Seamus Blake UK tour, February 2017

The Orpheus Project has announced that their third featured artist in the scheme will be world renowned tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake.

With over 70 albums as a sideman and 16 as leader, Blake has built a global reputation as being one of the leading exponents of contemporary jazz.

He will be joined on this tour by drummer James Maddren and pianist Ross Stanley and will perform at venues across the North and in London between 3rd and 10th of February. The band have dates at Southport Jazz Festival, Newcastle, Leeds, Grimsby, Wakefield, Ribble Valley and London. Seamus will also host a masterclass at Leeds College of Music.

 We are all very excited to welcome Seamus as our third Orpheus Project artist. Whenever his name is mentioned, there’s a buzz of excitement amongst musicians and listeners – being able to bring him to small venues and share this music with audiences and promoters is a great feeling. The atmosphere at these gigs is going to be electric.- Kim Macari, Apollo Jazz Network Director

 Seamus Blake’s tour is third in a series of tours supported by Arts Council England and in partnership with NORVOL Jazz.

 “extraordinary, a total saxophonist” – John Scofield

For full information and to book tickets, visit the Orpheus Project website.

Gilad Hekselman Trio comes to Leeds, November 9th

One of the most highly regarded jazz guitars in the world will play a one-off performance in Leeds on November 9th as well as a masterclass at Leeds College of Music.

Gilad Hekselman moved from his native Israel to New York in 2004 and has earned his place at the top of his field working with musicians like Mark Turner, Chris Potter, Ari Hoenig, Avishai Cohen and more. To date he has released 5 albums as leader, his latest being Homes in 2015.

... possessing a distinctive lyricism and easily embraceable artfulness that seems to reach beyond his years... Hekselman has a pristine, crystalline sound and a bright playing style that seems as natural and sustaining as air and water... Imagine a brightly lit day, sunlight on water - you are there. If Monet’s waterlily studies were music this could be it... with a quiet assertiveness and expertise that is winning throughout... - Laurel Gross, All About Jazz

Gilad comes to Leeds with his trio featuring double bassist Joe Martin and drummer Kush Abadey. The gig takes place at Wharf Chambers and is hosted by Kim Macari's Apollo Jazz Network in collaboration with bassist and Sela Bar jazz promoter Tom Riviere. 

Tickets are priced at £10 and can be bought online through Ticket Tailor. Tickets are selling incredibly fast and are limited so people are advised to book early to avoid disappointment.

For more on Gilad, visit his website.

Orpheus Project presents: Ellery Eskelin Trio UK Tour, October 2016

Following on from the highly successful inaugural tour featuring Ingrid Jensen back in May, the Orpheus Project (a partnership between NORVOLJazz and Apollo Jazz Network) have announced the second featured artist in the series, New York tenor saxophonist Ellery Eskelin.

From press release...

The Orpheus Project is proud to present tenor heavyweight Ellery Eskelin as their second featured artist. Joined by Chris Sharkey and Matt Bourne, the trio is comprised of three strong and individual creative voices that come together to create something greater than the considerable sum of its parts. The group will tour between October 8^th and October 14^th, creating performances are sure to be as unique as they are exciting.

For the past thirty years Ellery Eskelin has been at the forefront of the global creative improvised music scene. Based in New York City, he has traveled widely performing, recording and amassing a very personal and iconoclastic body of work. And yet Ellery Eskelin has always remained deeply committed to the traditions of jazz and American music. Eskelin embodies this seeming contradiction with ease. He does not see jazz as a style or idiom but as a process. Further, a process of creative development that has great relevancy to our time. In this pursuit Eskelin consistently delivers to the listening public unadulterated, passionate music with no excuses and no apologies.

For more information about the tour dates, links to book tickets and more, visit the Orpheus Project website. 

October 8^th – Marsden Jazz Festival

October 10^th – Con Cellar Bar, London

October 11^th – Fizzle, Birmingham (Ellery Eskelin Solo)

October 12^th – The Lescar, Sheffield

October 13^th – Seven Arts, Leeds (joint promotion – Seven Jazz & Fusebox)

October 14^th – The Globe, Newcastle (joint promotion – Jazz Coop & Jazz North East)

The Orpheus Project is a partnership between Apollo Jazz Network and NORVOLJazz which seeks to establish a touring network for jazz in the North of England. The project is generously supported by Arts Council England through the Grants for the Arts programme.

 

The Orpheus Project - Tour Dates & Website Launch

The Orpheus Project, a joint venture between NORVOL Jazz and Apollo Jazz Network, has announced the launch of its new website and full information about the upcoming tour featuring Ingrid Jensen in May/June.

Described as one of the most gifted trumpeters of her generation, Ingrid Jensen will join forces with Jez Franks (guitar), Andy Champion (double bass) and Tim Giles (drums) to tour venues around the North between May 26th and June 5th, as well as a special one-off large performance in collaboration with Phil Meadows' Engines Orchestra at Ronnie Scott's in London.

Split UK have done a fantastic job with the new website. It will act as a central point for information before, during and after tours. You can book tickets, read interviews, watch videos and find out more about the people involved and you can also sign up to the mailing list to keep up to date as the project progresses.

For full information, visit The Orpheus Project website.

Tour Dates

May 26th - Black Swan Venue & Bar, Newcastle
May 28th - HEART, Headingley
May 29th - Ingrid guests with LJO, Seven Jazz Leeds
June 1st - The Cask, Scarborough
June 3rd - Wakefield Jazz
June 4th - Ingrid leads NYJO masterclasses London
June 5th - Ronnie Scott's, London (quartet & Engines Orchestra)

NORVOL & Apollo Receive Grant to set up International Touring Network

It has been announced that NORVOL Jazz (the Northern Voluntary Jazz promoters network) in partnership with Apollo Jazz Network run by trumpeter Kim Macari have been awarded over £32,000 by Arts Council England to set up an International Touring Network for live jazz in the North.

PRESS RELEASE

The Northern Voluntary Jazz Promoters Network (NORVOL JAZZ) in partnership with Apollo Jazz Network have been awarded over £32,000 by Arts Council England to establish a touring network for live jazz and to present three tours featuring world-class international musicians.

Through the development of a touring infrastructure, northern jazz clubs clubs will host tour dates and workshops and Apollo Jazz Network, run by trumpeter Kim Macari, will manage the project. The first tour will take place in May 2016 and will feature Canadian trumpeter Ingrid Jensen.

"I am delighted to receive this support from Arts Council England. It has been over a year of development and discussion for a project which is ambitious and large-scale and it’s fantastic that we are now able to roll it out.

The project is going to benefit audiences, promoters and musicians in a direct way. We’ll have three featured artists from the USA collaborating with UK musicians to create new work and then touring it across the region, leading workshops and masterclasses along the way. We’re also going to be live-streaming gigs, allowing as many people as possible the opportunity to be involved. Getting a chance to see groups like this perform in more intimate venues is going to be extraordinary.

This focus on collaboration – artistic collaboration as well as partnering with organisations – is what Apollo Jazz Network has always been about .
Kim Macari, Project Director

"We’re really pleased at this news. It is a vindication of what the 30 Northern jazz clubs and festival promoters in the network have been aiming to do. The international touring programme will enable volunteer run jazz clubs – the backbone of the jazz scene in the North – to show off some of the best jazz artists in the world to their audiences". –
Steve Crocker, NorvolJazz

Apollo Presents: LOCUS Tour, November 2014

Apollo Jazz Network have announced their Autumn tour featuring international collaboration LOCUS.

Following a successful UK tour last summer and following on from a recording project in NYC, the group have five UK dates lined up in November to showcase new material including a date at the London Jazz Festival.

The inception of LOCUS in 2012, as a project to birth brand new music globally and begin the growth of a collaborating platform for some of the UK’s up-and-coming musicians, wouldn’t have been possible without the support of an internationally forward-looking enterprise as Apollo. Performing and working with musicians such as Kim, Riley and members of LOCUS, is a joy not only because their musical stylings are rich and diverse individually but it has brought about the incredibly important factor of community to the table (and an inclusive one at that). Our November tour will be an exciting prelude to 2015 and beyond - Leah Gough-Cooper, alto/co-leader

Trumpeter Kim Macari and tenor saxophonist Riley Stone-Lonergan will spend October in NYC working with Gough-Cooper on new material, which marks the latest in Apollo's international development strand.

Tour Dates

November 7th - JATP, Bradford
November 12th - The Jazz Bar, Edinburgh*
November 13th - Art Club, Glasgow*
November 15th - HEART, Leeds
November 16th - Front Room, Southbank Centre (London Jazz Festival)

*Supported by Bridge Music.

For more information, see Apollo Jazz Network website.

HEART hosts UK Premiere of Bossa Nova film

HEART in Leeds is hosting a special event on Saturday 26th July celebrating Bossa Nova and the brazilian influence in jazz.

The event will feature the UK premiere of the film Bossa Nova: The Brazilian Music That Seduced The World, a film made by renowned film-maker Bret Primack as part of a NEA funded project curated by Strathmore Performing Arts Center and guitarist Ken Avis. The film explores the influence of Brazilian music on jazz around the 1960s, including the seminal recording by Stan Getz - Jazz Samba.

After the film, American group Veronneau will perform a set of vocal-led bossa nova and jazz as part of their UK tour with Apollo Jazz Network.

The event will begin at 7.30pm with the screening of the film and music will start from 8.45pm.

Tickets can be bought by contacting HEART or at the door and cost £8 (includes music and film)

See a trailer for the film HERE.

Tour Preview: Veronneau UK Dates

Following on from Fat Face Trio's UK tour in June, Apollo Jazz Network welcomes another US group to perform in the UK this month - vocal-led bossa nova band Veronneau.

Fat Face Band UK Tour - June 4th-17th

Fat Face Band, a trio from North Carolina, are visiting the UK for a 10 date tour from June 4th to June 17th.

The group, led by trumpeter Matt Postle (a musician many Northern musicians and audience members will know from his time studying a PhD at York University) has built a large following in their native US, including TV appearances and marathon 8-hour gigs across North Carolina, and is ready to introduce their music to new audiences in the UK. Alongside Matt, the band features guitarist Troy Conn and tuba player Molly Jay (who is sponsored by Wessex Tubas).