and dance classes. Expect artists like Roy Williams, Enrico Tomasso, Keith Nichols and The Basin Street Brawlers.

NJ Advent Calendar - Community Jazz Projects & Workshops Pt. 1 (December 10th)

The North is lucky to be home to a large number of passionate jazz educators and there are initiatives across the region that provide high quality music education both to young musicians and adult learners. Behind door number 10 is the first of two parts where we look at some of these projects...

Dales Jam - Yorkshire Dales

Dales Jam was formed in 2003 by a group of people of all ages and musical abilities, who wanted a time and a place to meet up and play music. Since then, under the guidance of a professional music director (Richard Ormrod) the band has grown in numbers and meets at Ermysteds School in Skipton.  Dales Jam are a community Jazz Band based in Skipton and rehearse on a Monday night between 7 and 9.30 pm, as many as 35 people gather for a weekly workshop to learn and have fun.

BlueJam Arts - Cumbria

BlueJam Arts is based in Cumbria and run by a team headed up by Jilly Jarman. Their goal is to promote the creation, performance and sharing of new music and new ways of making music in an accessible, multi media environment. Their jazz provision includes Jazz Talk workshops led by trumpeter Geoff Bartholomew and an Improv Choir. 

Jazz at Heart Workshops -  Leeds

Jazz at Heart has been running jams, workshops and gigs since early 2011. Their weekly Monday workshops were until recently run by saxophonist Matt Anderson before his move to London. Now, two musicians have taken the helm - guitarist Sam Dunn and saxophonist Ben Lowman. Often the workshops have a composer/stylistic theme per term and there is also an annual summer jazz course run by Matt Roberts.


Sheffield Jazz Workshops

Sheffield Jazz has been running music education events for 35 years and there is a loyal following of young musicians and adult learners at their weekly Saturday workshops. The numbers for these workshops have grown in size over the years and now there are streamed classes for different abilities. Tutors include Pete Lyons, Seth Bennett, Hannah Taylor, Chris Walker and Nick Fletcher.

NJ Advent Calendar - Christmas Big Band! (December 9th)

Behind door 9 is one of the North's favourite drummers, Ronnie Bottomley, and his jazz orchestra performing an arrangement of christmas tunes wrtitten by trumpeter and arranger Trevor Vincent.This was filmed at Seven Arts in Leeds back in 2011. Enjoy!

NJ Advent Calendar - Jazz North (December 8th)

When we talk about the Northern Jazz scene, it's easy to forget quite how big an area that covers. From Hadrians Wall to the Midlands, that's us. That covers cities like Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Newcastle, rural areas and everything in between. Tasked with looking after all of this is Jazz North, the jazz development agency for the North and behind our door number 8.

Jazz North grew out of the previous regional organisations - Jazz Yorkshire, Jazz North West and Jazz North East. Starting off on project funding, the organisation has now become an NPO (in other words, a regularly funded organisation with the stability that comes with that) and recently appointed Lesley Jackson as the new Executive Director. To date, the organisation run/have run the following schemes -

Northern Line - the flagship scheme which supports 12 bands per season, offering them to promoters at subsidy and providing support in marketing and mentoring.

Jazz North Introduces - A mentoring scheme for young musicians, this project offers high profile festival performances to musicians aged between 16 and 25.

Jazz North Originals - This commissioning scheme is modeled on MJF's own commission project. Their first commission went to composer Rodrigo Constanzo.

CPD - There are a number of professional development events held for musicians including advice on funding, self-promotion and digital media. There is also a specialist strand called Making The Changes for young musicians ready to study jazz or start gigging professionally.

Education Conference and Networking - Each year, Jazz North holds a day long conference on jazz education, bringing together educators from across the region and nationally recognised speakers.

Find out more on the Jazz North website.

Doncaster Big Band Festival

Sunday 27th December 2015
2:00 - 4.30pm : Matinée concert
7.30 - 11.00pm: Evening concert

Venue: EARL OF DONCASTER Hotel, Bennetthorpe, Doncaster, DN2 6AD

Over the years, this big band knees-up has definitely become the most eagerly-anticipated  event of the Doncaster Youth Jazz Association calendar. All current DYJA members will perform in their respective ensembles. The individual Big Bands are featured in order over two separate concerts as follows: The matinee performance (2.00pm - 4.30pm) will feature the talented younger members of the STAGEBAND and the SWING ORCHESTRA. The evening performance (7.30 - 11.00pm) will highlight the DONCASTER YOUTH JAZZ ORCHESTRA (DYJO) and the senior DONCASTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA (DJO Alumni) in concert. The evening will also feature several visiting guests, including Dennis Rollins, Tom Ashe, Dean Nixon, etc..

We take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a MUSICAL 2016!... May it start with us - we hope to see you at our Big Band Festival!

Cheers:  John Ellis and the DYJA Team

Tickets cost £10 for one concert and £15 for both. A note from John on buying tickets -

Tickets are now available from the Doncaster Jazz Centre, Beckett Road, Doncaster, DN2 4AA. Tel: 01302 320002 or e-mail johnellis@dyja.info   Please give your full name, postal address and state clearly which of the 2 concerts you require tickets for. We do not have the facility for payment by card, so please make cheques payable to DONCASTER YOUTH JAZZ ASSOCIATION or DYJA. You can of course collect tickets from the Centre Office if you wish, but be sure to arrange a mutually agreeable day and time. Thank you for your understanding.

NJ Advent Calendar - Jazz Degrees (December 7th)

Behind door number 7 is the world of HE jazz education. One of the jewels in the Northern jazz crown is the fact that Leeds had the first jazz course in Europe, with LCoM celebrating its 50th year this year. In the relatively new world of jazz as a whole, this 50 year old institution represents a great achievement in the field. But it's not alone; there are a number places that young musicians can study jazz in the North.


Leeds College of Music

As mentioned above, LCoM was a trailblazer in the field of jazz education and it continues to be one of the most highly regarded centres for jazz studies in the UK. It has an impressive alumni and has seen many well respected jazz musicians come through its doors. The jazz faculty at the college is run by Jamil Sheriff and includes musicians like Sebastian De Krom, Dave Walsh, Steve Fishwick, Richard Iles and Joel Purnell.

Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester

RNCM in Manchester recently launched their Jazz Studies specialism on their BMus course and there's also jazz electives available for those studying other genres of music. They boast an impressive of previous visiting artists - Tim Garland and Chris Potter to name but two. Their Big Band regularly gigs with guests like Nikki Iles and Mike Walker and the staff includes Steve Berry, Julian Arguelles and Steve Waterman.

LIPA, Liverpool

The Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts doesn't have a specialist jazz degree but its BA Music degree has many staff members that are prominent jazz musicians. Head of Music is Martin Isherwood and among its staff, jazz audiences and musicians will recognise names like Steve Berry, Peter Fairclough, Jim Faulkner and Mike Smith. Over at Liverpool Hope University, jazz is represented too with Liverpool International Jazz Festival's Neil Campbell on staff.

Sage, Gateshead

The Jazz, Popular and Commercial Music degree at Sage Gateshead is run in partnership with the University of Sunderland. It has musicians like Paul Edis and Ian Paterson on staff and recent masterclasses have been led by Bill Bruford, Robert Glasper and the Yellowjackets.
 

NJ Advent Calendar - Musician/Promoters (December 6th)

A significant and vital part of the jazz scene in the North is the contribution made by voluntary promoters, as we highlighted with NORVOL Jazz on December 1st. An interesting and vibrant sub-category of these promoters are those who promote live jazz as part of their career as a performing musician. Many young professional musicians are taking up the task of running jazz nights at venues across the North. These musician/promoters provide performance opportunities for both touring and local bands, many of whom are emerging artists themselves.

LS6, Leeds - Ben Powling

Tenor saxophonist and LCoM graduate Ben Powling has run a very popular jazz gig & jam session at LS6 in Leeds in recent years. He has also recently expanded this programming to include world music events at the same venue. This weekly gig features both local and touring bands. In addition to this, Ben also promotes The Blackout, a series of improvised music nights that feature multiple bands and works for Leaf Label.

The Noise Upstairs, Manchester - Anton Hunter

Guitarist Anton Hunter is an established part of the jazz scene through his work with Beats & Pieces, The Beck Hunters and was recently commissioned by MJF to write a new large-ensemble piece called Article XI. In between this and writing his PhD, Anton has for the last 8 years run a free improvisation night in Manchester called The Noise Upstairs. This event brings together improvisers on all sorts of instrumentation and puts together spontaneous performances and collaboration, as well as featuring sets from established groups.

Efpi/Freedom Principle, Manchester - Sam Andreae, Ben Cottrell, Anton Hunter

These three Manchester musicians have run Efpi Records for a number of years and their catalogue includes the works of Beats & Pieces, Let Spin, Trio Riot and HAQ amongst others. The team also ran a live night called The Freedom Principle and were invited to produce a series of concerts as part of the Manchester Jazz Festival in recognition of their contributions to the scene.

The Cooler at Sela Bar, Leeds - Tom Riviere 

Sela Bar in Leeds has long be known as a jazz venue in Leeds and for a number of years has had musicians curating the live gigs. Taking over from Matt Anderson and Sam Gardner early this year was double bassist Tom Riviere. Tom promotes monthly gigs on Sunday evenings at Sela with artists like Stuart McCallum, Sam Leak, Andrew Woodhead and more appearing on the programme.

Leeds Fold - James Hamilton

Big band leader, award-winning composer and trumpeter James Hamilton has recently assembled a team of musicians in Leeds to take over a recording and rehearsal studio called Leeds Fold. This space is a home for his record label New Jazz Records and is used for recording sessions and rehearsals by improvising musicians. They also host live events including jam sessions and will soon be entering into the world of gig streaming.

The Lescar, Sheffield - Jez Matthews

The Lescar programmes live jazz weekly and is run by pianist Jez Matthews. Jez took over the venue from guitarist Chris Walker a few years ago and has a seemingly limitless source of energy in promoting a varied programme from mainstream swing to left-field improvised music. Jez is also involved with Sheffield Jazz.

Lit & Phil, Newcastle - Paul Edis

Paul Edis is widely considered to be a leading figure on the North East scene and has released three albums as a leader as well as featuring on many more as the pianist in ACV and other groups. Paul programmes jazz at the Lit & Phil, utilising the beautiful acoustics to showcase local and touring jazz musicians.

Lancaster Jazz Festival - Matt Robinson

The Lancaster Jazz Festival has gone from strength to strength under the directorship of clarinettist and composer Matt Robinson. Another LCoM graduate, Matt and his team programme an annual festival with a focus on emerging talent and events across Lancaster as well as a special commission project each year.

Sproggits, Leeds - Harry Orme

Originally set up by pianist Declan Forde, now resident in Berlin, Sproggits is a night which usually features a double bill of one local and one out-of-town band. It takes place in Wharf Chambers and has seen performances by Glasshopper, Alicia Gardener-Trejo's Bobtail and one-off collaborations between many improvising musicians in the North.

Jazz in York, John Marley

Double bassist John Marley has been involved in promoting and performing live jazz in York for many years and is an important factor in the growing number of gig opportunities and growing audiences for jazz in York. The Phoenix in York sees regular gigs and jam sessions led by many musicians from the Leeds and York scenes.

NJ Advent Calendar - Winter Jazz Festivals (December 5th)

We all know that summer is a busy time for music festivals, but behind door number 5 are all of the jazz festivals in the North taking place in Autumn and Winter each year. Here in the North, we're very lucky to have 18 jazz festivals in the region across the year and don't worry, we'll be talking about those summery ones soon enough!


Marsden Jazz Festival (Early October)

Marsden Jazz Festival have not long finished their 2015 edition but work is already under way for next year which is their 25th Birthday. This festival, set in picturesque surroundings, draws over 10,000 visitors and their programme contains mainstream acts, international names, fringe events, contemporary improvised music and everything in between!

Whitley Bay Classic Jazz Party (Early November)

This festival on the coast has been running for 5 years and runs over a weekend in Early November each year. Their focus is on swing and early jazz and they have a mixture of UK, European and American artists on the programme.

Jazz On A Winter's Weekend (Early February)

Run by Geoff Matthews in Southport, the festival celebrates its 12th birthday in 2016. Almost always a sell-out, the festival runs over a weekend and features a varied programme - there's always a strong international presence as well as up and coming artists and big bands.

Liverpool International Jazz Festival (late February/early March)

This is a relatively new festival which runs from the Capstone Theatre in Liverpool and is programmed by Neil Campbell. Started up in 2013, the festival has so far programmed a number of big name acts from the UK and Europe and there is always a few Northern Line acts in there too, from Jazz North's flagship scheme.

Great North Big Band Festival (early March)

Probably the most specific festival on our list, this one is a celebration of big bands. There is a competition in which big bands from music colleges, regional initiatives and  universities compete as well as performances and workshops over the course of the weekend.

NJ Advent Calendar - Record Labels (December 4th)

Open the door to day number 4 and you'll find jazz record labels. There have been quite a few labels popping up over the last few years dedicated to jazz and improvised music in the North. Many are started up by musicians themselves. In the ever-changing record industry, it's heartening to see that we have so many of these labels in our region!

Leaf Label

This label have recently been celebrating their 20th birthday and are a hugely respected label based in Yorkshire. Their output isn't exclusively jazz but rather an eclectic mix of electronic, instrumental and improvised music. They have artists like Melt Yourself Down, Polar Bear and Matthew Bourne on their roster. 

New Jazz Records

Based in Leeds, this label is run by composer/trumpeter James Hamilton. Their focus is on emerging acts on the jazz scene, often recent graduates of music colleges. There is an ever-expanding live album which features one or two tracks from a variety of groups gigging in the North, as well as full releases from Drawing Hands, James Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and Matt Anderson/Jiannis Pavlidis duo. Now the label is moving into studio recordings too, with the opening of Leeds Fold in mid-2015.

Wasp Millionaire Records

Set up by guitarist Craig Scott, Wasp Millionaire release music from groups like Shatner's Bassoon and Craig Scott's Lobotomy. There's also a free sampler on their website to hear a selection from the acts they represent.

Hungry Bear Records

A label set up double bassist Paul Baxter that currently represents EYESHUTIGHT, Paul Baxter Quartet and Seven Pieces of Silver. There are three studio albums by EYESHUTIGHT and an album and tour has been announced for Seven Pieces of Silver, to take place in February 2016.

Lamplight Social Records

This one is run by saxophonist James Mainwaring and has three groups on its roster - Roller Trio, Tipping Point and Promise/Threat. Tipping Point's release earlier this year received widespread praise including a four star review from the Guardian who called it ...playful, dark, skilful and spontaneous.

Adopt A Gig at Marsden Jazz Festival

Marsden Jazz Festival will celebrate their 25th birthday next year and are offering people the chance to adopt a gig in the festival to raise funds for the stream of free gigs that take place across the festival.

Kirklees Council has supported Marsden Jazz Festival previously and last year gave £10,000 to go toward the 70 free events in the festival. However, due to budget cuts the council is unable to give funding next year so the festival hope to raise these funds themselves.

For £50, you can adopt a gig at the festival either for yourself or as a gift for a friend or relative. This amount has be raised to £62.50 through GiftAid. Everyone who makes a donation will receive a certificate and have their names printed in the festival brochure. Donors can opt to let the festival choose which gig their donation will support or specify which gig they'd like to adopt.

In the run-up to christmas, this would make an ideal gift for a jazz fan or for one of the many people who attend the festival every year. Last year, more than 10,000 people visited the festival.

For more information, see the Marsden Jazz Festival website.

NJ Advent Calendar - Websites & Blogs (December 3rd)

Behind door number 3 are the dedicated team of people who run websites and blogs that spread the word about gigs, bands, albums, festivals, funding and all sorts of other jazz news. For musicians and audience members alike, these sites are often daily ports of call to keep up to date on what's happening and these writers make a valuable contribution to the scene with the work they do.

Bebop Spoken Here

This North East website is constantly abuzz with new content - Lance Liddle and Russell Corbett fill the site with news, live reviews and album reviews. Judging by the amount of material on the site, it's highly likely between the two of them they go to every jazz gig in the region and listen to every single album produced by NE musicians and are huge supporters of up and coming musicians.

Northern Jazz Live

This is the NORVOL Jazz blog and is run by Steve Crocker (promoter at Seven Jazz). Visitors can use it as a one stop shop for gigs happening at all the NORVOL clubs and Steve keeps an ear to the ground at all times for news on gigs starting up, tours visiting the North and more. It's a relatively new blog but already it's had over 190,000 visitors so he's clearly doing something right!

Jazz In York

Bassist John Marley runs this site and, as the name would suggest, it's focus is on the jazz happening in York. There's been lots of activity going on in York of late, with a number of regular jazz gigs, the NCEM hosting big names and Ian Chalk's educational crusade to make York a s Centre for Excellence in Jazz and it's safe to say that John Marley is a vital part of all this activity. As well as gig news, John also reviews albums and has a weekly column called Jazz Notes in a local newspaper.

Jazz Goes to Leeds

This site is run by John Toolan and Mark Beirne-Smith. The content is a mixture of gig reviews and interviews with artists and Mark is also a talented photographer so there are many photographs of musicians in there, too.

Honourable Mention - Corey Mwamba

Derby might be pushing it a bit in the Northern stakes but regardless of geography, vibes player Corey Mwamba's website is one to visit. The Rambles section of his site contains lots of interesting articles and thinking points and is well worth checking out. Corey also programmes live gigs in Derby and has a full schedule of performances throughout the year so he is a force to be reckoned with.

NJ Advent Calendar - The Globe, Newcastle (December 2nd)

Behind door number 2, we have a unique feature of the Northern Jazz scene - the first jazz venue in the UK to be owned freehold by a cooperative.

The Globe in Newcastle was bought in 2014 with around 200 people investing in it. Leading the charge was the Jazz.Coop (also called Pink Lane Jazz Coop), a group of local residents and musicians who work to continue the provision of live jazz and education programmes in honour of Keith Crombie who ran the Jazz Cafe. This was set up after his death in 2012.

The Jazz.Coop were able to raise over £123,000 to purchase The Globe and have worked tirelessly since then to make the building become a hub for jazz music. It plays host to live jazz and world music as well as workshops in jazz and in dance. The Coop also run monthly workshops at The Sage and programme events in other venues including Empty Shop HQ, which we reported on recently.

Find out more about the Globe and the people behind it by visiting the Jazz.Coop website where you can still become a shareholder in this one of a kind venture if you choose!