Andchuck and J Frisco announced as new Jazz North Introduces recipients

Two ensembles have been named the recipients of this year's Jazz North Introduces scheme, J Frisco and Andchuck. The emerging ensembles will receive a number of high profile performance opportunities as well as mentoring and support with EPKs and press.

From the press release...


TWO OUTSTANDING bands of young musicians are being given the chance to make their name, thanks to a pioneering initiative by Jazz North, the organisation devoted to nurturing and showcasing talent. Manchester based Andchuck and Leeds band J Frisco are the latest beneficiaries of the Jazz North Introduces scheme, which will offer them high-profile exposure at leading jazz festivals in the north, along with guidance and supporting in promoting themselves.

 Now in its 5th round, Jazz North Introduces offers young musicians under 25 their first high profile showcase opportunities at major Jazz festivals across the North and Jazz North is delighted that additional funding support has enabled it to expand the scheme to support two bands in the current year. J Frisco is made up of Jemma Freese (Keyboards), Lara Jones (Saxophone) and Megan Roe (Guitar) who met whilst studying at Leeds College of Music and formed this free, experimental trio combining art and poetry with improvised music. Their aims are to change perceptions and break down boundaries through improvisation.

 Andchuck is a modern and experimental jazz quartet featuring Tom Chapman (Bass), Caitlin Laing (Saxophone), Jack March (Guitar) and Gabriel Alexander (Drums). Their main influences being Esbjorn Svensson Trio, Impossible Gentlemen and Snarky Puppy, they met at the Royal Northern College of Music and formed quickly, having played a few gigs across the North West already. The selection panel prioritized musical excellence, in terms of musicianship, creativity, innovation and potential. A shortlist was drawn up and assessed by an advisory panel consisting of experienced musicians, promoters, educators and Jazz North staff.

This year’s applications for Jazz North Introduces demonstrated the wealth of young talent in the north. ‘The Jazz North Introduces scheme provides a fantastic and unique opportunity for emerging musicians to present themselves to audiences and for promoters to showcase the best young talent developing in the north of England - Dave Shooter, Lancaster Jazz Festival.

 The initiative was open to bands of up to five musicians, 75 per cent of whom, including the nominated leader, must be under 25, and living or studying in the north of England. Both bands will receive a package of help as part of the Jazz North Introduces scheme, including payment and expenses for the gigs, a photo-shoot and assistance in creating an electronic press kit. Each band will be offered six showcase performances at leading northern jazz festivals during 2017-2018.

 Jazz North’s partners in the initiative were Gateshead International Jazz Festival, Lancaster Jazz Festival, Liverpool International Jazz Festival, Marsden Jazz Festival, Scarborough Jazz Festival, Manchester Jazz Festival, Cleethorpes Jazz Festival and Leeds College of Music.

Jazz North Awarded Strategic Touring Funding for Alt Shift J

Jazz North have been awarded over £70,000 from Arts Council England's Strategic Touring fund to develop Alt Shift J, a one-day pop jazz festival to showcase emerging artists and the use of digital technology, aiming to develop a younger audience for jazz and improvised music.

From the press release...

Jazz North has been awarded a grant of £71,646 from Arts Council England’s Strategic Touring fund to curate, produce and tour Alt Shift J, a one day pop-up jazz festival aimed at developing younger audiences for jazz.  The festival will present new artists and use digital technology to encourage more young people to experience jazz music both as participants and audience members.  Accompanied by an extensive audience engagement programme, the project will involve young people in programming the festival and will aim to inspire and engageindividuals and families who may not usually access the arts. Theaward was one of 8 Strategic Touring grants announced earlier this week.

Jazz North Alt Shift J will tour to Cleethorpes, Clitheroe, Middlesbrough and Penrith in Autumn 2018 and over the course of the project will:

•             Present 16 performances by extraordinary jazz artists, selected by a network of 8 local young scenebuilders

•             Deliver 24 interactive performances in local primary and secondary schools

•             Engage local residents through a programme of workshops and participatory activities

•             Stream each festival live to a worldwide audience

Partners on the project include The Culture House, Ribble Valley Jazz and Blues, Blue Jam Arts and Middlesbrough Town Hall.

Welcoming the grant, Lesley Jackson, Executive Director of Jazz North said: “We are really thrilled that Arts Council England is supporting this project: one that will help us to develop the next generation of jazz listeners. This investment will build on their support for the sector in recent years”

She continued “The way that young people engage with music is changing. Alt Shift J will give us the opportunity to redefine the genre and the word ‘jazz’, which often comes with its own baggage, and will break down some of the barriers that currently exist.  Developing younger audiences isn’t just about more and better marketing, so we will explore new ways to connect with them. The chance to use digital technology and work with promoters more closely will release the potential of this amazing music to reach more people and connect young audiences to their local venue.”

To find out more about Shift Alt J and about the other projects run by Jazz North, visit their website.

Arts Council England Announces NPO grants - who got cash for jazz?

This week, Arts Council England announced the recipients of their National Portfolio Organisation funding. NPOs are offered long term funding, previously for 3 years periods and for the first time this year, 4 year periods. A number of jazz organisations that support jazz have been awarded funding -

- Manchester Jazz Festival
- National Youth Jazz Collective
- Jazz Re:Freshed
- National Youth Jazz Orchestra
- J-Night
- Cheltenham Festivals
- Jazzlines Birmingham
- Serious 
- Jazz North
- East Midlands Jazz
- Tomorrow's Warriors
- Brownswood Music/Gilles Peterson

This means that there are 3 NPOs that focus on Jazz based in the North alone - a great success!

Congratulations to all organisations awarded funding (and in some cases, an increase in their provision).

For more information, visit the Arts Council England website.

Jazz North's Northern Online Festival

Jazz North are this week taking to the internet to host a virtual jazz festival, streaming full gigs of their last Northern Line ensembles throughout the week. People can tune in live on youtube and a full schedule is listed on the Jazz North website but you can also check out the full gigs after they've been streamed on the Jazz North youtube channel.

This innovative festival is the brainchild of Nigel Slee and he officially launched it at JazzAhead in Bremen last weekend.

You'll be able to see performances from all of the Northern Line ensembles who performed at the Manchester Jazz Festival in summer 2016, as well as a set by this year's Jazz North Introduces ensemble Wandering Monster.

Live streams will be going on today and tomorrow so head to Jazz North's website to find the full schedule then head to their youtube channel, subscribe and watch!

Missed the Jazz North Education Conference? Watch it now!

Jazz North held their annual Jazz Education conference back on the 21st March. Each year, they bring together practitioners, youth music leaders and educators and invite a number of speakers to present their work.

This year they've upped the ante and filmed the entire event. For anyone who missed it, you can visit the Jazz North website and watch each presentation!

Dr Graeme Wilson - Psychology of Improvisation: how the brain responds and learns from improvisation

Una McGlone - Improvisation for Young Children and Toddlers

Dr Enrico Bertelli - Helping young people from challenging backgrounds develop musical, technical and performance skills

Dave Evans - The Improvisation Room

Newest Round of Northern Line Artists Announced

The latest round of ensembles to take part in Jazz North's flagship scheme, Northern Line, have been announced. The ensembles cover a vast range of music and are located in all corners of the North.

The new batch of artists will be available to book from May 2017, but in the meantime take a look at who you'll be hearing...

Perpetual Motion Machine

Double guitars of Sam Dunn and Jamie Taylor, along with doubled-up saxes, add verve to this high-energy sextet blending jazz and rock - but eschewing fusion - with carefully chosen repertoire including Bowie and Peter Gabriel.

Early Nite

Otto Willberg’s fiery take on the sax-bass-drums trio format, favouring short and snappy tunes in the spirit of punk: free improvisation delivered with humour, melody and fun.

Dan Whieldon Quartet

Pianist Dan leads a new band performing his pieces: contemporary European in style, rich in harmony, refined and elegant, their melodies eloquently voiced by the lyrical flugelhorn of Richard Iles

Ubunye

Ubunye (‘one-ness’) unites singers hailing from Kwa Zulu Natal in South Africa (now Huddersfield-based) with gospel and R’n’B players from Yorkshire, in an inspirational blend of jazz, Isigqi - traditional Zulu music - and Afro-pop.

Skeltr

An electrifying new duo in which Sam Healey’s roaring sax lines soar above Craig Hanson’s drum patterns, electronic soundscapes and samples, manipulated live in the moment: a striking, expansive sound with a buzzing energy at its core.

Birkett & Fisk Play Venuti & Lang

A violin and guitar duo celebrating the under-explored work and associated repertoire of two prime exponents of early ’20s/30s jazz: authentic, rhythmic and uplifting, with a warm rapport and infectious energy.

Archipelago

Faye MacCalman fronts a Newcastle sax-bass-drums trio drawing on garage rock, minimalism and free improvisation: riffs, silence, noise and grooves create a collage of hard-edged blocks of sound that evolve over the performance.

Deep Cabaret

Taking fragments from leftfield pop, African, folk and jazz, channelled through a sextet of instruments rarely heard in jazz (hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes, overtone vocals) and setting found texts from across science, literature and history.

Ushaw Ensemble


Paul Edis was commissioned by Ushaw College and Durham Cathedral to compose for septet – pitching improvisers alongside Northumbrian pipes and violin – melding his forte in modern jazz with traditional music from the north east.

Tiptoe

Vocalist Alice Higgins with an intimate trumpet-guitar-string bass group playing fresh swinging perspectives of the music of Ella Fitzgerald and Michael Jackson, as well as their own songs in a warm, relaxed vein.

The ElecTRIO

Dan Goldman has made a speciality of the Fender Rhodes, centring it at the heart of the blistering, funky driving sound of this tight, magnetic band: progressive, yet with a nod to its historical roots in 70s/80s fusion.

You can check out videos of all of these artists on the Jazz North website.

Jazz North Education Conference, March 21st

Jazz North is to run a one day conference on jazz education at the Carriageworks in Leeds on March 21st. The day is entitled Improvisation: catalyst for learning and child development.

The day will feature presentations by a number of speakers and is open to anyone involved in music education, be it as a freelance educator, school teacher, MD or anything else! There are a limited number of travel bursaries available to support those travelling from further afield.

For those unable to attend, the event will be streamed through Facebook Live.

A list of the speakers and presentations are listed below. For more information, see the Jazz North website.

Presentations include -

How the brain responds and learns from Improvisation (Dr Graeme Wilson, Edinburgh University)

Helping people from challenging backgrounds develop musical, technical and performance skills (Dr Enrico Bertelli, Conductive Music)

Improvisation for young children and toddlers (Una McGlone)

Practical approaches for introducing improvisation in the classroom and beyond (Dave Evans)

Family Band UK Tour kicks off at Wakefield Jazz, February 24th

Fiery quartet Family Band have announced a tour stretching from Newcastle to London which commences this Friday, 24th February.

2016 saw the band selected for the Jazz North Northern Line initiative, receive BBC radio play and record their first full length album. Now as 2017 gets started, they will perform a number of live performances showcasing material from their upcoming album as well as newly composed works.

This is a superb, freewheeling band composed of four long-time musical collaborators and friends.    Rooted in the music of Ornette Coleman and the 1960’s avant-garde, Family Band play powerful music – moments of fierce intensity, a tender spirituality and the blues combine to form an emotionally complex and cathartic whole that rarely fails to move.   They are currently preparing a second CD of music recorded live at the Manchester Jazz Festival at a terrific and well-received gig.
.

“What a revelation – exciting group, gradually revealing more and more depth and thrilling the audience to the very end” – Blow The Fuse, The Vortex

Tour Dates

Friday 24th February - Wakefield Jazz
Monday 27th February - The Wonder Inn, Manchester
Wednesday 1st March - The Lescar, Sheffield
Friday 17th March - The Jazz Cafe, Newcastle
March 27th March - Jazz in the Round at The Cockpit, London
Friday 7th April - JATP, Bradford

Applications now open for Northern Line scheme

Jazz North are now accepting  applications  from ensembles to take part in their flagship initiative , Northern Line.

A number of groups are selected by a panel of judges and are then invited to take part. When featured in the artist roster, ensembles can be booked by promoters at a subsidised rate. They are also supported by Jazz North who provide them with a photo shoot and promo video. Each year, a showcase event takes place at Manchester Jazz Festival - a whole day of performances by each featured ensemble.

Now in its 5th round, so far the scheme has supported 47 groups to perform 450 gigs at over 150 venues.

Applications will be accepted until 10pm on Monday 12th December 2016.

For full information on eligibility and application criteria, visit the Jazz North website.

Scarborough Jazz Festival this weekend

Mike Gordon and his team have been working hard and are almost ready to open the doors to the 2016 Scarborough Jazz Festival. Kicking off on Friday 23rs September and running until Sunday 25th, festival-goers will be treated to a jam-packed programme.

Mike Gordon says...

After the incredible complimentary evaluations we received for the 2015 festival I knew it was going to be a tough challenge to do better this year.  But I think we might have done it with an impressive, balanced, entertaining line-up.

Rousing big bands: Abstract Truth Band, SJ Jazz Orchestra.
Superb vocalists: Liane Carroll, Georgia Mancio, Nicola Farnon, Vimala.
Rhythmic variations: Pan Jumby, Vula Viel, Adam Glasser.
Swinging modern jazz: Sax Section, Benn Clatworthy, Brandon Allen, ARQ, Waterman/Nightingale/Barnes, Williams & Clowes,
Something different: ‘Charlie Parker On Dial’, Malija.
Rising stars: Artephis

And a wonderful venue! All strung together by our compere Alan Barnes.

(A special mention goes to Artephis, who appear at the festival through the Jazz North Introduces scheme. The band have performed at 7 jazz festivals during the scheme and what better way to end their time than at the Scarborough Jazz Festival!)

For more information, visit the Scarborough Jazz Festival website.

Wandering Monster announced as latest Jazz North Introduces recipients

Leeds based ensemble Wandering Monster have been announced today as the latest beneficiaries of the Jazz North Introduces scheme to support emerging jazz talent in the region.

The group, led by double bassist Sam Quintana, will perform at a number of high profile jazz festivals as part of the Introduces initiative, as well as receiving mentoring from one of the UK's leading jazz musicians and help with developing strong promotional materials like photographs and video footage.

Sam Quintana says

“I am thrilled that Wandering Monster have been awarded this opportunity. Since the band's formation two years ago we have developed a set of original material which I am really excited to showcase at some of the UK's best jazz festivals. Thanks to the scheme we will be performing to audiences who would otherwise never get to hear about Wandering Monster or listen to our music”.

Jazz North's Nigel Slee says

“We believe it is vital to help and support the next generation of jazz artists. Wandering Monster are an example of the exciting and diverse music that is being created by young musicians in the UK today. Thanks to our festival partners we can make sure their music is shared with audiences across the North”.

A junor award was also given to Muskrat Ramble. Aged between 12 and 16, Muskrat Ramble were the youngest applicants and impressed the panel with their enthusiasm and potential. They will be given mentoring sessions to develop their music.

Wandering Monster will appear first at Lancaster Jazz Festival on September 17th, followed by Marsden Jazz Festival on October 8th as well as performances at Liverpool Jazz Festival, Scarborough Jazz Festival and more later in the year.

To find out more about Wandering Monster and the JNI scheme, visit the Jazz North website.

Gig Preview: Maja Bugge in York, September 3rd

Maja Bugge is the only solo artist to be feartured on this year's Jazz North Northern Line roster. Originally from Norway, Maja is now based in Lancaster and has collaborated with a number of organisations and groups including Lancaster Institute of Contemporary Art (LICA), Oslo Moderne Teater, the National Theatre Oslo, Beaivvas Theater, NING, Katma Productions and Opera Omnia. She has been recognised for her work through a number of awards including The Cultural Rucksack Norway’s best performance in 2010.

On September 3rd, Maja will be perform a lunchtime concert at St Saviourgate Chapel in York, as programmed by Late Music.

From the website...

Maja’s unique sound – as evidenced on her CD Shelter (Euredice, 2012) – explores stillness and repetition, harmony and dissonance. Her music balances melody and rhythm with external ambience, acoustics and atmosphere.

“Beautiful, meditative music” (Bergens Tidende)
“Innovative, she crosses artistic borders with great creativity.” (Erlend Loe, Author)

Tickets ci#ost £5 and can be booked through the Late Music website and more informtion on Maja's music can be found on her website.

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

Terence Blanchard announced as first artist for Brighter Sound scheme

US trumpet Terence Blanchard has been announced as the first artist in the Jazz Director Series run by Band on the Wall and Brighter Sound with support from Jazz North. They have put out an open call to find 11 young professional musicians to form the first Inner City Ensemble to work with Blanchard over the course of a week in September, rehearsing and performing original work by Blanchard and some of the musicians has has worked with in his expansive career.

For Jazz Directors Series #001 with Terence Blanchard we are looking for emerging professionals aged over 18 who play to a very high standard (graduate and above) with excellent reading skills and who work in jazz and related ‘crossover’ genres. This is a paid professional engagement.

Instruments required: piano, bass, drums, guitar, trumpet, trombone, tuba, french horn, flute, oboe, clarniet, bass clarinet and saxophone.

Musicians selected for the ensemble will take part in a rehearsal residency between 11th and 14th September before embarking on a short tour between 15th and 18th September to perform at Band on the Wall, Parr Hall in Warrington, Bradford Playhouse and Brewery Arts Centre in Kendal.

There is a fee and expenses are covered.

Applications will be accepted until July 29th at 5pm and successful applicants will be notified by Friday August 5th.

To find out more and to apply online, visit the Band on the Wall Jazz Directors Series website.

Young Musicians - Apply now for Jazz North Introduces

Applications for Jazz North Introduces will be accepted online until June 22nd 2016 and Jazz North is asking teachers, musicians and youth music leaders to spread the word about this great opportunity for exceptional young jazz musicians.

The scheme is open to musicians under 25 and is designed to support emerging ensembles to further their careers by offering mentorship, advice on promotion and marketing and the opportunity to perform at a number of high profile jazz festivals across the North.

Successful applicants will receive -

• a high profile performance opportunity at 5 or more leading northern jazz festivals
• the gigs will be paid and expenses will be covered
• photo shoot for the band
• video showreel for the band
• help with producing EPK (Electronic Press Kit)
• mentoring from leading UK jazz artists

There is also a special award given to one band in the Under 19 category. This band will receive a day of mentoring with a leading UK jazz artist and a performance opportunity at a Northern jazz venue.

Applications can be made online by visiting the Jazz North website, where you can also find more information about the previous recipients of Jazz North Introduces - Stretch Trio, Jam Experiment and Artephis.

Full MJF 2016 Programme Announced

The full programme for this year's Manchester Jazz Festival was launched today with Rethink Jazz as the creative theme.

The 2016 creative is based around RETHINK JAZZ, reaching out not just to jazz fans, but those who might think that they know what jazz is and it isn’t for them – well we would like to encourage them to think again. 

Throughout the festival, Jazz Goes to the Movies will show a series of films that celebrate the relationship between jazz and cinema. There's a weekend of Beer n' Blues at Band on the Wall features groups like Jo Harman & company and Big Boy Bloater. As has become tradition, Monday 25th will feature the crop of new Northern Line groups from Jazz North and you can catch other rising stars like Young Jazz Musician of the Year Alex Ridout, too. Scattered throughout the programme are some big names - Tim Garland drops in with his Electric Quartet on Sunday 24th.

For full details on everything included in the festival programme, visit the Manchester Jazz Festival website.

New Roster of Jazz North Northern Line Artists Announced

Jazz North have announced the 10 newest Northern Line groups to take part in their flagship scheme to promote the best of jazz in the North.

Now in its third season, Northern Line selects groups to take part in the scheme for a period of just over a year, offering the groups to promoters at a subsidised rate to support both promoters and artists in furthering the art-form.

Artists are selected by a panel of musicians, industry professionals and promoters. Since 2013, the scheme has supported 37 artists and has seen them perform over 400 gigs with 130 promoters.

The groups selected to be this year's Northern Line Ambassador Artists are -

Firebird Quartet
HTrio
Inclusion Principle
Johnny Hunter Quartet
Maja Bugge solo
Portmanteau
Taupe
The Jamie Brownfield Quartet
Pat McCarthy Quartet ft Shannon Reilly
Tom Riviere's Family Band

You can find out more about the scheme and the artists by visiting the Jazz North website.

Funding for Jazz - talk to ACE & Jazz North

Jazz North and Arts Council England have teamed up to offer advice for jazz musicians planning to apply for Grants for the Arts.

On April 26th, individuals will be able to book a skype session lasting up to 40 minutes in which they will talk to an ACE relationship manager and a member of the Jazz North Executive team.

To be eligible, participants must have read through the guidance for Grants for the Arts, have a project in mind and be familiar with the application form.

To apply for a session and to find out more, visit the Arts Council England website.

Jazz North Education Conference - Speakers Announced

Jazz North have announced the speakers that will take part in this year's jazz education conference on March 8th at Leeds College of Music.

Gary Crosby OBE will give the keynote address, discussing his work with Tomorrow's Warriors and his experience in supporting and mentoring young musicians as they transition into professional careers.

Gary will be joined by NYMAZ director Heidi Johnson, renowned improvising guitarist Chris Sharkey and trumpeter and educator Ian Chalk

A limited number of spaces are still available for those wishing to attend and full information can be found on the Jazz North website.

Jazz North Education Conference - 8th March

                                                  Dr Kathy Dyson (Photo: Porl Medlock)

Jazz North have announced the date for their annual Education Conference and networking day as March 8th. As in previous years, the event will be held at Leeds College of Music.

This will be our fourth annual jazz education conference day and a valuable opportunity to find out what Jazz North can offer Music Education Hubs and the jazz education sector, listen to case studies from hubs and delivery organisations, network with colleagues and discuss how we might work together to mutual benefit. 

Music teachers, youth music leaders, Music Hubs and freelance musicians/teachers are invited to attend the event and for the first time, there will be 5-minute bulletin slots offered to all attendees to provide a snapshot of the work they do or perhaps a pitch for a new project.

A full list of speakers is expected within the coming weeks and you can visit the Jazz North website to sign up and read reports from previous conferences.