Have you voted? I have!

Only three days to go to submit your nominations for the 2026 APPG awards.

The public  vote closes on Friday May 15 so don't procrastinate but show your support for those you favour so Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!

NOMINATE HERE!

Please note the criteria for the different categories:

Jazz Album of the Year (released in 2025 by a UK band or musicians).
Services to Jazz Award (to a living person for their outstanding contribution to jazz in the UK). 
Jazz Newcomer of the Year (UK-based artist, musician or group with a debut album released in 2025).
Jazz Education Award (to an educator or project for raising the standard of jazz education in the UK).
Jazz Media Award (including broadcasters, journalists, magazines, blogs, listings, photographers and books).
Jazz Venue of the Year (including jazz clubs, venues, festivals and promoters).
Jazz Ensemble of the Year (UK-based group who impressed in 2025).
Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year (UK-based musician who impressed in 2025).
Jazz Vocalist of the Year (UK-based vocalist who impressed in 2025).

The awards are organised by the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Group (APPJG), co-chaired”. by Dame Chi Onwurah MP and Lord Mann.

Joshua Cavanagh-Brierley Sextet @ Moor Club, Stockport - May 10

© Jeff Pritchard

Joshua Cavanagh-Brierley (bass); Graham South (trumpet); Kyran Matthews (tenor sax); Ellie Whiteley (trombone); Rich Jones (keyboards); Johnny Hunter (drums)

As soon as I saw the line-up for this gig I knew that it would be a night to remember and that's what it turned out to be. There were many exciting moments  provided by all six members of this fantastic ensemble. All the music played tonight were originals but as the band had already done some gigs in Liverpool and Stockport  they sounded like a well rehearsed unit. One front-liner I don't recall seeing before was Ellie Whiteley and she really nailed the trombone part. I particularly liked her unison work with the double bass on some of the tunes. 

The 58 Jazz Collective @ Dorman's Jazz Club, Middlesbrough - May 7

Kevin Eland (trumpet, flugel); Josh Bentham (tenor/soprano saxes, flute); Paul Donnelly (guitar); Dave Archbold (keys); John Daniel (bass); Jan Spencelayh (vocals); Alex Cromarty (drums/vocals).

This guest band of well known and respected local jazz musicians led by Kevin Eland gave an enthusiastic audience a night of diverse well-arranged, exciting jazz. 

Curious George from the film of the same name was a good choice to start the night. The full band intro was followed by solos all round clearly showing we were in for an evening of high quality jazz. 

A nice arrangement of Sonny Rollins' Doxy was well played before Jan then took to the stage to sing one of Ella Fitzgerald's favourite songs Angel Eyes beautifully sung with a nice piano intro from Dave and mellow solos from Josh on tenor Kevin on flugel and fine guitar work from  Paul.

The Merry Month of Miles

This year, 2026, will be remembered for many things most of which we'll probably want to forget. However, one person's name will live on long after the centennial of his birth - Miles Davis (May 26, 1926 - Sept. 28, 1991).

So not only is this his year but May is also 'his month' and celebrations are taking place world wide. Venues large and small, magazines, blogs and record companies are unlocking their vaults. I don't think even Louis, Duke, Dizzy or Bird had quite this much attention devoted to them.

To celebrate the occasion two of his most influential and iconic recordings have been remastered.

Late Night Chicago Radio w. Denny Farrell (May 7-13)

Joey DeFrancesco: Fly me to the Moon.

Tony Bennett: I Left my Heart in San Francisco.

Joe Pass Trio: Love For Sale

Linda Ronstadt: Skylark.

Flip Phillips/Scott Hamilton: A Smooth One.

Tito Puente: Mambo Diablo.

Kenny Burrell: Satin Doll.

Johnny Hartman: To Each His Own.

Paul Desmond/Jim Hall: Polka Dots and Moonbeams.

Chet Baker: Daybreak.

Gerry Mulligan: Song for Johnny Hodges.

LISTEN 24/7

Jazz Time Aycliffe Radio - Sundays 6.30-8.00pm (repeated Tuesdays 8.00-9.30pm).

https://www.ayclifferadio.co.uk/listen.

Playlist 10/05/26 (repeated Tuesday 12/05/26)

Requests from Darlington New Orleans Club: Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven, Johnny Dodds and the Dixieland Jug Blowers.

What’s on/New release: Bridget Metcalfe, Freddie Benedict.

Requests: Stan Tracey, Edmund Hall, Art Pepper.

Memories: Keith Jarrett, Mary Lou Williams, Red Nichols, King Oliver & His Orchestra, JC Higginbotham, Red Garland, Gil Evans.

What’s on in the NE: Conor Emery Quartet.

Seasonal: Tina May.

Aycliffe Radio is now available on DAB in County Durham & the Darlington area or via your smart speaker.  

Single Review: A Little Sailboat – Jay Patten and Crystal Gayle

Jay Patten (vocals, saxophone); Crystal Gayle (vocals)

Nashville-based vocalists, Jay Patten and Crystal Gayle deliver a picturesque offering of what might be categorized as “Trop-jazz” with the light and lovely, A Little Sailboat. A brief acoustic guitar and rhythm launch things before Gayle and Patten dive in. The groove here is indeed equatorial and is indescribable in the nicest way. It’s not a Getz bossa nova and it’s not crab shack Jimmy Buffett. As they paint their vivid picture, the duo simply glide over both melody and lyric with ease. It’s an involving listen.

Jeremy Sassoon @ Pizza Express, Dean Street, Soho - April 25

Jeremy Sassoon (vocals, piano); Harry Greene (guitar, saxophone); Chris Rabbit (bass); Pat Illingworth (drums)

There are nights at Dean Street where the room settles before the music even has a chance to. Low light, that gentle clink of glasses, conversations tapering off not because they’re told to, but because something in the air says it’s time.

This was one of those nights.

 

Jeremy Sassoon walked on and, almost immediately, it stopped feeling like an album launch. No grand statement, no sense of occasion being forced. Just a man, a piano, and a band in a room that seemed ready to listen. He joked that the previous night had been the rehearsal and this was the real one, but what unfolded didn’t feel rehearsed at all. It felt lived in.

 

That’s where Sassoon sits best.

 

Press release: The Globe Wins National Music Award

Stephen Ferrell accepts the award

Tyneside’s community-owned music venue The Globe won a major music industry award announced at a prestigious event held in London on 7 May. The Globe triumphed in the publicly-voted category of Grassroots Venue: Spirit of the Scene, supported by the Music Venue Trust.

The Music Week Awards are the UK's only music awards that recognise labels, publishing, live, A&R, radio, marketing and PR - all the parts of the industry that make music happen. 

Accepting the Spirit of the Scene award on behalf of The Globe, Stephen Ferrell, the volunteer events manager, said: “Thank you, but this is not just for The Globe. This is really a win for all the grassroots venues that help to keep live music alive.”

Lady Blackbird @ Ronnie Scott's - May 4

© Monika S. Jakubowska

Lady Blackbird (vocals); Chris Seefried (electric & acoustic guitar, piano); Johnny Flaugher (bass & double bass); Tamir Barzilay (drums) + Jo Harrop (vocals)

There’s a moment in every artist’s life when they move on and up. From a club to a hall, and for some a stadium. Financially it makes perfect sense… but artistically, something can get lost in the translation. And it’s not until they return to the type of space that first defined them that you realise what’s been missing.

Nights like this.

There was a sense of anticipation as we approached Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, the queue stretching right up to The Dog and Duck—not the usual split between members and general admission, not the quiet slipping in for an early seat and a drink. Just one line. One shared purpose. And the fact this sat alongside three other shows that had vanished in minutes during the members’ pre-sale told you everything. This was an internationally acclaimed artist capable of selling out thousands of seats across multiple dates… choosing instead to stand in front of just 250 people in the type of space that first made audiences fall in love with her.