Liverpool International Jazz Festival, 23rd - 27th February

The fifth annual Liverpool International Jazz Festival takes place between 23rd and 26th February at the Capstone Theatre. The festival has become synonymous with varied and ambitious programming and glance at this year’s festival shows it’s no different this time round.

MOBO award-winning Sons of Kemet open the festival with a bang on the 23rd, supported by one of the North West’s favourite groups, Blind Monk Trio.

Friday 24th sees a performance by Mammal Hands, a Manchester quartet signed to Matthew Halsall’s Gondwana Records. Their support is provided by Jazz North Introduces ensemble, Sam Quintana’s Wandering Monster.

On Saturday, Austrian pianist David Helbock performs with his trio.

Sunday will feature a saxophone workshop by one of the UK’s most beloved musicians, Iain Ballamy at 11am, followed by a duo concert featuring Iain along with Huw Warren.

For full details on the festival, visit the Liverpool International Jazz Festival website.

Gig Preview: Ivo Neame Quintet at Capstone Theatre, October 20th

The Capstone Theatre in Liverpool has risen to prominence as a jazz venue in recent years, thanks to the hard work of promoter Neil Campbell. As well as running an annual jazz festival in February (more on that soon, keep an eye out for news of the 2017 programme coming soon), Neil also programmes gigs throughout the year. On October 20th, pianist Ivo Neame performs with his quintet.

Featuring some of the UK's best loved improvisers Tori Freestone, Jim Hart, Huw Williams and Dave Hamblett, the quintet will play music from their most recent album, Strata (released on Whirlwind Records in 2015).

Ivo Neame is a forward thinking and innovative pianist, composer and multi-instrumentalist. As a musician of exceptional ability, Neame is developing a reputation as one of the most exciting and original pianists to emerge in some time. Well known as the pianist with Phronesis and with Norwegian saxophonist Marius Neset, his most recent release Strata saw him reach new heights as a composer leading a quintet in a set of exuberant and creative originals. With an abundance of ideas, his career is travelling on new trajectory set to emulate the profile achieved by the likes of Django Bates.

"Neame has a restless imagination as an improviser." - 4 Stars Recommended, Marlbank

Tickets cost £11.50 and the gig starts at 7.30pm. 

The following day, Ivo and the band will also run a masterclass at Leeds College of Music. 

For information, visit Ivo Neame's website and the Capstone Theatre website. 

New Album from Ginger Tunes - Mersey, Mersey, Mersey

This weekend as part of the Liverpool International Jazz Festival, Ginger Tunes Quartet will launch their new album - Mersey, Mersey, Mersey.

The album was produced with support from Liverpool Jazz. (a project which we reported on recently, read the full article here)

The band's leader, saxophonist Mike Smith says

This album is a reflection of Merseyside. It is a celebration of the city that has given me, and so many others a life in music. With its diverse cultural roots and chequered history, Liverpool has retained its defiant humour and will always be the home of artistic mischief. This is a sentiment worth celebrating, and one we hope to have captured in the live recording of this album. Each player brought their sense of fun and good humour to the studio, and you can hear it in every note. 

 

Titles include:

Upton girl

Hitchhiker's guide to Fazakerley 

Tox town

Bossa Scouser

 

Ginger Tunes have been playing together for over a decade and have built up a strong following. They will appear at the jazz festival as part of the Liverpool Jazz showcase at Capstone Theatre on Sunday 28th February at 1pm. Admission is free.

 

You can find out more about the band on their website and the new album can be purchased on iTunes here.

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.

Gig Preview: Julian Arguelles' Tetra in York, October 29th

Starting on October 26th, saxophonist Julian Arguelles will embark on a 12 date UK tour with his newest project, Tetra. Featuring Kit Downes, Sam Lasserson and James Maddren, Tetra released their debut album on October 16th on Whirlwind Records.

Described by the Irish Times as supremely lyrical, with beautiful melodies whilst staying cliche free, the album has already garnered praise and it is anticipated that the tour will be well-attended as audiences come to hear the music performed live.

During the tour, Julian and his quartet will perform a number of Northern dates including two days at the University of York (where Julian has been involved as a teacher for a number of years). On Wednesday October 28th, the band will host a masterclass at the university and on Thursday 29th, they will perform in the Arthur Sykes Rymer Auditorium. Aside from this, they will also perform at the Sage Gateshead and the Capstone Theatre in Liverpool.

For full information on tour dates and how to book tickets, visit Julian's website.

Bennie Maupin at Capstone Theatre, Liverpool (Sunday 16th)

American bass clarinettist Bennie Maupin will appear at Liverpool's Capstone Theatre on Sunday November 16th with his quartet featuring Carl Orr, Larry Bartley and Rod Youngs.

Maupin is perhaps best known for his work on Miles Davis' Bitches Brew, On The Corner and Jack Johnson as well as being a founding member of Herbie Hancock's Headhunters. He maintains a busy schedule of performing and teaching in Europe and in the US.

Tickets can be booked on the Capstone Theatre website which also provides full information on this and all of their upcoming concerts.

Bennie Maupin website.

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.