Musicians Announced for Pee Wee Ellis FUNK: Foundation

Brighter Sound has announced the 15 emerging musicians selected by Pee Wee Ellis to collaborate during a four day jazz and funk residency. Music develop during this time will be performed live at Band on the Wall on August 20th.

The musicians taking part are -

Jamie Stockbridge, Jon Needham, Ollie Walton, Dan Mitchell, Alex Hill, James Girling, Patrick Martin, Conall Mulvenna, Max Barker, Josh Poole, Nick Waldock, Aaron Wood, Joe Luckin, Tom Thorp and AJ Dawson.

To find out more about each of the musicians, you can view their individual profiles on the Brighter Sound website.

Brighter Sound says...

The group, who will form two funk outfits for the show, is made up of some of the North West’s most promising musicians, including members of Manchester’s Afro-rock-funk outfit Agbeko, ten-piece brass collective Twisted Tubes, funk rock band Mamma Freedom, and jazz-fusion quintet Mercury.

The residency is the ninth in Brighter Sound’s Artistic Directors Series which aims to support artists at all stages in their careers, giving them the time and space to experiment, collaborate and explore under the direction of an inspirational and influential professional artist.

Call for Musicians for Jazz Directors Series with Zoe Rahman

Applications are now being accepted to be part of the third Jazz Director Series, run by Band On The Wall & Brighter Sounds. As with their two previous projects, featuring Terence Blanchard and Chris Potter), the call-out is for musicians to form the Inner City Ensemble. This time, the featured musician is pianist Zoe Rahman.

The Inner City Ensemble will work with Zoe in a residency before embarking on a short tour in October 2017. The instrumentation required for this incarnation of the band is - double bass, drums, flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, tuba, alto sax and tenor sax.

From Band on the Wall...


Described by the Observer as “a remarkable pianist by any standard”, pianist and composer Zoe Rahman has firmly established herself as one of the brightest stars on the contemporary jazz scene. A vibrant and highly individual artist, her style is deeply rooted in jazz yet it reflects her classical background, British/Bengali heritage and her very broad musical taste. Known for her powerful technique, wide-ranging imagination and exuberant performances, she has become a highly sought-after musician, recently working with the likes of George Mraz, Courtney Pine and Jerry Dammers’ Spatial AKA Orchestra. She is a winner of the prestigious UK Parliamentary Jazz Award, and has been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize.  

“I’m really looking forward to working with open-minded improvising artists who have a strong grounding in jazz, a deep sense of groove and who like to listen to a wide range of musical styles. There will be opportunities for all of the musicians to shine individually as well as contribute to the ensemble as a whole. Hopefully the project will be challenging, rewarding and above all fun for all of us.” – Zoe Rahman

The deadline is 13 August 2017 and successful applicants will be notified by 18th August. For more information and to apply, visit the Band on the Wall website.

Applications open for Brighter Sound's Jazz Directors series with Chris Potter

Brighter Sound has announced the second artist to be featured in their Jazz Director series - the incomparable Chris Potter.

They are on the look out for 10 professional musicians to form the 'Inner City Ensemble' that will work with Chris, rehearsing and performing specially written works including arrangements of the music from his 2015 ECM release Imaginary Cities.

The instrumentation required is -

Piano
Double bass
Drums
Vibraphone (doubling marimba)
Bass Guitar
Guitars (electric and semi-acoustic)
Violin
Violin
Viola
Cello

The project runs from 9th April until 16th April including rehearsals in Manchester and performances 13th - 16th. This is a professional engagement and musicians will receive a fee plus travel and accommodation.

The deadline for applications is February 26th 2017. Successful applicants will be informed by March 6th.

For full information and to apply, click here - http://www.brightersound.com/jazzdirectorsseries2-chrispotter/

Inner City Ensemble musicians announced for Terence Blanchard Project

Tickets are now on sale for the brand new Jazz Director Series concerts, an initiative run by Band on the Wall and Brighter Sound that sees internationally renowned guest artists work with emerging talent in a series of special performances in the North.

Following an open call, 13 young professional musicians were selected to form the Inner City Ensemble. These musicians were selected for their versatility and many of them currently work in a number of different musical settings - from jazz and improvised music to hip-hop and classical.

The ensemble will work with Blanchard in Manchester for the rehearsal period before taking to the road to perform in Manchester, Warrington, Bradford and Kendal.

The Inner City Ensemble are -

Michael Dawson – Tuba
Adam Chatterton – Trumpet
Chelsea Carmichael – Saxophone
Tom McCredie – Bass
Ashley Henry – Piano / Keyboards
Michael De Souza – Guitar
Diane Hammond – Clarinet
Sam Gardner – Drums
Aisling Palmer – Oboe
Amy Roberts – Flute
Kieran McLeod – Trombone
Chris Beagles – French Horn
Sam Rapley – Bass Clarinet

Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Band on the Wall website.

Terence Blanchard announced as first artist for Brighter Sound scheme

US trumpet Terence Blanchard has been announced as the first artist in the Jazz Director Series run by Band on the Wall and Brighter Sound with support from Jazz North. They have put out an open call to find 11 young professional musicians to form the first Inner City Ensemble to work with Blanchard over the course of a week in September, rehearsing and performing original work by Blanchard and some of the musicians has has worked with in his expansive career.

For Jazz Directors Series #001 with Terence Blanchard we are looking for emerging professionals aged over 18 who play to a very high standard (graduate and above) with excellent reading skills and who work in jazz and related ‘crossover’ genres. This is a paid professional engagement.

Instruments required: piano, bass, drums, guitar, trumpet, trombone, tuba, french horn, flute, oboe, clarniet, bass clarinet and saxophone.

Musicians selected for the ensemble will take part in a rehearsal residency between 11th and 14th September before embarking on a short tour between 15th and 18th September to perform at Band on the Wall, Parr Hall in Warrington, Bradford Playhouse and Brewery Arts Centre in Kendal.

There is a fee and expenses are covered.

Applications will be accepted until July 29th at 5pm and successful applicants will be notified by Friday August 5th.

To find out more and to apply online, visit the Band on the Wall Jazz Directors Series website.

Big News for Band on the Wall

Manchester's Band on the Wall has recently announced the good news that it has secured funding for an expansion which will see the capacity increase 35%.

The charity that runs Band on the Wall, Inner City Music, were successful in a funding application to Arts Council England, which is to be stage one in a two stage plan estimated at around £2.5 million.

These development plans will also see an increase in the provision of educational facilities and charitable activities run by Brighter Sound, its partner charity.

From press release...

Gavin Sharp. CEO, Inner City Music said: While we have a long way to go to secure the extension of Band on the Wall, this first stage of funding is crucial to allow us to develop our plans and we are very grateful to Arts Council England for its support.
Now is the right time to extend Band on the Wall, with the huge amount of development taking place in our neighbourhood – such as NOMA - and the rapid growth of Manchester City Centre we want to be able to bring exceptional, international artists to our growing audience.

Find out more about Band on the Wall by visiting their website and see this newspaper article for further information on the funding.

Jazz for Young People in Manchester

New Jazz Workshop is a series of sessions for young musicians aged between 8 and 18 at The Claremont Centre in Manchester. The course runs each Saturday from 11am until 2pm and although this course is now part-way through, newcomers are welcomed at the remaining sessions. The course is led by Helena Summerfield and Kathy Dyson and focuses on learning by ear, group transcription, improvisation and instrumental technique. The course will conclude with a performance at the final session on February 7th. Full information on New Jazz Workshop.

Manchester Youth Jazz Foundation at Band on The Wall have two more Sunday sessions in the coming weeks (15th February and 15th March). These sessions run from 12 until 4pm with a jam session taking place between 3pm and 4pm. Tutors include Kathy Dyson, Helen Pillinger, Helena Summerfield and Les Chisnall. After these sessions end, there will also be a 4 day course running over easter (13th-16th April). Full details of these sessions will be added to the Band on the Wall website.

Manchester Youth Jazz Foundation Summer Course

Following on from their successful course in spring, MYJF return to Band on the Wall for another 3-day jazz course for young musicians.

Schedule for the course is as follows -

Monday 4th August - 9.30am until 4pm
Tuesday 5th August - 9.30am until 4pm
Wednesday 6th August - 9.30am until 6pm (Performance 4.30 until 6pm)

Cost for the entire course is £75, but applicants can sign up to parts of the course for £30 per day.

All instruments and vocal styles welcome. Improvise, improve band skills, create new music and rearrange some classics with fantastic teachers and musicians. An opportunity to learn with other players of similar standards and abilities.

The focus is on collaboration, exploration, improvisation and enjoyment. The course is suitable for any instrument and ability although we recommend that you have been learning your instrument for at least one year.

Applicants can register online through the Band on the Wall website.