Gig Preview: Tipitina at Ribble Valley Jazz & Blues Club

Ribble Valley Jazz and Blues Club have organised a gig guaranteed to bring the festive atmosphere for their final gig of the year on December 9th.

Lancashire based band Tipitina love the music of New Orleans, Barrelhouse, Gospel and Rhythm & Blues. Fronted by vocalist Debbie Jones and including the talents of Justin Randall, John Hicks, Andrew Dalton, Andrew Jones and Pat Flood, Tipitina launched their debut album back in 2009 and have since built up a strong following across the UK.

“A wholly admirable album, the youthful energy, sincerity and obvious affection for the New Orleans style is captivating – a sure-fire club and festival attraction” - Jazz Journal
“To capture the spirit of New Orleans so fully, from a base in the North West of England is a spectacular achievement”
- The Guardian
“Instantly recognisable, Tipitina are really on to something” - Paul Jones, BBC Radio 2 

The gig costs £10, £8 for members. There is a food available at the venue from 6pm until 9pm, so audiences can book a table early and make an evening of it.

For more information, visit the Ribble Valley Jazz and Blues Club website.

Gig Preview: White Canvas at Ribble Valley Jazz, November 4th

The team at Ribble Valley Jazz & Blues club work hard all year round, hosting an annual festival, a year long season of club gigs and have recently started hosting a radio show! They've been in touch to tell us about their next gig at the club which takes place on November 4th and features the band White Canvas.

From the Ribble Valley Jazz website...

The band was formed in 2012 by pianist and composer Barry Dallman as an outlet for his original compositions.  Having played and worked in jazz, blues, rock, soul, funk and folk bands throughout his career, Barry’s influences are eclectic and wide-ranging.  His compositions blend the harmony and improvisation of jazz with catchy tunes and head-nodding grooves.  As the author of the popular PlayJazz blog, Barry has often railed against the focus on complexity and technical facility found in some areas of modern jazz and his own music reflects a love of space, melody and dynamic contrast.

Personnel: Barry Dallman (piano), Andrew Hulme (guitar), Grant Russell (bass) and Adam Goldberg (drums).

Tickets cost £10 with a discounted price of £8 for members. Doors open at 7.30pm and there's music from 8pm. For more information on the great music Ribble Valley put on, visit their website. 

New Jazz Radio show coming to Ribble Valley

Ribble FM is a brand new radio station being built from the ground up by a group of hardworking volunteers. Supported by lottery funding, the station will feature a number of programmes including one dedicated to jazz and run by the team at Ribble Valley Jazz and Blues Club.


From the Ribble FM website -

At Ribble FM we are planning to reflect and enhance the local area, the towns and many villages which make up this unique place. Ribble FM has been working towards operating a truly local and professional radio station here for many years and will launch before June 2016.

We are now streaming online via this website, along with the TuneIn Smartphone App and our own app which is available on iPhones and Android devices. What you can hear today is a small taster of what we'll be bringing to our FM frequency when we launch early next year. Many thanks to our sponsors so far for making it possible, and we look forward to working with even more Ribble Valley businesses from launch.

Jazz listeners should keep an eye out for the shows which will be broadcast in July and August. For more information, visit RibbleFM.com.

NJ Advent Calendar - Spring Festivals (December 11th)

As the wind howls and days get ever colder, let's open door number 11 and look at all of the jazz festivals we can look forward to in spring...


Gateshead International Jazz Festival (early/mid April)

Starting off the festival season is Gateshead's annual weekend festival at the Sage. This festival is run by Ros Rigby and her team and is produced by Serious so expect big name acts from the UK and abroad. The line-up for 2016 has already been announced and will feature performances from Gregory Porter, Evan Parker and a special large scale performance by Phil Meadows' Engines Orchestra and the Northern Sinfonia, amongst many others. Everything takes place under one roof too, which is pretty handy.

Darlington Jazz Festival (late April)

Running over a long weekend, this festival presents performances across Darlington. There's a strong focus on Northern artists and last year they had acts like Durham Alumni Big Band, Al Wood, Matt Roberts and Jamil Sheriff. There's a great tradition of jazz education and big band playing in this area and it's reflected in the festival programming.

Ribble Valley Jazz & Blues Festival (Bank Holiday weekend, May)

A 5 Day Jazz Festival with over 40 bands, 350 musicians, a blues stage, a soul stage, lots of free music in pubs, a picnic in the park and a Saturday Street Party - what better way to spend your bank holiday monday. Geoff Jackson and his team run this festival annually and are always looking for volunteers (see the website) to help out. 2016's programme includes headliners like Ben Crosland, Ray Gelato and Courtney Pine.

Keswick Jazz Festival (mid May)

Set in the picturesque Lake District, this festival is a celebration of traditional, New Orleans and Mainstream jazz. The programme showcases a wealth of UK talent and as well as many live performances, there are also talks and dance classes. Expect artists like Roy Williams, Enrico Tomasso, Keith Nichols and The Basin Street Brawlers.

Ribble Valley International Piano Week

The world of jazz piano is well represented at Ribble Valley International Piano Week in July with a rare solo appearance by Gwilym Simcock.

The festival runs from 15th until the 18th July and takes place at The Croston Theatre in Westholme School, Blackburn. Gwilym Simcock will perform on July 16th at 7.45pm, with a pre-concert talk with Gwilym and Steve Berry at 6.30pm.

Gwilym Simcock is one of the UK’s most gifted pianists and composers, able to move effortlessly between jazz and classical styles and also to inhabit both at once. His skill in dovetailing different musical traditions, and his dazzling keyboard skills will, we’re sure, result in one of the most exciting performances we’ve ever heard at the Piano Week. It is a little different for us, undoubtedly – but we think you’ll be enthralled by his astonishing talent. You may hear glimpses of Ravel or of Stravinsky as he takes us on an original journey through jazz standards and his own compositions.

Visit the Ribble Valley Piano Week website for more details.

Ribble Valley Jazz Festival, May 1st-5th

The 2014 Ribble Valley Jazz Festival will take place over May bank holiday weekend, from May 1st to May 5th. The festival will feature over 35 bands as well as a street festival.

The festival will kick off with a performance by Camerata Ritmata, a Scottish group featuring Mario Caribe, Stuart Brown, Simon Thacker and Paul Harrison and playing original music inspired by folk music from around the world. Across the weekend, bands including NYJO, JJ Wheeler quintet, Dennis Rollins Velocity trio (Dennis pictured above) and more, ending on May 5th with the ever-popular Soweto Kinch trio.

For full information on the line-up and details on venues and tickets, see the Ribble Valley Jazz Festival website.