Rommi Smith - Jazz and Poetry at Seven Arts, September 2nd

Jazz and Poetry are two artforms that have history together. Don't just take my word for it, read this NPR piece from 2014 that highlights five examples of albums where jazz and poetry meet - from Steve Swallow's long term collaboration with poet Robert Creeley to the setting of Elizabeth Bishop's verse by pianist Jeremy Siskind.

Rommi Smith is a perfect example; a poet, jazz singer and writer, she has written many works about jazz and can be seen performing with jazz musicians including Laura Cole and Jenni Molloy. On September 2nd, she teams up with pianist Dave Evans and bassist Kenny Higgins to perform these works at Seven Arts in Leeds. As if that wasn't enough, she will bne supported by Dave Evan's newest big band initiave (which we wrote about recently here).

Tickets for the event cost £10/8 and can be purchased through the Ticket Source website. Rommi will also be holding a workshop talk about her poetry before the gig which is free to all ticket holders.

Dave Evans leads brand new Festival Band for Chapel Allerton Village Jazz Festival

Dave Evans is putting together a brand new big band to perform twice during the Chapel Allerton Village Jazz Festival.

The idea behind the group is to bring together community musicians - local musicians who play instruments but may not perform regularly with a band. Between now and the performances (2nd and 3rd of September) Dave will work with the band six times to show how quickly a band can come together and perform.

The band have already had one rehearsal but if you're keen to be involved, email Dave at  evansdj01@hotmail.co.uk and see if there's a space to join in the fun. There will be sessions on August 4th, 25th August, 2nd September and more sessions will be announced.

The performances will take place on Friday 2nd September at Seven Arts (8pm) and then on Saturday 3rd September in Regent Street (4.30pm).

Vote for Jazz in the Yorkshire Gig Guide Grassroots Awards

It's that time of year again - voting is open for the 2016 Yorkshire Gig Guide Grassroots Awards. These awards celebrate the regional music scene and the people who make it all happen with awards for promoters, venues, festivals, media and more.

This year, the awards ceremony will be held at the Marsden Jazz Festival on Sudnay October 9th. The public are invited to vote to decide on the winners and the very simple online voting form will be available online until August 31st.

To see a full list of nominees and to vote, visit the Grassroots Awards 2016 website.

Below, we've listed the nominees connected to the jazz scene - great to see some familiar faces and names on the list!

Oustanding New Festival of 2016: Ilkley Jazz Festival

Oustanding Established Festival of 2016: Marsden Jazz Festival

Outstanding Contributon of 2016: Barney Stevenson

Outstanding Promoter of 2016: Barney Stevenson, Martin Powell

Oustanding Small Live Venue of 2016: Glyde House (home of JATP), Seven Arts, Cafe Lento, Fox and Newt (home of Fusebox), Wharf Chambers (home of Sproggits), Inkwell (venue for Seven Jazz)

Yorkshire Outstanding Music Club of 2016: Wakefield Jazz Club

Gig Preview: Dave Kane Large Ensemble at Seven Arts, March 19th

Double bass player and composer Dave Kane has put together a new project to mark his 40th birthday with a gig at Seven Arts on March 19th.

Kane will conduct a large ensemble playing a programme of music written and arranged for the gig, which will then be recorded.

The band consists of violin, viola, 4 saxes, 2 brass, piano/syns, guitar, drums and bass as well as a very special duo set as support. Audiences will recognise the players (Matt Bourne, Simon Kaylor, Joost Hendrickx, James Mainwaring, Kim Macari, George Murray, Aby Vuillamy, Tom Sidebottom, Oliver Dover, Garry Jackson...) but this will certainly be the first time they've heard them like this!

It's sure to be well attended so arrive early to ensure you get a good seat!

For more information, visit Dave Kane's website.

NJ Advent Calendar - Video: Alan Barnes (December 17th)

A celebration of Jazz in the North wouldn't be complete without a nod to one of its most well known exponents, Alan Barnes. As his bio says

Alan Barnes’s unique musicianship, indefatigable touring, and warm rapport with audiences have made him uniquely popular in British jazz.  He has received over 25 British Jazz Awards, most recently in 2014 for clarinet, and has twice been made BBC Jazz Musician of the Year.

See him in action in this video, recorded at Seven Arts in Leeds with Bruce Adams on trumpet. 

Gig Preview: Tom Maddison Nonet

Tom Maddison Nonet
Sunday June 28th, 1.30pm
Seven Arts, Leeds (Harrogate Road)
£7/5

Here's a gig for those of you who enjoy large ensembles! Tom Maddison is a recent graduate of LCoM and since leaving, he's been busy gigging as a double bass player in a number of groups including the Big Easy and Portmanteau. For this group he's not only the bassist and band leader but the composer, too. His writing has been described as being akin to Brian Blade's Fellowship and the band have been working hard toward this gig so it's sure to be a good one. This ensemble is another prime example of the talent being produced by LCoM each year (incidentally, LCoM is 50 this year so we should perhaps expect some celebrations later in the year...)

The band features -

Thomas Maddison - double bass/composer
Simon Dennis - trumpet/flugel
Will Howard - tenor/flute
Jonny Faull - clarinet/alto
James Boyes - alto/tenor
Tom I'Anson - trombone
Jonny Tunnard - piano
Craig Scott - guitar
John Arnesen - drums

Gig Preview: James Hamilton Jazz Orchestra - 'Covers Suite' at Seven Arts

James Hamilton Jazz Orchestra 
Seven Arts, Chapel Allerton, Leeds
Sunday 31st May
1.30pm

Award-winning composer James Hamilton is bringing his jazz orchestra to Seven Jazz later this month to perform two suites of music, one featuring a host of special guests.

The Yorkshire Suite was commissioned by Jazz Yorkshire and performed by the Doncaster Jazz Orchestra at Seven Arts last year to mark the end of Jazz Yorkshire. The band will perform this suite again in the first half of the concert.

The second half features some brand new music in the form of the Covers Suite. This brings together the jazz orchestra with singers from the Leeds music scene. Seven singers will be featured, with songs being selected by fans on facebook and twitter. The singers are -

Simon Wainwright (Hope & Social)
Simon Fletcher (Hand Made Hands)
David Henshaw (Dancing Years)
Jasmine Kennedy
Dan Lucas (Boss Caine)
Sam Thornton (Louis Louis Louis/King Zepha)
Grant Fennel (Cotton Woolf)

For more information, see the Seven Jazz website.