Robert Mitchell’s True Think, Gary Crosby and Arun Ghosh line up for Marsden Jazz Festival

Showing true grit and determination the 30th Marsden Jazz Festival will take place from 6 to 9 October despite losing its key funder for the first time since 2008, following Arts Council England’s decision in June not to support the festival due to “pressure on ACE resources”.

Established in 1992, Marsden is one of the longest-running jazz festivals in the UK and owes much of its longevity to diverse programming and supportive audiences: from the jazz curious and festival-loving families, to the community cohort and core jazz fans.

The Yorkshire-based jazz festival has galvanised to bring four days of high calibre live jazz to the picturesque Pennine village and will present a self-funded programme taking over the impressive St Bartholomew’s Church (aka ‘The Cathedral of the Colne Valley’) for the entire festival. Highlights include award-winning young saxophonist Emma Rawicz, virtuoso pianist Robert Mitchell and his True Think band and some high-octane Indo-jazz from clarinettist Arun Ghosh.

The event kicks off in style with a special fundraising concert from British Poet Laureat Simon Armitage CBE on Thursday 6 October (National Poetry Day), with his band LYR (Land Yacht Regatta) who comprise of musician Richard Walters and multi-instrumentalist Patrick Pearson who set Armitage’s spoken word texts to genre-splicing music and soundscapes.

The main festival line-up runs as follows:

Friday 7 Oct: Gary Crosby Trio (8pm), Ruby Wood (10pm).

Saturday 8 Oct: Emma Rawicz Band (2pm); ‘Pursuance’ - Laura Cole and Walt Shaw (4pm); Anthropology Band (6pm); Robert Mitchell’s True Think (8pm);

Sunday 9 Oct: Samantha Binotti Quintet (3pm); Ben Crosland Quintet - Solway Stories (5pm) and Arun Ghosh – The Canticle of the Sun (8pm)

For full details and tickets visit www.marsdenjazzfestival.com/whats-on