The Newcastle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music will take place at various local venues from 22 September to 8 October. Concerts include performances by Ubunye, the Zoe Rahman Band and Japanese artist Rie Nakajima.
At a time when some festivals have been expanding their view of jazz to include lots of soul and funk, it’s great to see that the tightly focused Newcastle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music is also flourishing. Started in 2017 it’s now taking place in both Newcastle City Centre and its Jesmond suburb, filling two extended weekends and this year with new venues added.
You can see the full programme here:
The festival starts on 22nd September, with a special performance composed by Paul Taylor on the 25 bells of the Edith Adamson Carillon, and then runs over the two subsequent weekends until the final event on 8th October.
The music is a hugely eclectic mix. There are North-East regulars – John Pope, Faye McCalman, Zoe Gilby and others. There are some blockbuster events including performances from Ubunye, and the critically acclaimed new Zoe Rahman band. There are wildly experimental projects including Japanese artist Rie Nakajima playing objects and toys. The cream of British improvisers are all there in various combinations, and the Saturday night culminates in a concert from three outstanding European groups rarely seen in the UK.
Photo credit: Chuck Ferullo
Twenty one concerts across six venues make this a formidable addition to the jazz festival calendar.
Three Tsuru Origami
Paul Edis with Graeme Wilson
Zoe Rahman Band
John Pope Quintet
Late Girl
Shapeshifters
Sarah Gail Brand / Cath Roberts / Andy Champion / Mark Sanders
David Birchall / Thomas Dixon / John Pope
Alcyona Mick
Balo
Moonfish
Semay Wu
Mimam
Maja Bugge with Sarah Niccols
Olivia Moore with Adam Fairhall
Rie Nakajima
Samuel Blaser Trio
Laura Toxværd with Jeppe Zeeberg
Atzi Muramatsu and Fritz Welch
Ubunye
Zoë Gilby Quintet with Tony Kofi
Peter Slavid broadcasts a programme of European Jazz on mixcloud.com/ukjazz and various internet stations
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