Gig Preview: First Ladies of Swing with Clare Teal & Guy Barker, GIJF March 31st

2017 seems to be filled with important jazz dates, not least the centenary of vocalist and civil rights activist Lena Horne.

As part of the Gateshead International Jazz Festival, vocalist & BBC Radio 2 presenter Clare Teal will celebrate Lena's life as part of her First Ladies of Swing concert.

Joined by her Hollywood Orchestra led by Guy Barker, Teal will perform songs from the Great American Songbook made famous by Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Wilson, Nina Simone, Peggy Lee and of course, Lena Horne.

Trumpeter guy Barker played with Horne for 3 months in 1985 at the Adelphi Theatre in London.

At the heart of this programme are three specially commissioned pieces. Guy Barker has been asked to re-imagine three classics associated with Lena Horne to be performed for the first time at Gateshead International Jazz Festival.  The chosen songs are Stormy Weather, which was Lena Horne’s signature tune, Something to Live For, written by Billy Strayhorn and which Lena often performed, and the ever popular Singin’ in the Rain, which Clare Teal will interpret in her own unique style.

For more information on this, and the rest of the GIJF programme visit the Sage Gateshead website.

Gateshead International Jazz Festival 2017 - Programme Announced

You might be looking forward to settling in for your festive break, but for some the hard work never stops. The programme for the 2017 Gateshead International Jazz Festival has been announced this week so it's time to get your diary and start thinking about what you'll be seeing between 31st March and 2nd April. Here's just a few highlights to whet your appetite - we'll take a more in-depth look at the programme in early 2017...

Fresh from their large scale gig at this year's EFG London Jazz Festival, Laura Jurd and her group Dinosaur will be perform at the Sage joined by tuba player Daniel Herskedal's trio.

Stalwart of the European jazz scene, trumpeter Thomasz Stanko, is famed for his ability to bring together exciting musicians from across the world to perform with. He doesn't disappoint this time, as he is joined by the Finnish pianist Alexi Tuomarila and two US jazz giants, Gerald Cleaver and Reuben Rogers.

If you like your jazz to have some vocals, definitely don't miss Clare Teal as she appears with 17 piece Hollywood Orchestra led by Guy Barker.

Saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings will pay homage to the music of South Africa when he is joined by some of the best young South African musicians.

That's just the tip of the iceberg so visit the Sage website to find out more and stay tuned for a more comprehensive festival preview from us soon.

Hull Jazz Festival Summer Edition

The Summer Edition of Hull Jazz Festival kicks off today, opened by festival favourites New York Brass Band. Hosted at Hull Truck Theatre, there is a weekend of jazz featuring beloved vocalists and a celebration of A Love Supreme.

Singer Clare Teal brings her trio to celebrate the works of Doris Day on Friday and North East's finest Zoe Gilby closes the festival on Sunday with a Jazz Brunch with her quartet. There is a hip-hop double bill on Friday with the Abstract Orchestra and Akala and Gary Crosby pays tribute to the great Coltrane album A Love Supreme (which is 50 years old this year!) with his quartet featuring Denys Baptiste.

There are a couple of ticket offers available over the weekend; book three gigs in advance and see the cheapest for free and see all three Northern Line shows on Saturday for only £21.

To see the full details of the gigs happening at the festival, visit the Hull Jazz Festival website.

Preview: Garforth Arts Festival 2015

The programme has been announced for this year's Garforth Arts Festival, scheduled to take place between June 29th and July 11th. In a packed programme featuring music from a whole host of countries and styles, we've spotted a couple of gigs that might entice the jazz community...For full programme details, visit the Garforth Arts Festival website.

Brand New Heavies (July 11th, Playground Party)

The Brand New Heavies headline the Playground Party at the end of the festival and are sure to round off the proceedings with a bang. For over 20 years, the group have been hailed as pioneers of the acid jazz scene and in 2013, they released a new album - their first in 7 years!

BBC Big Band featuring Clare Teal (July 11th Playground Party)

Yorkshire's favourite jazz singer, Clare Teal, appears with the renowned BBC big band. Described as the new first lady of jazz by the Independent, Teal will perform a programme of  much-loved big band swing.

Garforth Jazz Rock Band

This youth jazz ensemble was formed in 2003 and since then have gone from strength to strength, performing regularly in Yorkshire and also travelling further afield to play in Ireland, Germany and South Africa. Always featuring a very diverse programme of music, these young musicians are ones to watch!

Our Top Gigs for Cheltenham Jazz Fest 2015

                                                               Supersonics: Nhu Diep

This week, Cheltenham Jazz Festival director Tony Dudley-Evans published his top picks for this year's festival, which takes place between 29th April and May 4th. The article prompted us to check out the full festival programme and we've selected a few of our own highlights to add to Tony's suggestions.

Impermanence Trio (Parabola Arts Centre, 2nd May 9.30pm)

This is one that Tony included in his picks, too. Pianist Matt Bourne teams up with Riaan Vosloo and Tim Giles to premiere the new group, Impermanence Trio. The show will be interactive, with audience members encouraged to use their phones to make decisions on the music. The trio share the bill with Alexander Hawkins and Elaine Mitchener, a duo that will also be making an exclusive first appearance.

Supersonics (Jazz Arena, 4th May, 10.45am)

An unlikely time for a jazz gig, Chris Sharkey appears as part of the festival's Family Show strand. Supersonics features long-time collaborators Chris, Stale Birkeland and Petter Frost Fadnes as they explore melody, beats and soundscapes. These gigs are open to everyone from 5 years old and over.

Clare Teal (Town Hall, 2nd May, 7pm)

One of Yorkshire's finest, vocalist Clare Teal brings her mini big band to Cheltenham. The show will feature a mixture of material, displaying Clare's own songwriting alongside her interpretation's of jazz standards.

 Dave Douglas/Lee Konitz Quintet (Town Hall, 2nd May, 3.45pm)

Dave Douglas and Lee Konitz present their new quintet for the first time in the UK. Their focus will be on the works of Lee himself, Lennie Tristano and Warne Marsh.

Clare Teal set for picturesque London festival date

Yorkshire's own Clare Teal has been announced as one of the jazz acts to perform at this year's City of London Festival, which runs from 22nd June until 17th July. The festival features over 250 events including comedy, music, dance, theatre and lectures spread out across the City of London.

Festival Director Paul Gudgin (previously director of the Edinburgh Festival) is also a jazz trombonist and when programming the jazz performances, he wanted to recall the atmosphere of Dizzys Coca Cola Club in New York, a jazz club which has a spectacular view of the Manhattan skyview. As a result, audiences will enjoy a view of the City of London at gigs in Unilever House, The Gherkin and One New Change.

Jazz Performances at City of London festival:

June 28th - Clare Teal (Unilever House, 7.30pm)
June 29th - Kit Downes Trio (The Gherkin, 7.30pm)
 July 4th - Tommy Smith & Brian Kellock (Masonic Temple, Andaz Liverpool St, 7pm)
July 8th - Roberto Pla (One New Change, 7.30pm)
July 11th - Julian Joseph (Masonic Temple, Andaz Liverpool St, 7pm & 9.30pm)

See the full programme for the City of London festival here.

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.