Line-up for the seventh edition of the Newcastle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music is revealed

The line-up for the seventh edition of the Newcastle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music has just been announced, and includes top-drawer names such as Zoe Rahman, Paul Edis with Graeme Wilson, Alcyona Mick, Olivia Moore with Adam Fairhall, Rie Nakajima, Zoe Golby Quartet with Tony Kofi and the Samuel Blaser Trio. This year's event takes place at various venues across the city on three weekends: Friday 22 September; Thursday 28 September to Sunday 1 October; and Thursday 5 October to Sunday 8 October. 

Launched 2017, the festival continues to respond to the city’s appetite for a contemporary grass roots jazz festival, presenting an innovative and diverse international line up, celebrating and pushing boundaries that challenge perceptions of jazz and improvised music.

"This year we welcome new performance spaces including the Jesmond United Reformed Church and Blank Studios, alongside our regular venues Bobiks, The Globe and the Newcastle Literary and Philosophical Society," says Artistic Director and Festival Producer, Wesley Stephenson. "We are also especially delighted to include three performances from the Edith Adamson Carillon at Newcastle Civic Centre. A landmark on the Newcastle Skyline the carillon is the heaviest of its kind in the world, with a total metal mass of 22 tonnes, what a treat to hear the 25 bells ringing out across the city through a specially commissioned festival piece for our three weekends. We continue to work with our lead partners Jazz North East, but also other key regional promoters including Jazz.Coop, GemArts and the Thursday Night Prayer Meeting.

"Alongside British and International UK based artists this year we’re delighted to be bringing musicians from Italy, Switzerland, France and multiple Scandinavian regions. Our festival this year is dedicated in memory of Steve Horowitz who recently passed, a tireless supporter of the Tyneside jazz scene who will be sadly missed but never forgotten. We hope you enjoy the show!"

Other names booked include Shapeshifters, John Pope Quartet, David Birchall/Thomas Dixon/John Pope, Maja Bugge and Sarah Niccols, Laura Toxværd with Jeppe Zeeberg and Ubunye.

For full details of venues, timings and lines, as well as tickets, visit: https://jazznortheast.com/FESTIVAL/index.html