Winner of the Parliamentary Jazz Award for Best Media, 2019

Jazz News

Jazz North selects seven bands for seventh round of Northern Line.

Wednesday, May 08, 2019

Since 2013, Jazz North’s Northern Line has supported 67 jazz acts from across the North with over 700 gigs. Now, seven more northern based ensembles have been selected to join the scheme.

We have received the following press release;


JAZZ NORTH SELECTS SEVEN BANDS FOR SEVENTH ROUND OF NORTHERN LINE


Since 2013, Jazz North’s Northern Line has supported 67 jazz artists and ensembles from across the north with over 700 gigs. Now, seven more northern-based ensembles have been selected to join the scheme. 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.


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.”

Jazz North’s northern line Project Manager, Lucy Woolley, says the bands were selected by an independent panel of industry professionals, promoters and musicians: “They were chosen as they represent the variety of high-quality, new and exciting music being made by fantastic artists and performed in the north of England.” Previously there have been nine bands chosen for the programme per year, but this time it will be seven. “A smaller roster of seven artists allows us to work more closely on artist development and business skills, alongside their touring activity,” explains Lucy. “This will create a legacy that will support these young artists throughout their future musical careers.”

Jazz North’s Northern Line is the organisation’s flagship programme that supports jazz artists through subsidised touring, mentoring and industry support. All round seven bands can expect subsidised gig performances at festivals and in venues, minimising financial risk. All artists will perform at Jazz North’s northern line Showcase Day at Lancaster Jazz Festival on Friday 13th September 2019 in front of national and international jazz promoters. A promotional pack of each ensemble will be produced and one-to-one mentoring with Jazz North is on offer to identify individual areas of support.


Jazz North’s Northern Line Round Seven Artists


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: moments of East-West fusion and Afro-spiritualism give way to pulsating sci-fi electronica with an energetic and danceable quality.

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. Dealing with subjects such as self-reflection, inner demons and truths, the band creates a trance-like atmosphere influenced by Massive Attack, Goldfrapp and Aphex Twin.

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, referencing Ornette Coleman, Tom Waits, and The Pixies: a joyful racket full of rewards for the adventurous listener.


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 along with the musical heritages of each player with an open spirit and impeccable musicianship.

Jazz North is the jazz development agency in the north of England funded by Arts Council England as a sector support organisation. Established in 2012, it has a ground-breaking approach to supporting and nurturing jazz across the north. Jazz North uses the power of collective partnership working to build networks between musicians, educators, promoters and venues, to grow audiences for jazz and to inspire children and young people to make music: http://www.jazznorth.org


Jazz North’s Northern Line project supports and develops a roster of artists by:

encouraging regional promoters and new/rural promoters to take risks by programming northern line ensembles

absorbing some of those risks by subsidising the cost of artists’ fees

offering professional development opportunities

strengthening and extending the northern touring circuit

providing a shop-window for the music, artists, promoters, the northern jazz scene and Jazz North

presenting a day-long showcase at Lancaster Jazz Festival 2019 at which all selected ensembles perform to the public and invited promoters

filming/recording every showcase performance for the artists’ showreels

offering artist photo-shoots and interviews for each band


Lancaster Jazz Festival is an artist and volunteer-led organisation that is now in its ninth year. It aims to promote contemporary and pioneering music from around the UK in beautiful spaces and stages around the city of Lancaster at an annual September festival and at selected year-round events. The team, backed up by the festival’s members, work year-round with local arts organisations to help emerging and developing artists, to promote contemporary music, and to support music and jazz education. Lancaster Jazz Festival is supported using public funding by Arts Council England and is a Help Musicians’ UK National Grant Programme Recipient:
http://www.lancasterjazz.com


Jazz North | 0300 800 5299 | http://www.jazznorth.org | @jazz_north | http://www.facebook.com/jazznorth