Richard Turner Film - crowdfunding campaign now live

An indiegogo campaign has been launched to create a film about the well-loved trumpeter Richard Turner, who died in 2011 aged just 27.

Musician and friend of Richard's, Rob Cope, is leading the project and is hoping to raise £3,000 to support the creation of the film and soundtrack as well as to fund trips to interview a number of friends and colleagues about Richard and his life in music.

From the indiegogo page...

We are creating a film about Richard Turner. Richard was an extremely talented and generous young jazz trumpeter who sadly died in 2011, aged 27. This film will remember and honour Richard's memory. To say he was a culturally significant musician is an understatement and we want to document all of his achievements. We are also going to examine just how important Richard's music has been and explore his lasting legacy in jazz.

Richard grew up in Leeds and studied at LCoM before heading South to study his masters at the Royal Academy. As well as a busy performing life, he also set up jazz at the Con Cellar Bar in Camden, hosting regular gigs from both UK and international artists.

With 24 days still to go, the campaign has so far received £1,977 of it's £3,000 goal. To read more and to donate to this worthwhile project, visit the Richard Turner indiegogo page.

LCoM Alumnus Pete Lee's Velvet Rage album and Kickstarter

Pianist Pete Lee is raising funds for the release of a new album, The Velvet Rage, an ambitious new work that features many familiar faces to the northern jazz scene - like fellow LCoM alumni Alex Munk, Ali Thynne, Huw Foster and Matt Roberts.

After graduating from LCoM, Lee moved to London to study a masters at the Royal Academy. Since then, his reputation as both a band leader and as a sideman has grown and grown, leading his own groups like Narcissus and touring with vocalist Alice Zawadski to name but two.

Aiming to raise £5,000, Pete's kickstarter is going strong; currently standing at £4,255 but with only 6 days to go, he stills needs that vital push to ensure he reaches his target.

As ever with Kickstarter, donors are offered a range of incentives - from signed cds to private piano lessons and even the opportunity to name one of the as-yet-unnamed tunes to be featured on the album.

Below is some background information on the project but for full information and to donate, visit the Velvet Rage Kickstarter page.

This album showcases compositions I've written over the last 10 years, drawing not only from my educational and professional experience, but also from the highs and lows of my own personal experience. Isn't that what we all write about? Family, friends, love and romance; those basic things that can hurt the most, but can also feel the most fulfilling. I'm keen to take full advantage of my opportunity to say something meaningful.

We recorded for 5 days in Fieldgate studio recording some of our classic tunes as well as some brand new material. 

You'll hear Pete Lee (piano/compositions), Josh Arcoleo (sax), Alex Munk (guitar), Huw Foster (bass), Ali Thynne (drums), and the Amika Strings: Laura Senior (violin), Rich Jones (violin) Lucy Nolan (viola) and Peggy Nolan (cello).

The session was recorded by Andy Lawson, Alex Killpartrick & Matt Williams at Fieldgate Studios in South Wales. Matt Roberts produced the album.

We’re immensely excited to invite you to help us continue our journey. We need to raise £5,000 within 4 weeks. If we fail to reach our target, you won't be charged a penny and we'll receive nothing. It's an incredibly nerve racking time for us, so we'd be eternally grateful for your help.

Your donations will help us:

• Mix/ Master/ Manufacture the album
• Record a final track at the studio
• Record Promotional Videos
• Pay for a PR Campaign to spread the word.
• Pay our skilled band-members.

Upcoming Releases and a gig from Discus Music

The indefatigable Martin Archer has announced the two newest releases from his record label, Discus Music as well as a gig later in the month.

Readers of this blog will remember that we recently published an article about a crowdfunding campaign Discus will running to support the Keith Tippett Octet's new album. Well, the campaign was a success and the Nine Dances of Patrick O'Gonogon will be the 56^th release on the label. This can be listened to and ordered on the website.

Following that, release 57 will be an ambitious double album from a new project, Story Tellers. With Martin himself on woodwinds and joined by Anton Hunter, Corey Mwamba, Pete Fairclough, Kim Macari and Mick Somerset Ward, Story Tellers will be released in July. A group of strong improvising voices coming together to form something huge...

And if you'd like to hear music like this live, Martin is putting on a gig on June 24^th at Bishop's House in Sheffield featuring two sets of music. DAS RAD is a trio of musicians from the Discus Music roster performing together for the first time – Martin on saxophone & electronics, Nick Robinson on guitar and electronics and Steve Dinsdale on drums and electronics. They are joined by Jez Creek aka Modulator ESP who will perform a solo set.

Information on all of this and more can be found on the Discus Music website. (www.discus-music.co.uk)

Alex Munk's Flying Machines Kickstarter Launched

Jazz listeners first came across guitarist Alex Munk when he came to Leeds to study Jazz at Leeds College of Music from 2006-2009. He then moved to London to study his Masters at the Royal Academy in London and since then, he has proved himself to be a guitarist at the forefront of the jazz scene. He has maintained his connections with the North, bringing his own group Flying Machines to perform in Leeds as well as working with fellow LCoM Alumnus Matt Anderson in his group Wildflower and in 2015, he was invited to take part in an all-star big band put together by Nikki Iles to celebrate 50 years of Leeds College of Music.

Alex has recently recorded his debut album with his quartet, Flying Machines and has now launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to help with mastering, CD and print costs and PR. Their target is £3,500 and the total currently stands at 38% with 20 days to go.

Alex says

We have the end in sight! It's been a long haul (no pun intended) but the final mixes of our debut album, which we recorded last year, sound like they did in my wildest dreams. All the rehearsing and gigging really paid off. We've captured 9 original compositions in the studio and there's something on the album for everyone, from visceral, rock out improv to lyrical ballads and lush soundscapes. We worked with an incredible engineer called Tim Thomas for both the recording and mixing; he has done a wonderful job of bringing this music to life. 

We are aiming for a late September 2016 album launch date, ahead of our national tour in February 2017. We already have a number of dates booked, from Cornwall, London to Edinburgh - we hope to see you at one of them! We'll be adding more dates as we go along.

Donors can opt to pledge at a number of different levels, each with their own rewards. These range from digital downloads of the album to guitar lessons and private gigs by the band.

You can find out more about Alex and Flying Machines by visiting his website, and to learn more about the Kickstarter and donate, see their campaign page.

Acts Announced for LUME Festival & Kickstarter Launched

Earlier in the year, we reported on the plans for LUME festival, a day of music run by Dee Byrne and Cath Roberts in London. Committed to supporting original and improvised music, the musicians have worked tirelessly to promote live music in London in recent years. The festival marks their next step and after an open call for submissions, today they launched a Kickstarter to support the running of the event.

The North will be strongly represented with three out of the six groups hailing from Manchester and Leeds. Ant Traditions is a duo featuring pianist Adam Fairhall and David Birchall (Manchester), Hot Beef Three are from Leeds and feature Ollie Dover, Craig Scott and Andrew Lisle and guitarist Anton Hunter brings his large ensemble work Article XI, a previous recipient of the Manchester Jazz Festival commission.

These three Northern groups are joined by Birmingham's Little Church, Kjær/Musson/Marshall from London and Blueblut from Austria.

LUME has received some core funding from Arts Council England to support their work but their newly launched Kickstarter will raise funds to help with travel costs and artist fees to ensure they feature as much music as they can. Donors will receive a number of rewards depending on the amount they donate including Live at LUME cds, tickets to the festival, a special trip to London Aquarium with Cath and Dee and a special piece written for you and performed by Word of Moth.

For full information on the Kickstarter which runs until May 12th, visit the website.

Help Smoove&Turrell go to Canada Music Week

When not being one of the North's most in-demand jazz bass players and being a pillar of the jazz scene in the North East, Andy Champion is the bassist for Northern Funk outfit Smoove & Turrell.

Since 2009, the band have released 3 albums, appeared numerous times on national radio and toured extensively. They have supported Nile Rodgers and Martha and the Vandellas and appeared at international festivals.

This week, the band announced that they have been selected from thousands of bands to represent the UK music industry at Canada Music Week - a huge international music festival that is attended by US festival directors and bookers and agents from across the world.

In order to take advantage of this opportunity, Smoove & Turrell have to raise £5,000 and they have set up a Crowdfunder campaign to do so. It's going well so far with 71 backers and 53% of their total raised. Donors will receive a number of rewards including special merchandise and chances to win tickets to festivals and a one-off gig from the band themselves.

For full information, visit their Crowdfunder page. The campaign runs until April 29th.

Kickstarter Campaign - Keith Tippett Octet on Discus

Martin Archer's label Discus Music have launched a Kickstarter campaign to support the release of Keith Tippett's newest album, The Nine Dances of Patrick O'Gonogon.

The 56th album to be released on the label features a new suite of music commissioned by Richard Wiltshire and was recorded at Real World Studios.

This new suite is based on themes from Irish folk music and was written for his new octet, which includes several recent graduates from the Royal Academy of Music’s jazz programme along with a long-time collaborator, the drummer Peter Fairclough, and the London-based Italian trumpeter Fulvio Sigurta.

As the album has already been recorded, mixed and mastered, the kickstarter campaign is a way for listeners to purchase their copies in advance to enable Discus Music to distribute the album. The campaign lasts for another 29 days and has a target amount of £1,500.

Keith Tippett Octet are -

Fulvio Sigurta (trumpet/flugel)
Sam Mayne (alto)
James Gardiner-Bateman (alto & flute)
Kieran McLeod (trombone)
Robbie Harvey (trombone)
Tom McCredie (bass)
Pete Fairclough (drums)
Keith Tippett (piano/composition)
Julie Tippetts (voice)

For more information and to contribute to the campaign, visit the Kickstarter page.

Seven Jazz & Inkwell's Sponsor a Key Project - Update

We reported last week on Seven Jazz's newest fundraising venture, to raise funds for a piano to be used at Inkwell in Leeds.

They have now set up a Crowdfunding campaign page for the project, and people have 27 days left to sponsor a key for just £5. In fact, why stop at a key - buy yourself your favourite chord!

https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/inkwell-piano

Darlington Jazz Festival Fundraising Campaign

Darlington Jazz Festival takes place over a weekend between 21st and 24th April this year. The festival is now 5 years old and continues to grow both in popularity and in size. This year, the festival team want to expand further and offer a range of free to attend events during the festival, bringing jazz to places across Darlington to attract new audiences. In addition to this, a large scale concert is planned which features choirs and big bands at St Cutherbert's church.

In order to fund these additional activities, they have set up a crowd-funding campaign with hopes of raising £1,000. The campaign runs until 26th April 2016 and contributors can donate whatever amount they choose.

You can find out more about the campaign and the festival through their Fundrazr page.

Help Musicians UK Launches New Funding Scheme for Emerging Talent

Help Musicians UK have launched a new funding scheme in partnership with PledgeMusic to support artists at the early stages of their professional careers.

This £50,000 fund will go toward supporting artists and ensembles who have an engaged fan base and are at a turning point in their career but do not currently receive funding from any third-party sources. Those successful will receive support from Help Musicians UK if they hit their target on the crowd-funding platform PledgeMusic.

Tim Foxon, Talent Programme Manager says: In a challenging funding landscape, we’ve been looking at new ways to channel much-needed support to musicians in the early stages of their careers. We’re thrilled to be working with Pledge Music to identify some exciting upcoming acts for whom we hope this investment will make a significant impact.

Paul Barton PledgeMusic UK MD says: “Teaming up with Help Musicians UK ideally fits the PledgeMusic ethos every which way. The direct-to-fan model that PledgeMusic offers new, emerging artists and bands is an entry route into a career in music and from day 1, PledgeMusic has incorporated charity work and contributions into its campaigns. Working with Help Musicians UK is a most welcome expansion of this principle.

Applications are welcomed from now until May 29th and there are two further rounds with deadlines of August 31st and 30th November.

There is comprehensive information on how to apply and eligibility criteria on the Help Musicians UK website and you can find out more about their partnership on the PledgeMusic website.

Mike Walker's Ropes Crowdfunding Project

A few weeks ago, we reported on Mike Walker's new Ropes project. Since then, the Crowdfunder page has been launched and the campaign has so far raised £2,980 of their £5,000 target.

With 30 days left to reach the target, donors can enjoy a range of incentives to pledge money including signed albums, private masterclasses and backstage passes to the launch concert.

For full information, visit the Mike Walker Ropes Crowdfunder page.

Phil Meadows Engines Orchestra Funding Campaign

Chethams School of Music and LCoM Alumnus Phil Meadows has been a name on the jazz community's lips lately after winning the coveted Peter Whittingham Jazz Award to put together an ambitious large-scale project called the Engines Orchestra. This cross-genre ensemble has since recorded a debut album, Lifecycles, run education programmes and are due to appear at the London Jazz Festival on November 22nd to officially launch their album.

Phil's intention is to further develop Engines Orchestra into a sustainable and diverse platform for performance, education and recording and plans are already in motion for the second large project with the ensemble.

In order to carry out these ambitious plans, an Indiegogo funding campaign has been set to raise a further £2,500 to 'help mobilise the next two educational courses, a series of smaller performance platforms and research and develop the next large-scale collaboration.'

Full details on the funding campaign can be found on the Engines Orchestra Indiegogo page. The campaign is open for funders to participate until November 1st 2014.

Event: Funding for Jazz Musicians - March 24th, Leeds

                                Slowlight Quartet, one of the new Northern Line groups

An event is being held by Jazz North on March 24th in Leeds to spread the word about funding sources available for jazz musicians.

The session will take place at Leeds Club on Albion Street and will run from 2pm until 5pm.

A panel of representatives from funding sources will share experiences on criteria, successful applications, tips on applying and use of funding in jazz. This will be followed by a networking session which will allow musicians to talk one-on-one with the panel about draft funding ideas or applications.

The panel will include -

Arts Council funding ( Grants for the Arts)
Help Musicians UK (Emerging Excellence Awards)
Crowd-funding platforms (PledgeMusic)
PRSF for Music

It's going to be a very informative session for musicians who are looking into funding for projects in jazz. As well as having representatives from funding bodies talk through their funding source, we will also have musicians sharing their experiences of applying for and receiving funding from these bodies and sharing tips on the process. For musicians who have a specific project in mind, they will get a chance to run it past the people in the know and for those who just want to know more about funding in jazz, they will pick up a lot of tips!

The session is free but sign-up is required - email opportunitiesATjazznorth.org (replace AT with @) to secure a place.

Pink Lane Jazz Coop and The Globe - UPDATE

Pink Lane Jazz Coop are continuing with their mission to sell shares and purchase The Globe - a venue in Tyneside - to develop a new hub for jazz performance and education.

Dave Parker from the Pink Lane Jazz Coop has been in touch to spread the word about an event they are holding next week for potential investors.

Wildflower Sextet Crowdfunding Campaign

The Wild Flower Sextet have launched a crowdfunding campaign to support the making of their debut album, which they are recording on February 22nd and 23rd in the Leeds College of Music recital room after receiving a place on the Jazz Services Recording Support scheme.

Jazz Does Crowdfunding - UPDATE

                                 Led Bib


Following up from our recent interview with guitarist Alex Roth, today he announced that his Sponsume campaign has raised £1,310.97 to go toward his UK tour with band Otriad. Congratulations to Alex, who has put in a lot of hard work to promote the tour, so head to see a gig if you can.

Led Bib are also going down the crowdfunding route and have started a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for a new studio album and live vinyl to mark their 10th anniversary. They've set a £10,000 goal and have until 25th May to achieve it. To see their video or to pledge, visit Led Bib Kickstarter page.

Blue Note and Artistshare Become Partners

Record label Blue Note has announced plans to form a partnership with crowd-funding platform Artistshare.

The new partnership, led by Artistshare founder Brian Carmelio, Blue Note chairman emeritus Bruce Lundvall and Don Was, Blue Note's president has been described as developing a "low-risk development arm of the label."

In essence, Blue Note will help select musicians and groups, and assist in the promotional aspects of record releases, while the crowd-funding element of Artistshare will be retained.  The musicians themselves will be still be owners of the recorded material.

This new partnership reflects the changing world of the recording and distribution of music. Artistshare has an impressive track record and has connections with world-class musicians and composers. One of their biggest successes, Maria Schneider, has won a number of awards for the music she has released through Artistshare.

Blue Note have stated that the focus of this partnership will be on finding up and coming artists and providing support to them, a focus which Blue Note has retained throughout their history.

The Friday Interview: Alex Roth

  

Guitarist and composer Alex Roth is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, and is part of a group of forward thinking UK musicians who take inspiration from visual art, dance, film and literature as well as music.He performs with groups including Blue Eyed Hawk, CHAOS orchestra and Outrenoir, but has recently been recognised through his work with his own group, Otriad and their decision to embrace crowd-funding as a way to finance their UK Tour. He joins a small but growing number of jazz musicians including Gwyneth Herbert and Reuben Fowler who have explored this source of funding. In return for pledging money which will help to fund their UK tour, Alex and the group have a number of rewards and unique experiences to offer. We spoke to Alex about the project, crowd-funding and what lies ahead for him in 2013... 

Go find out more from Alex's Sponsume page and to pledge money visit Otriad Sponsume page.