PRS Announces latest Beyond Borders funding recipients

PRS has announced the latest projects to be supported by their Beyond Borders initiative. The scheme supports co-commissions and tours and seeks to develop relationships between composers, musicians and ensembles and music organisations throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

A number of names familiar to the jazz community are featured this time including LCoM alumnus Phil Meadows, Lauren Kinsella and Chris Hyson's duo Snowpoet and the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.

Below are the full list of recipients and a brief description of their projects. To see the full press release, visit the PRS website.

• Cryptic – the UK tour of Oliver Coates’ first full length music theatre, Shorelines is set in the aftermath of the North Sea flood of 1953 is a work for string quartet (Ragazze Quartet) and electronics commissioned by Cryptic, in partnership with Belfast International Arts Festival, Sound Aberdeen and Southbank Centre, London
• Decibel Ensemble –a landmark 35-minute work ‘Togetherness’ for amplified large ensemble and electronic media by the acclaimed Northern Irish composer Ed Bennett. The work explores the contradictory notions of independence, pluralism and unity in music, culture and society, and will tour in Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland
• Engines Orchestra – ‘Phronesis’ mind expanding collaboration with composer Dave Maric and the Engines Orchestra ‘Decade Zero’, tours the UK in 2017 in partnership with Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Manchester Jazz and the EFG London Jazz Festival
• Falkirk Community Trust –a live dynamic alternative reinterpretation of Mazzetti’s ground-breaking work together with acclaimed musician/composers Raymond MacDonald and Christian Ferlaino composed for saxophone and percussion, with engagement opportunities for D/deaf/HoH audiences.
• Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival – A new commission for UK harpist and composer Rhodri Davies, for voice and ensemble working with different systems of time to govern musical interactions. Touring to Huddersfield, Cardiff and Glasgow.
• Snowpoet – an ambitious tour for album number 2 across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Ireland
• Sound Festival – a new cross art-form project from composer Colin Riley exploring ‘a sense of place’ comprising a 70-minute multi-media song cycle for singer and 4-piece instrumental/electronic ensemble which will be toured across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• The Wallace Collection Ensemble – Composer Jay Capperauld will shake up the British brass band movement with an exciting and atmospheric new work for brass quintet and brass band called ‘New Moves for The Movement’ to be toured in Scotland, England and Wales

Seamus Blake UK tour, February 2017

The Orpheus Project has announced that their third featured artist in the scheme will be world renowned tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake.

With over 70 albums as a sideman and 16 as leader, Blake has built a global reputation as being one of the leading exponents of contemporary jazz.

He will be joined on this tour by drummer James Maddren and pianist Ross Stanley and will perform at venues across the North and in London between 3rd and 10th of February. The band have dates at Southport Jazz Festival, Newcastle, Leeds, Grimsby, Wakefield, Ribble Valley and London. Seamus will also host a masterclass at Leeds College of Music.

 We are all very excited to welcome Seamus as our third Orpheus Project artist. Whenever his name is mentioned, there’s a buzz of excitement amongst musicians and listeners – being able to bring him to small venues and share this music with audiences and promoters is a great feeling. The atmosphere at these gigs is going to be electric.- Kim Macari, Apollo Jazz Network Director

 Seamus Blake’s tour is third in a series of tours supported by Arts Council England and in partnership with NORVOL Jazz.

 “extraordinary, a total saxophonist” – John Scofield

For full information and to book tickets, visit the Orpheus Project website.

The Orpheus Project - Tour Dates & Website Launch

The Orpheus Project, a joint venture between NORVOL Jazz and Apollo Jazz Network, has announced the launch of its new website and full information about the upcoming tour featuring Ingrid Jensen in May/June.

Described as one of the most gifted trumpeters of her generation, Ingrid Jensen will join forces with Jez Franks (guitar), Andy Champion (double bass) and Tim Giles (drums) to tour venues around the North between May 26th and June 5th, as well as a special one-off large performance in collaboration with Phil Meadows' Engines Orchestra at Ronnie Scott's in London.

Split UK have done a fantastic job with the new website. It will act as a central point for information before, during and after tours. You can book tickets, read interviews, watch videos and find out more about the people involved and you can also sign up to the mailing list to keep up to date as the project progresses.

For full information, visit The Orpheus Project website.

Tour Dates

May 26th - Black Swan Venue & Bar, Newcastle
May 28th - HEART, Headingley
May 29th - Ingrid guests with LJO, Seven Jazz Leeds
June 1st - The Cask, Scarborough
June 3rd - Wakefield Jazz
June 4th - Ingrid leads NYJO masterclasses London
June 5th - Ronnie Scott's, London (quartet & Engines Orchestra)

Gerard Presencer - Modern Approach to Trumpet workshops

 Trumpet players should set aside some time in their diary in May, as renowned trumpeter and educator Gerard Presencer visits conservatoires across the UK to demonstrate his new book, Modern Approach to Trumpet.

Gerard, who currently lives in Copenhagen, will return to the UK with support from Warwick Music Publishers and Geneva Trumpets to give workshops in Manchester, London and Birmingham as well as working with NYJO.

A Modern Approach to Playing the Trumpet" by Gerard Presencer is just what is sorely needed in the Trumpet/Jazz Pedagogy world. This is a book which combines modern studies for traditional trumpet technique, with the added bonus of explaining the studies via the route of a jazz conception with regards to articulation, forward motion and swing. This makes this book unique in every way, and should be required study for every trumpet player who wants to compete in the complex world of today's music. Bravo Gerard! - Randy Brecker

Edition Records recently released Gerard's latest album, Groove Travels, with the Danish Radio Big Band and workshop participants will be able to get their hands on a copy of that, too.


May 3rd- Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester
May 4th- Birmingham Conservatoire of Music
May 5th- Royal Academy of Music, London
May 6th- Trinity College of Music, London
May 7th- National Youth Jazz Orchestra.

Gogo Penguin Tour 2016

2016 is already shaping up to be a busy year for Manchester trio Gogo Penguin, with the release of their Blue Note debut Man Made Object and extensive touring in the UK and internationally.

The group have been invited to perform at Coachella Festival in California, as well as some NYC shows and they are scheduled to make their debut at the Blue Note in Tokyo - all of this before June!

Those closer to home will be able to see the band as they tour the UK in February with dates in Leeds, Manchester, Cardiff, Glasgow, Aberdeen and London amongst others. Following this, the band head to Europe for a further 20+ dates.

See below for their full tour dates and head to the Gogo Penguin website to find out more and pre-order the new album.

NORVOL & Apollo Receive Grant to set up International Touring Network

It has been announced that NORVOL Jazz (the Northern Voluntary Jazz promoters network) in partnership with Apollo Jazz Network run by trumpeter Kim Macari have been awarded over £32,000 by Arts Council England to set up an International Touring Network for live jazz in the North.

PRESS RELEASE

The Northern Voluntary Jazz Promoters Network (NORVOL JAZZ) in partnership with Apollo Jazz Network have been awarded over £32,000 by Arts Council England to establish a touring network for live jazz and to present three tours featuring world-class international musicians.

Through the development of a touring infrastructure, northern jazz clubs clubs will host tour dates and workshops and Apollo Jazz Network, run by trumpeter Kim Macari, will manage the project. The first tour will take place in May 2016 and will feature Canadian trumpeter Ingrid Jensen.

"I am delighted to receive this support from Arts Council England. It has been over a year of development and discussion for a project which is ambitious and large-scale and it’s fantastic that we are now able to roll it out.

The project is going to benefit audiences, promoters and musicians in a direct way. We’ll have three featured artists from the USA collaborating with UK musicians to create new work and then touring it across the region, leading workshops and masterclasses along the way. We’re also going to be live-streaming gigs, allowing as many people as possible the opportunity to be involved. Getting a chance to see groups like this perform in more intimate venues is going to be extraordinary.

This focus on collaboration – artistic collaboration as well as partnering with organisations – is what Apollo Jazz Network has always been about .
Kim Macari, Project Director

"We’re really pleased at this news. It is a vindication of what the 30 Northern jazz clubs and festival promoters in the network have been aiming to do. The international touring programme will enable volunteer run jazz clubs – the backbone of the jazz scene in the North – to show off some of the best jazz artists in the world to their audiences". –
Steve Crocker, NorvolJazz

Elliot Galvin Trio UK Tour

Award-winning pianist Elliot Galvin is embarking on a 14 date tour of the UK with his trio and is making a few stops in the North along the way.

Described by the Guardian as 'audaciously accomplished', Elliot last year won the European Young Jazz Musician of the Year. His trio features Simon Roth on drums and Tom McCredie on double bass. They've already kicked off their tour, playing at the Lescar in Sheffield on the 2nd and in Birmingham on the 3rd. Below are the remaining tour dates and you can find more information on his website.

Tour Dates

September 4th - The Verdict, Brighton
September 6th - The Lighthouse, Deal
September 7th - Pizza Express, Maidstone
September 8th - Dempseys, Cardiff
September 9th - The Vortex, London
September 10th - Cambridge Hidden Rooms
September 11th - Colston Hall, Bristol
September 12th - Zefirelli's, Ambleside
September 13th - Seven Jazz, Leeds
September 15th - Secret House Concert, Edinburgh
September 16th - Butterfly and Pig, Glasgow
September 17th - Blue Lamp, Aberdeen

News: Royst Trio announces Canada/USA Tour

Leeds-based vocal trio Royst have announced their complete touring schedule for their Canada/USA Tour in July 2015.

The group will tour from 6th-22nd July, performing 8 dates across Canada and New York The tour is supported by The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Canada, Norsk Jazzforum and Stikk/Music Norway.

For more information on the band, visit their website.

Tour Schedule -

9th July - Scandanavia House, New York
10th July - Bar Thalia, New York (collaboration with Mimi Jones)
11th July - The Rainbow Bistro, Ottawa
12th July - BBAM! Gallery, Montreal (double bill with Fruiting Bodies)
13th July - Workshop with Fruiting Bodies, Montreal
15th July - Workshop and Performance at Lula Lounge, Toronto (supporting Paulo Flores)
18th July - Hamilton World Music Festival
19th July - Hamilton World Music Festival

Leroy Jones Announces UK Tour

Renowned New Orleans trumpeter and singer Leroy Jones has announced a 15 date UK tour.

Jones has a career spanning over four decades and have been a long-time member of Harry Connick Jnr's big band. He has worked with people like Dr John and has appeared on US TV shows like David Letterman and Oprah.

I remember Leroy years ago in New Orleans. He was always regarded as the greatest. No one could touch him. For young musicians like me, he was exciting, intimidating. For the older ones, he was the keeper of the flames. But Leroy did more than keep the flame. He started a forest fire... Harry Connick Jr.

Leroy will perform with his quintet and will be joined on many dates by Ian Shaw and Joe Stilgoe.

Full details on the tour can be found on the tour website and dates are listed below.

23rd-27th October - Pizza Express, London

29th October - St Albans Arena

1st November - Harrogate Royal Hall 

2nd November - Rose Theatre, Kingston

3rd November - Malvern Festival Theatre

4th November - The Concorde Club, Southampton

5th November - Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells

7th November - The Lighthouse, Poole

9th November - The Apex, Bury St Edmonds

10th November - Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

11th November - RNCM, Manchester

 

Gig/Tour Preview: Orkestra del Sol

It's been quite a while since Scottish group Orkestra del Sol's 2011 release, Lung Capacity. The album received rave reviews including a nod in Jazzwise and the 9 piece group bring smiles to peoples faces wherever they play. They have recently announced that they are going on the road again this year, starting with a gig at HiFi in Leeds on May 21st.

There is at times, a faintly disquieting sense of inexorably advancing, brass-bound lunacy. - The Scotsman

Described as honk-step, a brass band, street band, kletzmer...It's a sound hard to categorise, so have a look at the video or check out their website for more information.

Tour Dates -

May 21st - HiFi, Leeds
May 22nd - Cheese & Grain, Frome
May 23rd - The White Bear, Bristol
May 24th - The Hothouse, Morecambe
July 3rd-5th - Kelburn Garden Party
July 22nd - Edinburgh Jazz Festival
August 7th - 9th - Mugstock

Polar Bear Announce New Album, Single and UK Dates

UK jazz luminaries Polar Bear are back with a new album Same As You and a UK tour. Despite its short gestation since the last record, the Mercury Prize shortlisted In Each And Every One, Same As You is a bold statement showing a strong vision for the band's future.

Jesse Bannister's 'Play Out' To Tour This Autumn

UK’s leading classical Indian/Indo jazz Saxophonist Jesse Bannister will be touring his new quartet across the UK this autumn. Featuring MOBO award winning pianist Zoe Rahman, highly acclaimed drummer Eddie Hick (Gilad Atzmon), groove infused lines of highly original and talented  bassist Kenny Higgins (Corrinne Bailey Rae), this powerful line up promises to deliver a challenging and uplifting performance and features tracks from Jesse’s long awaited new album “Play Out”. The record is a fantastic testament to Jesse's strength both as a performer and composer, as well as a stunning realization of his vision of tastefully fusing contemporary jazz with Indian classical.

Apollo Presents: LOCUS Tour, November 2014

Apollo Jazz Network have announced their Autumn tour featuring international collaboration LOCUS.

Following a successful UK tour last summer and following on from a recording project in NYC, the group have five UK dates lined up in November to showcase new material including a date at the London Jazz Festival.

The inception of LOCUS in 2012, as a project to birth brand new music globally and begin the growth of a collaborating platform for some of the UK’s up-and-coming musicians, wouldn’t have been possible without the support of an internationally forward-looking enterprise as Apollo. Performing and working with musicians such as Kim, Riley and members of LOCUS, is a joy not only because their musical stylings are rich and diverse individually but it has brought about the incredibly important factor of community to the table (and an inclusive one at that). Our November tour will be an exciting prelude to 2015 and beyond - Leah Gough-Cooper, alto/co-leader

Trumpeter Kim Macari and tenor saxophonist Riley Stone-Lonergan will spend October in NYC working with Gough-Cooper on new material, which marks the latest in Apollo's international development strand.

Tour Dates

November 7th - JATP, Bradford
November 12th - The Jazz Bar, Edinburgh*
November 13th - Art Club, Glasgow*
November 15th - HEART, Leeds
November 16th - Front Room, Southbank Centre (London Jazz Festival)

*Supported by Bridge Music.

For more information, see Apollo Jazz Network website.

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)

Metamorphic & Royst UK Tour

Pianist and composer Laura Cole has been in touch to spread the word about her upcoming tour with band Metamorphic and vocal trio Røyst.

Laura says 

I would just like to invite you to a very exciting series of gigs throughout the UK in June that my contemporary jazz folk sextet Metamorphic have coming up alongside the fantastic vocal trio Røyst. The tour is in support of the new Metamorphic album, Coalescence, out on the F-ire label on June 17 2013. These double bill gigs with Røyst will also feature three collaborative pieces involving both groups written specially for this tour. Special guests Seth Bennett on bass (IDST) and Oliver Dover on bass clarinet (Shatner's Bassoon) will also be joining us for the tour.