Beyond Albedo, freesetrio, John Pope Quintet, Nishla Smith Quintet, Not Now Charlie, Rafe’s Dilemma and SogoRock will have the chance to benefit from the initiative this coming year.
Beyond Albedo (Leeds/Sheffield)
Lara Jones saxophones, FX pedals / Tim Knowles electric guitar, bass guitar, FX pedals / Ben Gaunt synths / Sarah Heneghan drums, drum machine
Retro-futuristic synth-jazz drawing on jazz traditions yet pushing in new exploratory and experimental directions.
freesetrio (Leeds)
Jemma Freese voice, keyboards / Chris Sellers bass / Theo Goss drums
Heavy triphop dark jazz with twisted lyrics, sliding vocals and eerie harmonies making for a powerful, dark and layered sound.
John Pope Quintet (Newcastle/Manchester)
John Pope double bass / Jamie Stockbridge alto saxophone / Faye MacCalman clarinet, tenor saxophone / Graham Hardy trumpet / Johnny Hunter drums
Drawing on ‘60s avant-jazz and hard bop, but with a modern, European sensibility, their open-hearted, quirky compositions and dynamic, ‘anything-goes’ improvisations are played with swinging groove
Nishla Smith Quintet (Manchester)
Nishla Smith vocals / Aaron Wood trumpet / Richard Jones piano / Joshua Cavanagh-Brierley bass / Johnny Hunter drums
Nishla’s original songs have a delicate, quirky but deceptively simple air about them – she has a quietly commanding presence and a relaxed but assured delivery that wins over audiences instantly. Her often dreamy and melancholic aura is offset with her energetic and imaginative band of Manchester’s finest young contemporary improvisers.
Not Now Charlie (Newcastle)
Jamie Toms saxophone / Pawel Jedrzejewski guitar / Richard Campbell piano / Ian Paterson bass / Mark Johnson drums
A fast-rising young band playing in a variety of styles directly connected to their inspirations: traditional jazz, prog rock, neo soul, R&B and folk – memorable melodies, infectious grooves and a keen, finely-tuned sense of tight ensemble playing.
Rafe’s Dilemma (Leeds)
Eleanor Begley vocals, loops / Jamil Sheriff keyboards / Sam Vicary bass guitar / Katie Patterson drums
Commissioned for Bolton Worktown Festival to celebrate Bill Naughton’s play Spring and Port Wine, Rafe’s Dilemma mixes jazz, electronica and rock to tell the story of a family on the edge. Using spoken word, improvisation, synthesised soundscapes and carefully crafted songs, the material explores our emotions towards families through music, with an electric perspective.
SogoRock (Leeds)
Ferenc Lakatos synth / Matt Hines saxophone / Nik Svarc guitar / Bela Horvath piano, keyboards / Alexander Miller bass / Joshua Gumbs drums
Led by resident Hungarians Bela and ‘Laky Franz’ with their fellow LCoM alumni, SogoRock (meaning ‘brother-in-law’) resists classification: the band blends elements of jazz, fusion, funk, rock and gospel.
Since 2013, Jazz North’s northern line has supported 67 jazz artists and ensembles from across the north with over 700 gigs. The scheme enables the artists to reach new audiences and tour beyond their home area, which Nishla Smith from the Manchester-based Nishla Smith Quintet sees as a great opportunity: “Becoming a northern line artist is really amazing and helpful for us because my band is fairly new and we’re trying to make in roads and develop out of Manchester. It’s really exciting to have that opportunity to tour and make new connections and spread out over the north"
More information www.jazznorth.org
Praise the worthy efforts of Jazz North and NORVOL! Keeping Jazz Music alive!
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