Family Events and Freestages complete the Cheltenham Jazz Fest 2023 programme
Mike Flynn
Friday, April 21, 2023
The star-studded jazz festival starts next week with big names, cutting-edge artists and free events across six days and nights
The 2023 Cheltenham Jazz Festival, which runs from 26 April to 1 May, is set to get the spa town buzzing once again with its comprehensive line-up of big names, such as Gregory Porter, Van Morrison and Stanley Clarke, alongside cutting-edge jazz, intimate family orientated shows and free stage events welcoming in everyone from jazz connoisseurs to first time listeners.
The Family Tent, situated in the busy, publicly accessible Festival Village in the Montpellier Gardens site, will feature a vibrant series of participatory workshops, intended to appeal to jazz-curious parents as well as their children.
Saturday 29 April highlights include Jazzlabs, exploring jazz rhythms, sounds and styles, along with fun games in a creative workshop; Bostin Brass, has sounds inspired by music from the streets of New Orleans from second-line to jazz, funk and ska. Workshops on 30 April include The Family Sing – with Black Voices hosted by Bev Robinson and CeCelia Wickham-Anderson for an hour of harmonies, gospel spirituals and African songs; Arun Ghosh’s Indo-Jazz Adventures with the award-winning musician combining melodies and rhythms inspired by jazz and South Asian music with stories, piano, percussion and his own clarinet playing. And the Bank Holiday Monday features otherworldly songs from vocal phenomenon Randolph Matthews who will demonstrate his multi-octave range and loop station.
The Freestage, within the Festival Village, will present free entry performances from a wealth of local jazz, soul and blues talent, while a wide range of international food stalls, bars and the on-site Record Store, run by Birmingham-based Stoney Lane Records, will ensure there’s plenty to do between sets.
The festival’s ongoing Jerwood Foundation commission series this year features Waves II, composer Andrew Woodhead’s new bellringing-inspired project, combining music and physics as eight different pendulums create complex patterns. Performances start at 1pm, 2.30pm and 5pm daily from Saturday 29 April–Monday 1 May in the Montpellier Woods that are situated within the Festival Village site.
The nearby Daffodil Restaurant also presents a series of intimate gigs with the likes of singer songwriter/guitarist Rosie Frater-Taylor (26 April) and jazz harpist Amanda Whiting (28 April) from 7-9.45pm each night – with special late-night takeover sessions from high-energy band Kansas Smitty’s across the weekend.
These shows join those already announced in Jazzwise last issue – including Guy Barker and the BBC Concert Orchestra’s Soul Jazz Summit; Mica Millar; Skylla; Stian Westerhus; Ronnie Scott’s Big Band with Tony Hadley; Georgia Cécile; Ezra Collective; Black Top feat. Xhosa Cole; Rodrigo y Gabriela; Van Morrison; Lizz Wright; Julian Lage Trio; Stanley Clarke N 4EVER; Fergus McCreadie Trio; Deadeye with Kit Downes; Laura Jurd's Tony Dudley-Evans Tribute; Laura Mvula; Damian Lewis with Kansas Smitty’s; Binker Golding group; and Gregory Porter & Friends. Jazzwise is festival media partner.
For full listings and tickets visit www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/jazz
