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.

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.

Albums, TV shows & festivals all thanks to Liverpool Jazz

Liverpool Jazz has been supporting the jazz scene in Merseyside for 11 years. The gift of funds left by one of its supporters has meant that they have recently been very active in supporting a range of projects and events.

Recording - Three local bands have been supported in producing albums of their own material recorded at Parr Street Studios. The Weave (pictured above), Ginger Tunes Quartet and Viktor Nordberg Trio will all be featured in a special showcase event at the Liverpool International Jazz Festival on February 28th.

TV - Liverpool Jazz were approached by a group of students at Edge Hill University making a Jools Holland-style show as part of their course. The organisation was able to sponsor the programme and pay musicians to take part as well as providing a grand piano. The show featured performances from The Weave, The Bobby Swing Band and vocalist Su Eyo.

Music Education - Liverpool Philharmonic Society's In Harmony programme and Rare Studios both offer performing arts tuition either for free or at subsidisd rates to young people in underprivileged areas. Liverpool Jazz sponsors these programmes and supports the work they do.

These projects above are the tip of the iceberg, with a range of other sponsored concerts, a regular radio show and a website full of useful information all going on throughout the year. NJN would like to congratulate Liverpool Jazz on the vital work they do to support jazz and music education - long may it continue!

For more information, visit the Liverpool Jazz website.

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.

NJ Advent Calendar - Winter Jazz Festivals (December 5th)

We all know that summer is a busy time for music festivals, but behind door number 5 are all of the jazz festivals in the North taking place in Autumn and Winter each year. Here in the North, we're very lucky to have 18 jazz festivals in the region across the year and don't worry, we'll be talking about those summery ones soon enough!


Marsden Jazz Festival (Early October)

Marsden Jazz Festival have not long finished their 2015 edition but work is already under way for next year which is their 25th Birthday. This festival, set in picturesque surroundings, draws over 10,000 visitors and their programme contains mainstream acts, international names, fringe events, contemporary improvised music and everything in between!

Whitley Bay Classic Jazz Party (Early November)

This festival on the coast has been running for 5 years and runs over a weekend in Early November each year. Their focus is on swing and early jazz and they have a mixture of UK, European and American artists on the programme.

Jazz On A Winter's Weekend (Early February)

Run by Geoff Matthews in Southport, the festival celebrates its 12th birthday in 2016. Almost always a sell-out, the festival runs over a weekend and features a varied programme - there's always a strong international presence as well as up and coming artists and big bands.

Liverpool International Jazz Festival (late February/early March)

This is a relatively new festival which runs from the Capstone Theatre in Liverpool and is programmed by Neil Campbell. Started up in 2013, the festival has so far programmed a number of big name acts from the UK and Europe and there is always a few Northern Line acts in there too, from Jazz North's flagship scheme.

Great North Big Band Festival (early March)

Probably the most specific festival on our list, this one is a celebration of big bands. There is a competition in which big bands from music colleges, regional initiatives and  universities compete as well as performances and workshops over the course of the weekend.

Rising Northern Jazz Talent to get Festival Showcase

Jam Experiment, a young band from Manchester, have been announced as the first group to take part in Jazz North's new Introducing scheme.

The group, compromised of musicians aged between 16 and 18, impressed a panel of festival directors, musicians and educators, who heard a wide range of applications for the scheme.