Richard Turner Film - crowdfunding campaign now live

An indiegogo campaign has been launched to create a film about the well-loved trumpeter Richard Turner, who died in 2011 aged just 27.

Musician and friend of Richard's, Rob Cope, is leading the project and is hoping to raise £3,000 to support the creation of the film and soundtrack as well as to fund trips to interview a number of friends and colleagues about Richard and his life in music.

From the indiegogo page...

We are creating a film about Richard Turner. Richard was an extremely talented and generous young jazz trumpeter who sadly died in 2011, aged 27. This film will remember and honour Richard's memory. To say he was a culturally significant musician is an understatement and we want to document all of his achievements. We are also going to examine just how important Richard's music has been and explore his lasting legacy in jazz.

Richard grew up in Leeds and studied at LCoM before heading South to study his masters at the Royal Academy. As well as a busy performing life, he also set up jazz at the Con Cellar Bar in Camden, hosting regular gigs from both UK and international artists.

With 24 days still to go, the campaign has so far received £1,977 of it's £3,000 goal. To read more and to donate to this worthwhile project, visit the Richard Turner indiegogo page.

LCoM Alumnus Pete Lee's Velvet Rage album and Kickstarter

Pianist Pete Lee is raising funds for the release of a new album, The Velvet Rage, an ambitious new work that features many familiar faces to the northern jazz scene - like fellow LCoM alumni Alex Munk, Ali Thynne, Huw Foster and Matt Roberts.

After graduating from LCoM, Lee moved to London to study a masters at the Royal Academy. Since then, his reputation as both a band leader and as a sideman has grown and grown, leading his own groups like Narcissus and touring with vocalist Alice Zawadski to name but two.

Aiming to raise £5,000, Pete's kickstarter is going strong; currently standing at £4,255 but with only 6 days to go, he stills needs that vital push to ensure he reaches his target.

As ever with Kickstarter, donors are offered a range of incentives - from signed cds to private piano lessons and even the opportunity to name one of the as-yet-unnamed tunes to be featured on the album.

Below is some background information on the project but for full information and to donate, visit the Velvet Rage Kickstarter page.

This album showcases compositions I've written over the last 10 years, drawing not only from my educational and professional experience, but also from the highs and lows of my own personal experience. Isn't that what we all write about? Family, friends, love and romance; those basic things that can hurt the most, but can also feel the most fulfilling. I'm keen to take full advantage of my opportunity to say something meaningful.

We recorded for 5 days in Fieldgate studio recording some of our classic tunes as well as some brand new material. 

You'll hear Pete Lee (piano/compositions), Josh Arcoleo (sax), Alex Munk (guitar), Huw Foster (bass), Ali Thynne (drums), and the Amika Strings: Laura Senior (violin), Rich Jones (violin) Lucy Nolan (viola) and Peggy Nolan (cello).

The session was recorded by Andy Lawson, Alex Killpartrick & Matt Williams at Fieldgate Studios in South Wales. Matt Roberts produced the album.

We’re immensely excited to invite you to help us continue our journey. We need to raise £5,000 within 4 weeks. If we fail to reach our target, you won't be charged a penny and we'll receive nothing. It's an incredibly nerve racking time for us, so we'd be eternally grateful for your help.

Your donations will help us:

• Mix/ Master/ Manufacture the album
• Record a final track at the studio
• Record Promotional Videos
• Pay for a PR Campaign to spread the word.
• Pay our skilled band-members.

Award winning international vocalist comes to Holmfirth, 15th April

Supporters of Holmfirth Arts Festival have announced a very special performance by the award winning Canadian vocalist Maureen Washington to raise funds for future festivals.

From the press release...

Jazz supremo Maureen Washington, from British Columbia in Canada, will be singing at Choppard’s Mission in Holmfirth on Saturday 15th April at 7.30pm, accompanied by multi-instrumentalist Jez Platt.
Maureen’s  appearance in Holmfirth will be part of a debut tour in the UK to promote her new CD, entitled Harvest Moon.    Her vocals have been described as slipping easily from sassy to sexy, at times echoing the haunting tones of Etta James and Carmen McRae. She has also been compared with Jann Arden and Holly Cole but with her very own musical style.
Steve Sykes, a volunteer with Holmfirth Arts Festival, who is organising the event, said:
“We are just so delighted that she has agreed to perform in Holmfirth.  It is such an honour and she is also helping us to raise funds for future festivals.”

Tickets for the event cost £12.50 and can be bought from the Imagine Toyshop in Holmfirth or by emailing Steve Sykes on  s.l.sykes@btinternet.com

More on the artists...

Maureen Washington:  (www.maureenwashington.ca)
With nine albums to her credit, Maureen began her musical career in her home town of Prince George, British Columbia. Her vocal diversity lent itself to performances of blues, swing jazz and funk with BOP, a band widely acclaimed as the best dance band in the Prince George region. Their versatile repertoire, ranging from classics to lively originals, brought them sold out crowds.  Now based in Victoria, British Columbia, Maureen continues to create new musical avenues and has developed  a growing entourage of fans as she performs with duos, sextets, and solo artists, including singing back up on Canadian Folk legend Valdy’s 2011 album, Read Between the Lines.

Jez Platt:
His first solo album, the pop soul (Something About) Blue Skies featured the single Hungry which received airplay across Europe and North America, including the Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show.  Musician magazine said it was 'infectious' and 'fabulous.'  He contributed guitar, keyboards and writing to Frank Felix's Tales from the Funky Underground alongside players such as Snake Davis, Eddie M and Jeff Kashiwa.
Jez played guitar, piano and organ on both of Daniel Pearson's albums, co-producing the second.  He has played organ with Jim Mullen and Harry Beckett and has toured with Dennis Rollins and the North Stars Steel Orchestra for whom he was also Musical Director

Refujazz Charity Event at HEART, February 11th

Jazz at Heart's Lesley Jeffries and double bassist John Marley have teamed up to run a full day of jazz performances and workshops to raise money for several refugee charities supporting those fleeing from war.

The day runs from midday to 11pm on Saturday 11th February. Tickets for individual events cost £5 and a day pass is available for just £20. Events in the cafe are free entry but all donations are gratefully received.

The timetable of events is below. For more information, visit the Jazz at Heart website here - www.heartcentre.org.uk/jazz-at-heart

12-12.45pm - Al Morrison Trio (Cafe)
1-1.45pm - Joe Boyes Trio (Main Hall)
2.15-3pm - Bassa Bassa (Main Hall)
3-3.30pm - Inside Out Duo (Cafe)
3.30-4.30pm - George Macdonald Trio (Main Hall)
4.30-5pm - The Irrelevance (Cafe)
5-6pm - Louie Mcdonald (Main Hall)
6-6.30pm - Sam Dunn (Cafe)
6.30-7.30pm - York Youth Jazz Orchestra (Main Hall)
7.30-8pm - Aleks Podraza Trio (Cafe)
8-9pm - Leeds Jazz Orchestra (Main Hall)
9-9.30pm - Phil Green's Sky High Jazz Trio (Cafe)
9.30-11pm - Kate Peters Quartet + Jam (Main Hall)

Workshops -
John Marley - Jazz Bass Time TBC
Sam Dunn - Jazz Guitar Time TBC

Almondbury Jazz Festival, Saturday 19th November

The first Almondbury Jazz Festival takes place tomorrow, Saturday 19th November.

Music will be programmed at three pubs in the village throughout the day - The Woolpack, The Radcliffe and the Con Club. The church will also be open to serve food and act as a meeting point as people travel between venues.

What's more, it's all for a good cause. The money raised will go to Forget Me Not Children's hospice.

We've listed the schedule below but for full information, visit the Almondbury Jazz Festival website.

The Woolpack

1.30pm - The Jade Harris Experience
6.30pm - Julie Edwards
9.30pm - Ben Crosland Quartet

The Radcliffe

2.00pm - Derrick Harris Quartet
4.30pm - Adrian Ingram's Cookbook
8.30pm - Asaxual

The Con Club

1.00pm - Sax Pots
4.00pm - The Hot Five
8.30pm - Cool Hand

Sandhouse Stompers embark on another Coast to Coast Stomp to raise funds for Favela Brass

The Sandhouse Stompers, an intrepid group of musicians from the North, are setting off on their second Coast to Coast Stomp on July 20th, performing at venues from Morecambe to Whitby over nine days to raise funds for Favela Brass.

From the Sandhouse Stompers facebook page -

We hope to raise as much money as possible for this fantastic charity through sponsorship, musical performances and impromptu busking en-route, but we need your help! If you have any ideas of where we can perform (pubs, halls, galas, village greens, Bar Mitzvahs), can offer us a field to pitch our tents, can provide us with pies or frosty libations, we would love to hear from you. If you want to walk with us, play with us or rattle some collection boxes for us you are more than welcome to join us. 

The cause they are raising funds for is Favela Brass, an initiative set up by trumpeter Tom Ashe which provides free brass, percussion and English lessons to children in a Brasilian favela. Last year, the Stompers raised over £4,000 for the project.

The group are already off to a flying start, securing a donation of 2 trombones and 3 trumpets from the company PBone, which will be sent to Rio to be used in the favela.

Below is a list of their gigs between 20th and 29th July but as they said, they are always on the look out for more places to play and raise more money so if you have a suggestion of a venue, get in touch through their facebook page. 

To donate, visit their JustGiving page.

The Sandhouse Stompers are - Mark Ellis (Sax), Gareth Smith (Trumpet), Paul Grady (Trumpet), Neil Morley (Trumpet), Stuart Garside (Trombone), Mark Kerrigan (Drums), Jim Stretto (Tuba) and Rowena Jameson (Trombone).

Coast to Coast Stomp gig list - 

20th July The Black Bull at Bentham
21st July Knights Satinforth
21nd July Victoria Hall, Settle
22rd July Foresters Arms, Grassington
23rd July The Crown Inn, Pately Bridge
24th July The One Eyed Rat, Ripon
25th July Thrisk Royal British Legion
26th July Helmsley Brewing Co.
27th July Coach House Inn, Rosedale
28th July Abbey Wharf, Whitby 

Alex Munk's Flying Machines Kickstarter Launched

Jazz listeners first came across guitarist Alex Munk when he came to Leeds to study Jazz at Leeds College of Music from 2006-2009. He then moved to London to study his Masters at the Royal Academy in London and since then, he has proved himself to be a guitarist at the forefront of the jazz scene. He has maintained his connections with the North, bringing his own group Flying Machines to perform in Leeds as well as working with fellow LCoM Alumnus Matt Anderson in his group Wildflower and in 2015, he was invited to take part in an all-star big band put together by Nikki Iles to celebrate 50 years of Leeds College of Music.

Alex has recently recorded his debut album with his quartet, Flying Machines and has now launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to help with mastering, CD and print costs and PR. Their target is £3,500 and the total currently stands at 38% with 20 days to go.

Alex says

We have the end in sight! It's been a long haul (no pun intended) but the final mixes of our debut album, which we recorded last year, sound like they did in my wildest dreams. All the rehearsing and gigging really paid off. We've captured 9 original compositions in the studio and there's something on the album for everyone, from visceral, rock out improv to lyrical ballads and lush soundscapes. We worked with an incredible engineer called Tim Thomas for both the recording and mixing; he has done a wonderful job of bringing this music to life. 

We are aiming for a late September 2016 album launch date, ahead of our national tour in February 2017. We already have a number of dates booked, from Cornwall, London to Edinburgh - we hope to see you at one of them! We'll be adding more dates as we go along.

Donors can opt to pledge at a number of different levels, each with their own rewards. These range from digital downloads of the album to guitar lessons and private gigs by the band.

You can find out more about Alex and Flying Machines by visiting his website, and to learn more about the Kickstarter and donate, see their campaign page.

Acts Announced for LUME Festival & Kickstarter Launched

Earlier in the year, we reported on the plans for LUME festival, a day of music run by Dee Byrne and Cath Roberts in London. Committed to supporting original and improvised music, the musicians have worked tirelessly to promote live music in London in recent years. The festival marks their next step and after an open call for submissions, today they launched a Kickstarter to support the running of the event.

The North will be strongly represented with three out of the six groups hailing from Manchester and Leeds. Ant Traditions is a duo featuring pianist Adam Fairhall and David Birchall (Manchester), Hot Beef Three are from Leeds and feature Ollie Dover, Craig Scott and Andrew Lisle and guitarist Anton Hunter brings his large ensemble work Article XI, a previous recipient of the Manchester Jazz Festival commission.

These three Northern groups are joined by Birmingham's Little Church, Kjær/Musson/Marshall from London and Blueblut from Austria.

LUME has received some core funding from Arts Council England to support their work but their newly launched Kickstarter will raise funds to help with travel costs and artist fees to ensure they feature as much music as they can. Donors will receive a number of rewards depending on the amount they donate including Live at LUME cds, tickets to the festival, a special trip to London Aquarium with Cath and Dee and a special piece written for you and performed by Word of Moth.

For full information on the Kickstarter which runs until May 12th, visit the website.

Help Smoove&Turrell go to Canada Music Week

When not being one of the North's most in-demand jazz bass players and being a pillar of the jazz scene in the North East, Andy Champion is the bassist for Northern Funk outfit Smoove & Turrell.

Since 2009, the band have released 3 albums, appeared numerous times on national radio and toured extensively. They have supported Nile Rodgers and Martha and the Vandellas and appeared at international festivals.

This week, the band announced that they have been selected from thousands of bands to represent the UK music industry at Canada Music Week - a huge international music festival that is attended by US festival directors and bookers and agents from across the world.

In order to take advantage of this opportunity, Smoove & Turrell have to raise £5,000 and they have set up a Crowdfunder campaign to do so. It's going well so far with 71 backers and 53% of their total raised. Donors will receive a number of rewards including special merchandise and chances to win tickets to festivals and a one-off gig from the band themselves.

For full information, visit their Crowdfunder page. The campaign runs until April 29th.

Seven Jazz & Inkwell's Sponsor a Key Project - Update

We reported last week on Seven Jazz's newest fundraising venture, to raise funds for a piano to be used at Inkwell in Leeds.

They have now set up a Crowdfunding campaign page for the project, and people have 27 days left to sponsor a key for just £5. In fact, why stop at a key - buy yourself your favourite chord!

https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/inkwell-piano

Seven Jazz raise funds for new piano at Inkwell - Sponsor a key!

In recent years, Seven Jazz in Leeds have been programming some of their events at Inkwell, a artspace run by a Mental Health organisation.

They are now working hard to obtain a piano for permanent use at Inkwell and are inviting the jazz community to be involved by sponsoring a key. For only £5, you can support the space and Seven Jazz and ensure that Inkwell remains a go-to place for acoustic jazz.

More information can be found on twitter by following @InkwellArts and @sevenjazzleeds or you can head to Seven Jazz website to get in touch about sponsoring a key.

Darlington Jazz Festival Fundraising Campaign

Darlington Jazz Festival takes place over a weekend between 21st and 24th April this year. The festival is now 5 years old and continues to grow both in popularity and in size. This year, the festival team want to expand further and offer a range of free to attend events during the festival, bringing jazz to places across Darlington to attract new audiences. In addition to this, a large scale concert is planned which features choirs and big bands at St Cutherbert's church.

In order to fund these additional activities, they have set up a crowd-funding campaign with hopes of raising £1,000. The campaign runs until 26th April 2016 and contributors can donate whatever amount they choose.

You can find out more about the campaign and the festival through their Fundrazr page.

Adopt A Gig at Marsden Jazz Festival

Marsden Jazz Festival will celebrate their 25th birthday next year and are offering people the chance to adopt a gig in the festival to raise funds for the stream of free gigs that take place across the festival.

Kirklees Council has supported Marsden Jazz Festival previously and last year gave £10,000 to go toward the 70 free events in the festival. However, due to budget cuts the council is unable to give funding next year so the festival hope to raise these funds themselves.

For £50, you can adopt a gig at the festival either for yourself or as a gift for a friend or relative. This amount has be raised to £62.50 through GiftAid. Everyone who makes a donation will receive a certificate and have their names printed in the festival brochure. Donors can opt to let the festival choose which gig their donation will support or specify which gig they'd like to adopt.

In the run-up to christmas, this would make an ideal gift for a jazz fan or for one of the many people who attend the festival every year. Last year, more than 10,000 people visited the festival.

For more information, see the Marsden Jazz Festival website.

NJ Advent Calendar - The Globe, Newcastle (December 2nd)

Behind door number 2, we have a unique feature of the Northern Jazz scene - the first jazz venue in the UK to be owned freehold by a cooperative.

The Globe in Newcastle was bought in 2014 with around 200 people investing in it. Leading the charge was the Jazz.Coop (also called Pink Lane Jazz Coop), a group of local residents and musicians who work to continue the provision of live jazz and education programmes in honour of Keith Crombie who ran the Jazz Cafe. This was set up after his death in 2012.

The Jazz.Coop were able to raise over £123,000 to purchase The Globe and have worked tirelessly since then to make the building become a hub for jazz music. It plays host to live jazz and world music as well as workshops in jazz and in dance. The Coop also run monthly workshops at The Sage and programme events in other venues including Empty Shop HQ, which we reported on recently.

Find out more about the Globe and the people behind it by visiting the Jazz.Coop website where you can still become a shareholder in this one of a kind venture if you choose!

Gig Preview: Jazz for SKIP at Heart, November 27th

On Friday November 27th, Jazz at Heart will host a special concert to raise funds for SKIP, a charity which supports families affected by poverty in Peru and runs educational initiatives.

Three local bands will perform in the jazz showcase event including members of the North Leeds Jazz Orchestra, Colin Byrne's Leeds Jazz Orchestra and Seven Arts jazz workshops.

SKIP is a UK, US and Peruvian registered charity working in the impoverished districts of El Porvenir and Alto Trujillo, located on the North Coast of Peru. SKIP's primary aim is to enable children living in this area to realise their right to an education. In terms of theoretical framework, we understand that families are the principal force in the lives of children and therefore work with the entire familial unit. This holistic approach focuses on four pillars of family development: education, economically stable families, emotional well-being, and healthy and safe home environments. SKIP believes that economically-disadvantaged families have the capacity to be the principal agents of change in their own lives and communities. As such, our organisation works in partnership with the community to empower people to make sustainable changes. 

Tickets for the event cost £8/6 and the ticket sales plus proceeds from the raffles will go to SKIP. Musicians will be donating their time for free in support of the cause.

For more information, visit HEART's website and for a more depth look at the work SKIP does, visit their website.

Jazz Coffee Morning for MacMillan Cancer Support in York

Jazz In York is a website run by bassist John Marley. As the name would suggest, it keeps audiences up to date with all the jazz going on in York. On November 14th, Jazz In York will be running a Jazz Coffee Morning in order to raise money for MacMillan Cancer Care.

John says...

On Saturday 14th November, we will be having a coffee morning with live jazz for Macmillan Cancer Support. The event will take place at Clements Hall which is located close to York city centre. The Kate Peters Trio will be performing and guests musicians are more than welcome to play as well.

Please come along and help raise lots of money for this great charity....and enjoy some coffee and cake while you're at it!

10am-12pm. 

MacMillan Cancer provides valuable support to those diagnosed with cancer and their families. For more information on the work they do, visit their website.

Nicki Allan Launches Charity Single for Cancer Research

Jazz vocalist Nicki Allan is releasing a single to raise money for Cancer Research, both in memory of a close friend Nick Laycock who passed away after being diagnosed with stomach cancer and drawing from her own experience with breast cancer.

The single is called For Life and will be officially launched at the Chapel Allerton festival on September 5th. Proceeds from online downloads and cd sales will be split between MacMillan Cancer Care and Yorkshire Cancer Research.

In an article published by Yorkshire Cancer Research, Nicki says

On returning home from the funeral I immediately felt compelled to compose a piece of music in Nick’s memory. The melody was easy but I could only think of a few hook lines here and there for the words and assigned the main task to another friend, Johanne Levy, who was going through breast cancer at the time. She wrote the lyrics, which were beautiful, and yet it was another four years before the song was recorded.

In January I found a lump which turned out to be breast cancer and although it initially turned my life upside down, once I got my head around things I realised I wanted to try and give something back to charity to spur on the fight to find a cure for this terrible disease that was threatening to take my life.

Full Article Here

For Life will be available on iTunes from September 5th and more information can be found on Nicki's website.

Sandhouse Stompers Mardis Gras for Favela Brass Update

Congratulations to the Sandhouse Stompers for raising a grand total of £4062 for the Favela Brass Project during their 9 day coast to coast mardi gras!

Read about the project and keep updated with their news on their website.

The Sandhouse Stompers go Coast to Coast for Favela Brass

The Sandhouse Stompers, a 9 piece New Orleans brass group made up of Northern musicians, are embarking on a 120 mile walk from Morecambe to Whitby to raise funds for Favela Brass.

Starting on 23rd July, the group will play 9 gigs as they walk through towns from coast to coast, as well as stopping to busk and raise awareness of the work Favela Brass does.

The Favela Brass project provides free brass, percussion and English lessons to children in a small favela in Rio de Janiero.  Brass instruments are extremely expensive to buy in Brazil and brass tuition is almost non-existent in Rio's state school system. Net result: children in Rio's low-income neighbourhoods rarely learn to play brass, which is a huge shame considering that music plays such a central role in the cultural and social life of the city. The Favela Brass project aims to change that situation for children in a small favela (slum) called Pereira da Silva in Rio's Laranjeiras district.

The Sandhouse Stompers are - Mark Ellis (saxophone), Stuart Garside (trombone), Tom Ashe (trumpet), Paul Grady (trumpet), Neil Morley (trumpet), Gareth Smith (trumpet), Rowena Smith (trombone), James Stretton (tuba) and Mark Kerrigan (drums).

Keep an eye out for the band busking over next week or so, or catch them at one of their 9 performances -

23rd July, 4pm - Knight Stainforth Hall, Stainforth
23rd July, 8pm - Victoria Hall, Settle
24th July, 8pm - Foresters Arms, Grassington
25th July, 8pm - Crown Inn, Pateley Bridge
26th July, 5pm - One Eyed Rat, Ripon
27th July, 8pm - Little 3, Thirsk
28th July, 8pm - Helmsley Brewing Co., Helmsley
29th July, 9pm - Coach House Inn, Rosedale Abbey

Mike Walker's Rope Project Fundraiser

A couple of months ago, we reported on guitarist Mike Walker's new project-in-the-making, Ropes. It's an ambitious project featuring a 22-piece string orchestra and Mike is currently working to raise the funds necessary to record a band of that size!

On July 10th, there will be a special fundraiser gig at Zeffirellis in Ambleside. The gig will feature Mike alongside pianist Les Chisnall and saxophonist Iain Dixon, both of whom feature on Mike's new project.

At the gig, audience members will be able to preorder the new album for £10. We've heard that there are only 80 places available for the audience so we suggest getting in there quickly as we suspect it will be a sell-out!