by Ian Mann
May 03, 2026
/ LIVE
'A day out for Jazz #3'. The third instalment in guest contributor Mike Wright's occasional series. "A superb and exciting evening which showcased what live jazz is all about."
NQ Jazz Orchestra with Matt Carmichael
NQ JAZZ
The Yard
Manchester
19.04.2026
A day out for Jazz #3
Continuing ‘A day out for Jazz’ with travel by train, some good beer in convivial surroundings, some good food and lending support to the performance of contemporary Jazz. And definitely the addition of the wonderful company of some like-minded friends. This promised to be a great jazz event with the NQ Jazz Orchestra and special guest Scottish saxophonist and composer Matt Carmichael playing to a sold-out audience at NQJAZZ in Manchester
(https://nqjazz.co.uk).
The train from Crewe to Manchester Piccadilly was packed with fans full of anticipation for the crucial Man City Arsenal match setting the tone for day. Off to the superb historic City Arms pub near Manchester library where the choice of perfect condition beer is just right and then onward to the iconic Marble Arch pub on Rochdale Road (https://marblebeers.com) for home cooked Sunday lunch and fantastic Marble brewed beer served in a Victorian tiled room. Both venues were busy with significant numbers of genial City supporters adding to the atmosphere.
We arrived early and quickly found ourselves part of the capacity crowd together with the NQ Jazz Orchestra members; all shoe-horned into The Yard in Cheetham Hill (the superb venue for NQJAZZ gigs run by wonderful musicians Kyran Matthews and Emily Burkhardt).
A Big Band is a formidable beast but one which needs some key ingredients to make it successful:- The players need to be high quality musicians, the compositional material and arranging needs to be interesting and then the additional magic which is passion and commitment from all involved. If this all happens the result is both exciting and moving. And it was.
As well as composing the material Matt Carmichael also provided arrangements and played as a guest soloist. Additional arrangements by Bob Mintzer added a considerable bonus.
The NQ Jazz Orchestra members assembled from Scotland, the North and the Midlands were:-
Saxes: Emily Burkhardt, Anthony Brown, Nadim Teimoori, Jeff Guntren, Ben Cottrell.
Trumpets: Steve Bland, Graham South, Alex Astbury, Maria Sanderson.
Trombones: Dave Sear, Chris Bridges, George Hardwick
Piano: Fergus McCreadie
Bass: Ali Watson
Drums: John Arneson
MD: Kyran Matthews
Fergus and Ali are long time friends and collaborators of Matt so the rhythm section added a kick start the performance which John Arnesen keyed into superbly.
As well as from great solos from Matt, passionate and skilful solos from Maria Sanderson, Alex Astbury, Nadim Teimoori, Dave Sear, Fergus McCreadie, Ali Watson, Jeff Guntren, Emily Burkardt and Graham South all added fuel to the fire of the beast.
This was the first performance of this music in England and the musicians were only able to rehearse for a few hours on the day (and with some late deps). As Matt remarked, a dramatic contrast to a previous occasion in Germany with the WDR big band and four days of rehearsals made available. If anything this seemed to add an energy and urgency to the performance.
To assemble a big band, with original music and arrangements, a guest soloist and star rhythm sections players is a massive achievement. Add to that acting as MD and you have to applaud Kyran.
The applause was indeed plentiful as this was a superb and exciting evening which showcased what live jazz is all about.
Let’s hope this music gets other outings in the near future.
More to come from the NQ Jazz Orchestra in July.
MIKE WRIGHT