Manchester Jazz Festival

Festival Pavilion

20.00 (2 x 50 mins)

Bugalu Foundation

Sam Bell – congas, vocals

Martin Connor – lead vocals

Steve Parry – trumpet

Angus Crabtree – baritone saxophone

Simon Pugsley – trombone

Craig Scott – guitar

Al Macsween – keyboards, vocals

Morgan Pugh – bass guitar

Sam Gardner – drums

An evening for dancing feet and minds, heavily influenced by the music of Ray Barretto, Mongo Santamaria, Tito Puente and Eddie Palmieri, and delivered by some of the music’s greatest champions from Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds. With a special focus on the ’70s era as captured by the seminal documentary film ‘Our Latin Thing’, the band celebrates the musical traditions of New York’s east and west Harlem coming together in an irresistible fusion of jazz, funk and soul, with the beats of ’El Barrio’ – Spanish Harlem – and the Hispanic traditions of Latin America.

*Double Ticket Deal available £20 (adv only)

Sat 14 July Bugalu Foundation +

Sun 15 July Rick Farrow & The Big Red Orchestra

Festival Pavilion

19.30 (2 x 50 mins)

Rick Farrow and The Big Red Orchestra

Rick Farrow – percussion

Yeni Martinez, Julio Guzman – vocals

Steve Parry, Anthony Pearce – trumpets

Richard Clarke, Jim Fieldhouse – saxophones

Fergus Mulcahy – trombone

Chris Moore – electric piano

Ivan Pavon – electric upright bass

Jack McCarthy, Frank Mata – percussion

Inspired by the Latin musical ‘Lady Salsa’, leading Latin percussionist, composer and arranger Rick teams up with original cast member Yeni Martinez and fellow singer Julio Guzman to head up an evening of highly danceable yet thoughtful arrangements of songs and original works which capture the essence of the Afro-Cuban big band sound. Energetic soloists, driving rhythms and authentic vocals combine to bring your Sunday to a rousing close.

*Double Ticket Deal available 

Sat 14 July Bugalu Foundation +

Sun 15 July Rick Farrow & The Big Red Orchestra

St Ann’s Church

18.15 (75 mins)

Microscopic

Richard Iles – trumpet

Mike Williams – alto & tenor saxophone

Les Chisnall – piano

Percy Pursglove – double bass

Out of the ashes of the coalition’s austerity measures comes a new collective performing stripped-back versions of some of the music from Richard’s Miniature Brass Emporium, as well as new original material. The quartet provides an intimate setting for some of his larger expansive music and a chance to hear the pieces as they were originally conceived. Microscopic is the new miniature!

As a member of the SNJO, Richard has recently performed with Joe Lovano, John Scofield and Gary Burton; Mike Williams is an unsung hero amongst UK saxophonists and this will be a rare appearance by one of our most original players; Les has worked with some of the world’s finest musicians, including Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor and Ian Ballamy; Percy, best known as a trumpet player, is also a gifted bassist, having recently appeared with Evan Parker and The Claudia Quintet.

Festival Pavilion

18.00 (60 mins)

mjf originals Pete Moser: Sound Games World première.

Pete Moser – piano, accordion

Mary Keith, Steve Lewis – vocals, percussion 

Peadar Long – flute, tenor saxophone

Daz Jones – sousaphone

Semay Wu – ‘cello

Ben McCabe – drums

plus special guest soloist to be announced

The sound of games, a game of sounds…

The second of this year’s mjf originals commissioned works is an unusual take on the athletic frenzy about to grip the nation: compositions and improvisations inspired directly by sporting activity, created with a unique octet of musicians by inspirational music-maker Pete Moser. Hear a 10-second 8-part counterpoint for a 100 metre run, a series of long jump solo journeys, a 4-minute groove of competing rhythms and much more. This Olympic year commission gives musicians a chance to compete with each other in solo moments, to develop new music that responds directly to sporting activity and to create a suite of pieces that will surely fascinate and capture your imagination. A filmic element will show how the music has been created, with iconic moments in sporting history turned into musical creations in front of your eyes!

Pete Moser is a composer, performer, educator and producer who has been the Artistic Director of More Music for the past 19 years; he is a committed improviser and promoter of new music.

*Double Ticket Deal available

Fri 20 July Pete Moser + Ríoghnach Connolly’s Black Lung.

 Presented in collaboration with More Music

Festival Pavilion

21.00 (2 x 45 mins)

Ríoghnach Connolly’s Black Lung

Ríoghnach Connolly – vocals, concert flute

Zoe Chiotis – backing vocals

Fiona Brown – Uilleann pipes

Angus Fairbairn – tenor saxophone

Grace Kelly – fiddle, whistles 

Emma Sweeney – fiddle

Esther Miller – nyckelharpa 

Hannah Miller – ’cello 

Angela Durcan – banjo, mandolin

Lochlainn Connolly – mandolin, bazouki, banjo

Ellis Davies, Joe Bardwell – guitars

John Ellis – piano, keyboards 

Nick Blacka – double bass 

Jim Goodwin – drums 

Utam Singh – tabla

Corman Byrne – bódhran

This special project for mjf showcases the talents of one of Manchester’s most charismatic musical personalities, celebrating the indelible parts of her musical heritage. Having spent the last ten years in Manchester collaborating with many musicians and genres, Ríoghnach draws together her many connections into a melting pot where she unifies her ‘old style’ Irish traditional song, jazz and folk backgrounds and the musical partnerships she has absorbed as a child through to adulthood. Also the title of her debut new recording, Black Lung promises to be a grand evening of Sean Nós and jazz on an orchestral scale - an exhilarating festival highlight for performers and audiences alike.

*Double Ticket Deal available

Fri 20 July Pete Moser + Ríoghnach Connolly’s Black Lung 

Festival Pavilion

20.00 (2 x 60 mins)

Hackney Colliery Band, Colman Brothers & DJ Mike Chadwick.

Hackney Colliery Band:

Steve Pretty – trumpet, flugelhorn, melodica

Nick Ashwood – trumpet, flugelhorn

Jonathan Sweeney, Magnus Dearness – trombones

Mike Lesirge – alto saxophone

Tom Richards – tenor saxophone

Jeff Miller – sousaphone

Luke Christie – snare drum, percussion

Olly Blackman – bass drum, percussion

Colman Brothers:

Andrew Colman – lead trumpet, flugelhorn

Mat Colman – lead trombone

Sara Colman – vocals

Steve Banks – guitar 

Dale Hambridge – Fender Rhodes, organ

Sol Ahmed – double bass

Jon Whitfield – drums

Lisa Cherian – percussion

Richard Iles, Neil Yates, Phil Nicholas, Mike Davis – trumpets, flugelhorns

Kev Holborough, Simon Pugsley, Tony Robertson – trombones

To close this year’s festival we’ve a double bill to keep you brassed on with high-energy, good-time music for dancing feet and minds…

The Colman Brothers’ music is inspired by the sounds of the Latin/jazz big bands from the ’60s and ’70s - in particular Peter Herbolzheimers’ Rhythm Combination & Brass group. This big band set-up - without a saxophone section - echoes the rich, brass-heavy sound, full of energy and groove. Mat and Andrew are the featured soloists and sister Sara also features on a handful of vocal tunes. In tonight’s mjf finale you can hear the band in full force, as they give their first performance with the full 15-piece line up.

Formed out of a desire to play music that appealed to the feet as much as to the ears, the Hackney Colliery Band is east London’s unique take on the brass band. The players have hugely diverse musical backgrounds, ranging from work with cutting-edge jazz groups to the Bollywood Brass Band, and from Jarvis Cocker to major orchestras. This is clearly on display in their eclectic repertoire: mining nuggets of funk, hip-hop and rock from the musical coalface and throwing in a few chunks of Balkan brass, ska and contemporary jazz for good measure, the Hackney Colliery Band’s set is as diverse as the London borough that gave them their name.

Jazz FM and Band on the Wall’s Mike Chadwick spins danceable jazz grooves in between the sets and afterwards until midnight.