Applications Now Open for Peter Whittingham Award

Help Musicians UK have this week announced that applications are now being accepted for the Peter Whittingham Award.

Open to solo artists and ensembles in the first two years of their professional careers or in higher education, the award offers a £5,000 grant to support an important creative project.

Claire Gevaux, Creative Director at Help Musicians UK said, “The continued support of the Whittingham Family through this unique award allows us to invest in the next generation of jazz musicians, helping the most talented artists through these formative and crucial stages of their career. We can’t wait to see the incredible standard of applications and know that our esteemed panel of experts will have an enjoyable challenge in finding the winner.” 

In recent years, the award has been given to Patchwork Jazz Orchestra (pictured above), Square One, Phil Meadows, Roller Trio, Soweto Kinch and more. (You'll notice some Northern favourites popping up on that list!)

Applications will be accepted until Friday 11th November at 5pm. Auditions will take place in London on Friday 9th December. 

For full information and find out more about the projects the award has helped to support, visit the Help Musicians UK website.

Calling All Emerging Jazz Talent - Peter Whittingham Award 2016

Help Musicians UK have opened submissions for the 2016 Peter Whittingham Award, marking its 25th year supporting emerging jazz talent in the UK.

The award is presented each year to a musician or ensemble to support a career-building project with a cash prize of £5,000. An expert in survival medicine, Peter Whittingham was also a pianist who enjoyed the music of Gershwin, Porter, Sondheim, Bernstein, Shearing and Peterson. After his death in 1987 his family set up this award in his memory – and their connection with the award continues.

In recent years, musicians from the North have dominated the recipient list - Roller Trio, Reuben Fowler, Phil Meadows and Stretch Trio (pictured above) from 2011 to 2014.

Auditions will be held at Premises Studio in Hackney, London on December 2nd and the deadline for applications is Monday 2nd November at 6pm.The award is open to musicians in the first two years of their professional careers or those in higher education.

For more information, visit the Help Musicians UK website.
 

Roller Trio seek funding for second album, Fracture

Leeds-based group Roller Trio have launched an Indiegogo funding campaign to support their second album, Fracture.

Since forming two years ago, the group have received widespread acclaim including a Mercury Prize nomination, the prestigious Peter Whittingham Award and travelling across the UK and Europe to perform.

The group have decided to release their second album independently and are trying to raise a total of £5,747 to go toward mastering, artwork, manufacturing of CDs etc. To date, the campaign has raised £1,467 of their goal.

The campaign will run until November 16th and Roller Trio are offering a number of incentives to donors including signed vinyl, t-shirts, lessons and private gigs.

To find out more, see the Roller Trio Indiegogo page.

Peter Whittingham Award 2014

                                       Phil Meadows, winner of 2013 Peter Whittingham Award

Help Musicians UK has opened applications for the 2014 Peter Whittingham Award, a professional development award focused on emerging jazz musicians.

The £4,000 grant is given to jazz musicians in the first two years of their professional career or studying a full-time high education music course. Previous recipients of the award have included Phil Meadows (pictured), Roller Trio, Soweto Kinch and Led Bib amongst others.

The deadline for submissions is Friday 7th November at 5.00pm. Auditions will be held in London on Thursday 4th December.

See the Help Musicians UK website for more information and read about their other projects.

Live In Rotterdam - Roller Trio

Roller Trio have released a new recording, Live In Rotterdam, documenting their appearance in the 2014 finals of the European Jazz Competition earlier this month.

One week prior to the competition, saxophonist James Mainwaring broke his right hand. Instead of forfeiting the competition, the band spent four days writing an entirely new set of material that would allow James to play with one hand.

These five tracks are now available for free or pay-what-you-want on the group's Bandcamp page.

Personnel -

James Mainwaring - one handed saxophone/electronics
Luke Wynters - guitar
Luke Reddin-Williams - drums
Jakub Hader - CD artwork

The group aptly added this quote to their Bandcamp page -

"...the imagination is unleashed by constraints. You break out of the box by stepping into shackles."
― Jonah Lehrer, Imagine: How Creativity Works

Roller Trio, Trio Riot, Sean Noonan, Secret Keeper ++ for November at Fusebox

Fusebox's Dave Hatfield writes "A really busy month for Fusebox with our regular Friday night monthly gig at the Fox and Newt, our first film and music event in collaboration with Leeds International Film Festival, an exclusive UK appearance by a very special US duo and the ongoing process which will culminate in our first Fusebox Composers Orchestra performance in December".

15 Nov Roller Trio + Trio Riot
18 Nov Sean Noonan - ' a gambler's hand'
19 Nov Fusebox Composer's Orchestra Rehearsal
26 Nov Secret Keeper (pictured)

Roller Trio/Gogo Penguin Double Header Tour

Two of the most exciting groups in the Northern Jazz scene are joining up to embark on a double header tour.

The five date tour which commences on October 1st is part of the Band on The Wall and Root Music's Strategic Touring Project, a project which has previously showcased the music of The Unthanks, Hot 8 and Marius Neset.

Both Gogo Penguin (Pete Turner, Nick Blacka and Chris Illingworth) and Roller Trio (James Mainwaring, Luke Wynters and Luke Reddin-Williams) have enjoyed critical acclaim for their music over the part year, with Roller Trio garnering a Mercury Prize nomination.

Tour Dates

1st Oct - Band on the Wall, Manchester (www.bandonthewall.org 0161 834 1786)

2nd Oct - The Grand, Clitheroe (www.thegrandvenue.co.uk 01200 421599)

3rd Oct - The Forum, Barrow in Furness (www.theforumbarrow.co.uk 01229 820000)

4th Oct - The Arc, Stockton (www.thearconline.co.uk 01642 525199)

5th Oct - Ropery Hall, Barton upon Humber (www.roperyhall.co.uk 01652 660380)