New efpi release: Friendly Ghosts by Adam Fairhall

Manchester based label efpi have announced their latest release, a solo album by Adam Fairhall.

Friendly Ghosts was officially released on August 11th and is Adam's first solo offering. The material was recorded during two concerts as part of Jazz North's Northern Line scheme in Newcastle and Manchester.

A little information about Adam Fairhall -

Over the past decade, Adam Fairhall has forged an international reputation as a jazz pianist and improviser of exceptional versatility. Named as a nod to the ever-present influence of long-gone pianists on his playing, Friendly Ghosts represents Adam’s recorded debut as a solo pianist and continues the synthesis of styles that has long been a feature of his work. 

The album is available to purchase on bandcamp; the physical CD is priced at £11 but those who pay above that also receive an efpi neon badge. There is also the option to download the album at a cost of £7.

To find out more, visit Adam Fairhall's website.

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.

Joshua Redman 'Still Dreaming' in Manchester, 4th August - SOLE UK DATE

Joshua Redman is scheduled to play the RNCM in Manchester on 4th August, his sole UK date.

World-renowned saxophonist Joshua Redman’s new group, the Still Dreaming quartet, features three of the most imaginative voices in contemporary jazz. Together they’ll interpret Old and New Dreams a renowned 1970/80s band of Ornette Coleman alumni that included Joshua’s father, Dewey Redman, along with Don Cherry, Charlie Haden and Ed Blackwell.

Their repertoire of Coleman compositions and original works was honest, uninhibited and engagingly unpredictable. With his all-star group, Joshua fulfils his birthright, explores his heritage and adds a new perspective to this historic material. The close personal connection will make this UK debut an especially memorable performance.

He will be joined by three incredible jazz heavyweights - Scott Colley, Ron Miles and Brian Blade.

Tickets cost £25 and there are no concessions available. This is sure to sell out so book quickly!

Visit the RNCM website to book tickets. 

Tour Preview: Misha Mullov-Abbado Album Launch & Tour, July 2017

Double bassist, composer and winner of the 2014 Kenny Wheeler Prize Misha Mullov-Abbado will launch his new album, Cross-Platform Interchange on Edition Records this month and will tour England between 15th and 26th July.

Winner of the 2014 Kenny Wheeler Jazz Prize, Misha Mullov-Abbado is an in-demand bass player, composer and arranger based in London. He is a 2014 City of Music Foundation Artist and recently released his debut album New Ansonia consisting of all his own compositions performed by his quintet on Edition Records, which has been included in “Best Jazz Albums of 2015” by The Telegraph and BBC Radio 3 and been extremely well-received in newspapers and magazines across Europe. As an experienced band-leader but also a versatile sideman Misha has performed at many of London’s top venues such as Ronnie Scott’s, the Vortex, 606 Club, Pizza Express and Royal Albert Hall’s Elgar Room (as part of the BBC Proms Late series), as well as venues in the rest of the UK and Europe. Having won the 2014 Dankworth Prize for jazz composition Misha is an experienced composer and writes for various jazz groups as well as classical soloists and ensembles, and is influenced by a variety of jazz, classical and pop music.

The final three dates of the tour will bring the ensemble to the North, visiting Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield.

Misha is joined by James Davison on trumpet, Matthew Herd on alto, Sam Rapley on tenor, Liam Dunachie on piano and Scott Chapman on drums.

For more information, visit Misha's website.

Tour Dates

15th July - The Hive, Shewsbury
17th July - The Beaver Inn, Appledore
18th July - St Ives Jazz Club, Cornwall
20th July - St Columba's Church, Cambridge
24th July - The Wonder Inn, Manchester
25th July - The Jazz Cafe, Newcastle
26th July - The Lescar, Sheffield

Happy Birthday, Noise Upstairs! June 8th

To host any kind of regular event for 10 years is an extraordinary feat. In the world of improvised music, it's even more extraordinary! The Noise Upstairs, an improvised music night that runs in Manchester, celebrates its 10th birthday on June 8th at Fuel Cafe Bar and it's set to be a big one.

From the event information...

IT'S OUR TENTH BIRTHDAY YEAH!! We’re preparing some special presents for those of you who turn up this week (not telling you what though, but it will be limited edition and exclusive and awesome). We’re starting at the earlier time of 8pm to fit in a series of short guest sets throughout the night, in addition to the evening’s special guest Luigi Marino. And the usual hat jams of course.

Guest sets from:

findlay_hunter_rennie (Kate Mroczkowski Tul Lis Anton Hunter)

Constanzo/Tremblay (Rodrigo Constanzo, Pierre Alexandre Tremblay, (plus a special guest?))

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Luigi Marino is a musician native to Rome. His recent work has focused on interactive systems able to create interactions between an extemporary performer-driven source and a computer, with particular attention to how intuitive decisions can profoundly affect predetermined structures. He is also an active improvisor performing on both electronic media and percussion, especially zarb and bowed custom cymbals.
He holds a BA in arts and philosophy from University of Rome Tor Vergata, and an MFA in electronic music from Mills College, where he studied with Roscoe Mitchell, John Bischoff, and Chris Brown. He studied zarb with Mohssen Kasirossafar.
He is the recipent of many awards such as the full teaching assistantship at the Center of Contemporary Music at Mills College, the Paul Merritt Henry Prize, and the doctoral grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK).
His music has been presented at festivals such as the San Francisco Tape Music Festival, Intonal Festival (Malmö), Seoul International Computer Music Festival, Acousmatic for the People (Malmö), ICMC (Athens), Sincronie (Milan). As a performer, he played at venues such as Rainforest World Music Festival (Kuching, Malaysia), Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna (Rome), Offene Ohren (Munich), WIM (Zurich), ImprovvisaMente (Lodi), Teatro Ca’ Foscari (Venice), Spektrum (Berlin), Blutopia (Rome), Spazio O’ (Milan).
He currently lives in the UK, pursuing a joint PhD at University of Birmingham and De Montfort University.

http://www.luigimarino.net/

Come down for eight! We anticipate it being busy and we want everyone to get a chance to perform! 

For more information, visit the Noise Upstairs website. Happy Birthday!

Jeremy Sassoon on Manchester

Manchester has been in the headlines throughout the week after the atrocious attack at the MEN arena.

Manchester's own Jeremy Sassoon, renowned jazz vocalist and pianist, wrote this moving piece for London Jazz News. We couldn't have put it better ourselves, so here is a link -

http://www.londonjazznews.com/2017/05/in-sadness-manchester-in-mourning.html

Johnny Hunter Quartet Tour, March 25th-31st

“The band admirably reflects the independent creativity of the new Manchester scene.” – John Fordham, The Guardian

Drummer Johnny Hunter's quartet made the most of 2016; as well as their normal schedule of gigs ,they also found the time to release their debut album, While We Still Can, on EFPI Records and they were selected to be part of Jazz North's Northern Line scheme.

Starting on Saturday, the group will play a string of dates including Huddersfield, Scarborough, Liverpool and Manchester so there's ample opportunity to catch these exciting musicians live.

From the FB event page...

Johnny Hunter (Blind Monk Trio, Dub Jazz Soundsystem, Nat Birchall Quintet, Marley Chingus) is a drummer, composer and band-leader who performs across the country in many different ensembles. In 2011, he brought together some of the top players from a thriving Manchester scene that is fast becoming UK Jazz’s new centre of gravity; Ben Watte on tenor saxophone, Graham South on trumpet, and Stewart Wilson on double bass. 2016 saw the release of his critically-acclaimed debut album ‘While We Still Can’ on the EFPI label, which also houses all-conquering big band, Beats & Pieces.

Hunter’s music explores the possibilities and challenges afforded by the absence of a harmony instrument, and takes influence from his long-standing interest in the piano-less groups of Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson, through to the more modern ensembles of Dave Douglas, John Zorn and Chris Speed.

Ben Watte – Tenor sax
Graham South – Trumpet
Stewart Wilson – Double Bass
Johnny Hunter – Drums

“Connects authentically with jazz tradition, whilst developing its own voice through original composition – a fabulous advertisement for British jazz.” – Adrian Pallant, London Jazz News

25.03 The Jazz Room HUDDERSFIELD, 8pm
28.03 Kazimier Gardens LIVERPOOL, 7.30pm
29.03 The Cask Inn SCARBOROUGH, 8.45pm
30.03 Matt & Phred's MANCHESTER, 9pm

NYJO are recruiting for 2017

The National Youth Jazz Orchestra is recruiting for 2017 and are on the lookout for talented instrumentalist aged 24 and under from across the UK.

From the NYJO website...

You will work with NYJO’s Artistic and Music Director Mark Armstrong, performing an eclectic repertoire of new music and classics from the big band canon, giving inspiring concerts around the country and also be involved in delivering NYJO’s learning and participation programme. Successful applicants normally hold their position in the band for at least one year.

Recent NYJO highlights include performances at the EFG London Jazz Festival, a major European tour with the German and Dutch National Youth Jazz Orchestras, an annual residency at Ronnie Scott’s, recording a celebrated 50^th anniversary double-album ‘NYJO FIFTY’, and a landmark collaboration at the Barbican with Jazz at Lincoln Center.

“We are looking forward to auditioning potential new NYJO chair holders in January. Although an audition is a short amount of time to gauge a player’s potential, their choice of material and ability to play it, combined with sight-reading, gives a good indication of how they might fit in the band. For some really important chairs, a trial period may be needed to ensure the right person fills the role.”

“Although we rehearse in London every Saturday morning, through our partnership with Help Musicians we have the funds to help pay travel expenses to any players based away from London, should they be invited to attend regular rehearsals. Even if you are not successful in becoming a chair holder with the band, it is possible that you will be asked to be an ‘authorised deputy’ which means doing some gigs with the band, provided you can attend some rehearsals. We’re excited about hearing you play!”

Mark Armstrong, NYJO’s Artistic and Music Director 

Auditions will take place in London on January 7th and in Manchester on January 8th. Applications will be accepted until November 14th 2016.

For full infomation, see the NYJO website.

Brass Bands go to war at Matt & Phreds, October 2nd

Jazz misses out on the good old Battle of the Bands format that rock has relished for decades. Well, Matt & Phred's have decided we should get in on the action and has organised a Battle of the Brass Bands for Sunday October 2nd.

From Matt & Phred's website...

Matt and Phreds love Brass... really LOVE brass. Over the years we have hosted some of the best, so when a new band rings us up saying "we can bring it at Matt and Phreds" we like to know if they are up to the challenge! To put them to the test, for one night only, we bring you two of the hottest Brass Bands in the North, face to face, trombone to trombone to battle it out.

The Battle features Leeds based BACK CHAT BRASS, 8 of the North's best musicians from some of our favourite bands who have graced the M&P stage, (New York Brass Band, Portmanteau), and to put them to the test, TWISTED TUBES, 10 of our heavy hitting local boys, who have graced the likes of Wembley Stadium, will be raising the stakes on this night to see who will become the first ever M&P's Brass Battle Stars.

Join us for the 'Brass Battle' and may the best band win...

THE BATTLE GROUND:

4-7pm - Pre-BATTLE HAPPY HOUR | FREE PIZZA DEAL | 2-4-1 COCKTAILS
7.30pm - NQ BATTLE PARADE - The parade starts at the club, with both bands hitting the Northern Quarter before the main Battle!
7.45pm - THE BATTLE COMMENCES!

For full information, check out Matt & Phred's website.

Jazz at the RNCM this Autumn

                                                     Julia Biel by Jenna Foxton

The RNCM have published their Autumn/Winter listings and jazz fans have some interesting choices for gigs this October.

Ropes Project (October 12th)

We've covered this one before - this is Mike Walker's ambitious new project with large ensemble. There's a 22 piece string section, some of Mike's closest musical collaborators and a whole bunch of new music.

Julia Biel (October 15th)

The Independent called her the best British vocalist to emerge in an age and she's been taking festivals by storm in recent years. This is the kind of gig that will appeal both to those who love jazz and the rich history of vocal jazz legends and to those who love singer-songwriters and troubadors.

Gondwana Records Presents...(October 22nd)

Matthew Halsall is one of Manchester's golden boys and he's back at the RNCM following a sold out appearance last year. Not only will you get the Gonwana Orchestra, you'll also get to hear two other bands currently on the Gonwana roster - Mammal Hands & John Ellis's new project Evolution: Seeds and Streams.

There's a whole lot more happening too, so check the RNCM website for full information.

Charlie Hunter UK Tour, November 2016

American guitarist Charlie Hunter has developed a huge worldwide following with his unique playing style, simultaneously playing bass lines, rhythm guitar and solos on his custom 7 and 8 string guitars.

Earlier this year, Charlie released his latest album on Ground Up, the first time his album has been released by a major label in 9 years after a number of self-releases. The amazingly titled Everybody Has A Plan Until They Get Punched In The Mouth (10 points for anyone who can name the person who first uttered those words) features a quartet line up including Bobby Previte on drums, Curtis Fowlkes on trombone and Kirk Knuffke on cornet.

The arrangements lock in, offering many twists and turns, but never leave the groove behind….All killer, no filler. – All Music Guide

Hunter willl appear in the UK in November to perform material from this latest album and he is joined by Bobby Previte plus two special guests - Kieran McLeod on trombone and Yelfris Valdes on trumpet.

Audiences in the North will have a chance to see the band when they perform at Band on the Wall on November 20th. The band will also perform at Ronnie Scott's (November 18 + 19), Birmingham (November 21st) Bristol (November 22nd) and Edinburgh (November 23rd).

For more information on the Manchester date, visit the Band on the Wall website. For information on Charlie Hunter, visit his website.

Martin Taylor 60th Birthday Solo Tour (October/November)

One of the UK's national jazz treasures is gearing up to celebrate his 60th birthday in style with a tour across Scotland and England starting October 14th.

Martin Taylor MBE has a career in music that spans 5 decades and over 100 recordings. His solo playing and virtuosic fingerstyle playing has earned him an international reputation and the list of his musical collaborators spans both countries and genres; Bill Wyman, Stephane Grapelli, George Harrison and Gary Burton to name but a few.

This 13 date tour will include two Northern performances - at Whitby's Musicport Festival on October 21st and then at Band on the Wall in Manchester on October 27th. Tickets for all tour dates can be purchased through Martin's website (as well as more information on his music, teaching and more).

Martin Taylor 60th Birthday UK Tour

Friday 14th October -  FAREHAM Ashcroft Arts Centre

 

Saturday 15th October - NEW MILTON Forest Arts Centre

 

Tuesday 18th October - COLCHESTER Colchester Arts Centre

 

Wednesday 19th October - GUILDFORD G Live

 

Friday 21st October - WHITBY Musicport Festival

 

Tuesday 25th October - MILTON KEYNES The Stables

 

Thursday 27th October - MANCHESTER Band On The Wall

Friday 28th October - LONDON Indigo O2

 

Monday 31st October - UPPINGHAM Uppingham School

Tuesday 1st November - RUNCORN Brindley Theatre

Wednesday 2nd November - LOUGHBOROUGH University Arts

Thursday 4th November - DUNDEE Gardyne Theatre

Friday 5th November - INVERNESS Spectrum Centre

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.

Robert Glasper Experiment - New Album & UK Tour

16th September marks the release of the brand new Robert Glasper Experiment album, ArtScience. The Grammy Award winning pianist and composer has teamed up with his close musical collaborators Casey Benjamin, Derrick Hodge and Mark Colenburg to produce something to rival their wildly successful previous releases.

To launch the album, The Robert Glasper Experiment embark on a UK tour in November including three chances to see them in the North of England. After playing two nights at KoKo in London (November 14/15), they hit Band on the Wall in Manchester (November 16), The Sage Gateshead (November 17) and Hull Truck Theatre (November 18) before heading to Bristol and Birmingham.

ArtScience finds the Grammy-winning Robert Glasper Experiment getting down to its essence, with each of the band members—keyboardist Robert Glasper, saxophonist and vocalist Casey Benjamin, bassist Derrick Hodge, and drummer Mark Colenburg—delivering the vocals and sharing in the production and songwriting on the album. On ArtScience, the Experiment sounds like a bit of everything that's vibrant and challenging and great about music woven into a billowing fabric of jazz, funk, soul, rock, hip-hop, blues, disco, electronic, and pop.

To find out more about Robert Glasper and the new album, visit his website.

Bill Evans at Band on the Wall, Manchester - August 12th

Saxophonist Bill Evans had a strong start to his musical career in the 1980s, joining Miles Davis' band and recording 6 albums with him. From there, he has developed a career that spans 4 decades and 24 albums. He has worked with countless heavy hitters like Mike Stern, Herbie Hancock, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Mick Jagger and more.

Tomorrow, he brings his band to Band on the Wall in Manchester for a special performance to launch his latest album, Rise Above. The band features Joel Rosenblatt on drums, Bryan Barker on guitar and Dave Anderson on bass. Rise Above is an album that features a whole host of guest singers and musicians including long time collaborator Mike Stern, Joe Russo and Anders Osborne amongst others.

Tickets for the performance cost £16.50 and can be booked through the Band on the Wall website.

To find out more about Bill Evans, visit his website.

Gig Preview: Antonio Sanchez & Migration at Band on the Wall

This is a date for the diary of every jazz fan in the North and it is sure to be sold out, so get your tickets soon for Antonio Sanchez & Migration at Band on the Wall on July 26th.

Moving to New York in 1999, Sanchez has developed a reputation as one of the leading lights in jazz across the world. His work with Pat Metheny is well known, having worked with the guitarist in almost every project he has put together for the past 15 years. Sanchez has been featured on 8 Metheny albums, three of which have won Grammys.

His collaboration with Metheny are just one piece of the puzzle though, and you'll see and hear Sanchez work with a myriad of world class musicians - Joshua Redman, Chris Potter, Avishai Cohen, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Donny McCaslin...

In 2013, Sanchez was asked to create the film score for Birdman, and his work was recognised with numerous award nominations.

The band he brings with him this time is Migration, a quartet of extraordinary musicians including Seamus Blake, Matt Brewer and John Escreet.

Tickets cost between £17 and £22 and can be purchased through the Band on the Wall website.

Don't miss it!

Northern Line Showcase at Manchester Jazz Festival, Monday 25th July

This summer's Manchester Jazz Festival is almost upon us and as part of their programme, there will be a day long showcase featuring the new crop of Northern Line artists.

This free to attend day of gigs has become traditional at MJF and festival goers can experience a huge range of jazz and improvised music from midday until 10pm. The bands will be split between three venues - the Hobgoblin Pavilion, Central Library and St Ann's Church.

Below is a full timetable of the day, but be sure to visit the Manchester Jazz Festival website to find out more and check out the full programme for the festival.

Monday 25th July - MJF Northern Line Showcase Day

12.00 - Jamie Brownfield Quartet
1.00  - HTrio
1.50  - Pat McCarthy ft. Shannon Reilly
2.40 - Inclusion Principle
3.30 - Maja Bugge
4.20 - Family Band
5.20 - Taupe
7.00 - Firebird Quartet
8.00 - Johnny Hunter Quartet
9.15 - Portmanteau

Playing Stories Jazz Workshop in Manchester, July 29th

ADM productions, run by pianist and composer Alexander Douglas, is running a one day workshop entitled Playing Stories: Jazz and Beyond on Friday July 29th at the Trafford Music Centre in Manchester.

Aimed at young musicians aged between 11 and 18, this event will be led by Alexander himself and saxophonist Helena Summerfield. Special guests Gary Crosby and Nathaniel Facey will also tutor.

The workshop will take participants through a range of sessions and offer the chance to perform in both small and large ensembles to work on improvisation techniques, reading, interaction and more.

For more information on the workshop, visit the Playing Stories facebook event page, which also contains the email address to contact for enrolment forms. For more information on the work ADM Productions do, visit their website.

Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra head to Montreal

Manchester's Matthew Halsall and his Gondwana Orchestra are representing jazz in the North and in fact in the UK as a whole as one of the few UK artists featured in this year's Montreal Jazz Festival.

Running from June 29th until July 9, this is one of the world's leading jazz festivals and artists from across the globe peform on a number of stages. The Gondwana Orchestra will perform on the TD stage on June 30th at 6pm. Another Manchester artist, blues guitarist Matt Schofield will also perform.

Halsall is widely considered to be at the cutting edge of Jazz in the UK and is regularly nominated for awards (including JazzFM's UK Jazz act of the year and Gilles Peterson's Album of the Year to name two recent ones...)

To find out more about Matthew and his music, visit his website. For full details on the programme, visit the Montreal Jazz Festival site.

Gogo Penguin and Beats & Pieces head to Rotterdam

North Sea Jazz Festival is one of the most well-known jazz festivals in the World. For three days in July, musicians from across the world perform to thousands of audience members. This year, there are three UK jazz musicians/ensembles taking part and two of these are from Manchester!

Beats & Pieces Big Band perform on July 10th on the Mississippi stage. The band have already had some European dates this year, touring in Poland, Germany, Czech Republic and Austria back in March.

Also on the 10th, Gogo Penguin perform on the Darling stage. The Manchester piano trio have had a great few years, recently being signed to Blue Note and embarking on an extensive tour across the world. As well as their performance, they will also take part in a Q & A session in the Jazz Cafe area.

Also flying the flag for jazz in the UK, multi-instrumentalist wunderkind Jacob Collier performs on Saturday 9th July.

For the full festival line-up, visit the North Sea Jazz Festival website.