One month until Cheltenham Jazz Festival’s 25th Anniversary Edition with Gregory Porter, Nubya Garcia, Gary Bartz, Myra Melford and many more

The quarter-century celebrations kick off in style, with Guy Barker leading both his Big Band and the BBC Concert Orchestra in a premiere of a unique symphonic celebration commissioned by the Festival. The massed big band and orchestra will support a star-studded line up of guest singers including Gregory Porter, Paloma Faith, Imelda May and fast rising newcomers Adeline and Georgia Cécile. The concert will also feature the greatest jazz songs of the past 100 years alongside some of the standout moments from across the Festival’s 25-year history (Henry Weston’s Big Top, Thursday 28 April). Further headliners include Gregory Porter, Jamie Cullum, Corinne Bailey Rae, Robert Plant, James Bay, Paloma Faith, Emeli Sandé, Tom Odell, Nubya Garcia, Imelda May, Gabrielle, Seun Kuti, PP Arnold, Brian Jackson, Gary Bartz, Jordan Rakei and Nitin Sawhney among others.

As the festival gets back into a full in-person event there’s a strong core line-up to welcome back Cheltenham’s loyal army of jazz fans These include the bewitching Swiss vocalist Lucia Cadotsch, who appears with a superlative trio of leading Brit-jazzers Kit Downes, Phil Donkin and James Maddren at the Parabola Arts Centre (PAC), followed by another leading light of UK jazz, pianist Zoe Rahman. She appears with her newly formed Quintet featuring the high-flying flautist Rowland Sutherland and trumpeter Byron Wallen, plus rhythm section stars Flo Moore on double bass and highly respected drummer Cheryl Alleyne (both gigs on 29 Apr).

More new jazz talent gets the Saturday off to a bold and brassy start at 11.30am as the combined forces of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (RBC) and students from the prestigious Siena Jazz-Accademia Nazionale Del Jazz in Italy line-up for a wide-ranging contemporary jazz set as part of the RBC’s ongoing jazz exchange programme (PAC, 30 April). The festival’s Jerwood Jazz Encounters commission this year features ‘Invisible, Real’, an immersive audio-visual performance-installation created by composer, saxophonist, clarinettist and improviser Faye MacCalman, which will be situated at a site in the town centre. The work will feature anonymous real-life stories collected from the public which are then brought to life by visual artist Rhian Cooke and sound artist Nikki Sheth to merge woodwind, vocal and electronic layers with floating projections and sound art throughout the day from 12pm-6.45pm (30 Apr and 1 May).

Two of Europe’s most exciting young groups are also set to appear back-to-back from 5.30pm at PAC (30 Apr), with bass-led Austrian septet Shake Stew showcasing leader/composer Lukas Kranzelbinder’s compelling tunes from the band’s forthcoming new album Heat. They are followed by drummer Graham Costello’s Scottish sextet STRATA who dive into beat-fuelled riffing and improv by some of the brightest talents north of the border, including pianist Fergus McCreadie, Harry Weir on tenor saxophone, Liam Shortall on trombone, Joe Williamson on guitar and Mark Hendry on electric bass. By contrast the finely-poised pairing of trumpeter/Greenleaf Label boss Dave Douglas in a rarefied duo with the joyously creative drumming of Joey Baron – perhaps best known for his collaborations with Bill Frisell and John Zorn – lines up for this special meeting of minds (30 Apr).

Another sympatico collaboration can be found with Cheltenham festival favourite, saxophonist Iain Ballamy, bringing his new band Fascinada to PAC (8pm, 1 May) who explore fresh interpretations of prime Brazilian songsmiths Ivan Lins, Milton Nascimento, Tom Jobim, Joao Bosco and Hermento Pascoal – performed by longtime collaborator, pianist HuwWarren, guitarist Rob Luft, bassist Conor Chaplin and drummer Will Glaser.

One further highlight of the core jazz names appearing is leading US pianist Myra Melford who brings a truly stellar band with her, comprising saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, guitarist Mary Halvorson, cellist Tomeka Reid and drummer Susie Ibarra, who combine on music from their new album For The Love Of Fire And Water (8pm, PAC, 2 May).

There’s also a number of top jazz-influenced world music stars appearing including highly-acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Nitin Sawhney, who performs genre-hopping music from his illustrious 20-year career (Jaz Arena, 29 April); the “father of Ethio jazz”, multi-instrumentalist Mulatu Astatke, still going strong aged 78 (1 May, 9.15pm, Town Hall, Main Hall); Seun Kuti and his Egypt 80 band will shake the sides of the Big Top when they appear on the Bank Holiday (1pm, 2 May).

Jazzwise is festival mediapartner. See our May issue – on sale on 14 April - for in-depth features on the festival’s key artists.

For full details and tickets visit www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/ jazz/