Stockport Jazz

This Sunday Stockport Jazz welcomes the Shearing Sound Quintet featuring Andrzej Baranek (piano), Dave Luckhurst (vibes), Paul Hartley (guitar), Pete Wilmott (bass) and Paul Turner (drums). 

Sir George Shearing OBE was the first British jazz musician to move to the United States and achieve international recognition with a unique piano style and hits such as ‘Lullaby of Birdland’, ‘September in the Rain’ and ‘East of the Sun’. His quintet had an instantly recognisable sound which will be recreated on Sunday with Andrzej Baranek, one of the UK’s top jazz pianists, with vibes/guitar provided by Dave Luckhurst and Paul Hartley. Completing the lineup will be Pete Wilmott and Paul Turner, both current members of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Sunday 22nd March 2026

8-10pm, doors open at 7.30pm

£5 entry on the door, all welcome

The Moor Club, 35 Heaton Moor Road, Stockport SK4 4PB  (next to the Elizabethan PH)

Preview: Tonight @ The Glasshouse - the Brand New Heavies. Acid jazz. Pioneers. A night that’s truly a ‘Dream Come True’.

This year the band celebrated 35 years since they formed, and what better way to celebrate than with a major set of live dates? With support at all shows from special guests Galliano, this tour is not to be missed.

The huge singles ‘Dream On Dreamer’ and ‘Midnight At The Oasis’ are familiar to anyone who has ever turned on a radio, and there were plenty more hits, ‘Back To Love’, ‘Spend Some Time’, ‘Sometimes’, ‘You Are The Universe’, ‘You’ve Got A Friend’, to name but a few. With the band not only enjoying massive success – selling over 2.5 million albums – The Brand New Heavies were also pioneers, essentially creating the fusion of jazz, funk and hip-hop that fuelled their chart and airplay domination, and became known as Acid Jazz.

Russ Morgan Quartet @ Blaydon Jazz Club - March 16

© Ken Drew

Russ Morgan (drums); Harry Keeble (tenor sax); Mark Williams (guitar); Andy Champion  (double bass) + Zoë Gilby (vocals)

Blaydon Jazz Club welcomed the return of Russ Morgan. Now exiled north of the border, drummer Russ made a major impact during his time on Tyneside and it was good to see him once again.* As ever, Russ was joined for the occasion by Harry Keeble (tenor sax), Mark Williams (guitar) and Andy Champion (double bass). 

© Ken Drew

Herbie Hancock's One Finger Snap, Jim Hall's Slam, that's where we were, in the eye of a 'modern jazz' storm. Four musicians, locked in, lots of counting in the head, or so it seemed, as a unit and as soloists, these guys are the business. Julian Nicholas' A Thousand Ships was given another workout and boy, Harry Keeble sure did take it to the cleaners!

Thinking About Gary Grant on St. Patrick’s Day

For the last few years, every St. Patrick’s Day and as an homage to him, I post Gary Grant’s track, Ireland from his second album as leader, Don’t Hold Your Breath (Grant Us This Day, 2010). Gary, of course was one of the legendary Jerry Hey Horns which added so much additional excitement to the recordings of Al Jarreau, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, and many others. A stellar trumpeter, composer, producer and session great, Grant was ubiquitous in LA and highly impactful in all of the various sessions in which he was involved. He was solid as a rock and beyond compare in his playing consistency.

Album review: Tigran Hamasyan – Manifeste (naïve)

Tigran Hamasyan (piano, bass synth, synths, vocals, whistling); Marc Karapetian (bass); Matt Garstka (drums); Daniel Melkonyan (trumpet); Arthur Hnatek (drums, electronics drum programming); Arman Mnatsakanyan (drums); Artyom Manukyan (cello); Evan Marien (bass); Nick Llerandi (guitar); Matt Garstka (drums); Nate Wood (drums); Asta Mamikonyan (vocals); Hamin Honari (daf); Yessai Karapetian (blul); Yerevan State Chamber Choir conducted by Kristina Voskanyan

Hamasyan first came to real prominence in 2015 (he had been recording for 9 years before then) with the release of his Mockroot album which combined western jazz with the music of his Armenian homeland. Over these influences was laid a shell of dazzling virtuosity and this current album shows no weakening in his powers. If anything the intervening years have continued to lead people to believe that he must be descended from Anne Boleyn as it is difficult to believe the sheer density of notes can be produced by someone with fewer than six fingers on each hand.

Press release: SPARK: Jazz from the Netherlands @ Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival

SPARK: Jazz from the Netherlands shines a light on one of Europe’s most consistently influential jazz scenes. The Netherlands has long been recognised for producing musicians of exceptional creative independence and international reach. From established global figures to a new generation reshaping the language of improvised music, Dutch artists are known for a willingness to challenge the traditional.

Press release: manchester jazz festival is back with the UK’s largest piano trail for mjf2026!

manchester jazz festival and Forsyth Music Shop have joined forces once again for the mjf2026 piano trail competition to find Manchester’s hidden talents across a trail of 18 street pianos – the largest piano trail in the UK - at locations across Manchester city centre and beyond into Greater Manchester.  

From 29 March – 31 May, the mjf piano trail competition encourages everyone to get creative and just have fun. And for those who want to take part, there’s a chance to enter a competition to win a Yamaha digital piano and many more prizes!  

There will be two 'celebrity' pianos from the BBC joining the piano trail this year. They've been in BBC Radio studios for decades and have been played by lots of famous people and bands, most recently the Verve and Rufus Wainright and back in the day, Paul McCartney and David Bowie!  

Press release: McCreadie bassist Bowden flies solo on Unsung Songs

© Nicky Murray

Award-winning double bassist David Bowden releases a solo bass album, Unsung Songs, on Friday 10th April.

Best known as a crucial member of pianist Fergus McCreadie’s internationally acclaimed, Mercury Prize-nominated trio, Glasgow-based Bowden is a former Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year and an in-demand bass player on the Scottish jazz and folk scenes.

Having successfully led the seven-piece world jazz ensemble Mezcla, Bowden found himself seeking a new creative challenge in the summer of 2023. He began developing repertoire for solo double bass - music that would place the instrument centre stage. Following a first solo gig at Glasgow Jazz Festival in 2024, the music on Unsung Songs was developed through a series of further solo performances at jazz festivals across Scotland and refined in studio sessions.

Ian Shaw – Stephensong: Sondheim in the Jazz Room. Upstairs at Ronnie Scott’s - March 10

Ian Shaw (vocals); Barry Green (piano)

The evening begins with a dedication.

Shaw dedicates the performance to the late Haydn Gwynne, the much-loved stage actress whose ability to inhabit a lyric with dramatic clarity made her a natural interpreter of theatre music — and whose spirit feels entirely at home in a night devoted to the songs of Stephen Sondheim.

Then Shaw launches straight into the opening number.

“Everybody says don’t,
Everybody says can’t,
Everybody says wait around for miracles —
That’s the way the world is made.”

From the opening bars you know you are in for something special.

Album review: Louise Alexandra - Crazy World of Love

Louise Alexandra (vocals); Rob van Bavel (piano, arranger); Frans van Geest (bass); Vincent Koning (guitar); Marcel Serierse (drums); Jan Menu (tenor/baritone sax) + Benny Benack III (flugelhorn tk 7)

Louise Alexandra, a Dutch-American jazz singer and songwriter is also a cancer research scientist. She is held in high regard for work in cancer research and on the strength of this, her third album, equally so as a musical artist. All thirteen tracks were a joy to listen to.

Too Late Now: Tenor and piano solos, a wordless riff in unison with band. Voice has an appealing vulnerability about it.

All my Tomorrows: Piano over some busy Latinesque drumming. Meaningful interpretation of the lyric.

Castle in the Sky: An original by Alexandra. Strong words capturing the rise and fall of a love affair.