Preview/Program: Ushaw Durham Jazz Festival (August 26-28)

(Preview by Russell).

The first Ushaw Durham Jazz Festival is almost here. The three day event is to be staged over the August bank holiday weekend (Friday 26-Sunday 28). Internationally renowned stars will be appearing alongside some of the very best of the north east’s jazz musicians in the spectacular setting of Ushaw College. Concerts, workshops, talks, a late-night jam session and an artist in residence promise to make this inaugural event a truly memorable celebration of the best of jazz.

Friday

Northern Monkey Brass Band · Exhibition Hall · 6:00pm · £5.00

Ushaw College, a former seminary, is a hidden architectural gem, a couple of miles or so from Durham. Ushaw’s imposing buildings dominate a sprawling woodland estate in the heart of County Durham – the land of the Prince Bishops. The jazz on offer embraces the many forms of the music spanning three centuries. Yes, three centuries! Friday’s opening concert features the Northern Monkey Brass Band. Trumpeter Graham Hardy’s Big Easy eight piece band takes as its inspiration the second line sounds of New Orleans. A respect for the tradition of the marching band – a history of one hundred years or so – is lovingly wedded to the sound of today. From the Rebirth Brass Band to the Hot 8 Brass Band, the Northern Monkey Brass Band is in the vanguard of a flourishing jazz brass renaissance.

Zoë Gilby Quartet · Francis Thompson Room · 8:15pm · £5.00

The British jazz scene has an amazing number of top class vocalists. One of the best lives here in the region. Zoë Gilby hails from Cullercoats on the north east coast of England. A regional base – why live anywhere else? – and a world-wide touring schedule, Gilby is in demand at festivals and jazz clubs in far flung places such as China, Romania and, closer to home, Tynemouth! Working across the spectrum, Gilby will be appearing with three of the best. The Zoë Gilby Quartet features Mark Williams, guitar, Andy Champion, double bass and Richard Brown, drums. Four accomplished soloists, Gilby could make the claim ‘super group’ and few would argue. Original material and one or two standards, Friday’s concert is sure to sell out.

Saturday

Early Bird Band · Durham Alumni Big Band · 11am · Al Wood · 1pm

Saturday’s programme showcases the talent in the region and the value of education. The Early Bird Band is a small group ensemble of promising teenage musicians working with musician and tutor Paul Edis. A series of workshops and public performances in Durham, Newcastle and other key jazz venues have yielded remarkable results. Band members are bringing their own material to the table, arranging and composing, a case of ‘Giant Steps’ in a short space of time. This first cohort will go on to greater things, others will follow in their footsteps.

The Durham Alumni Big Band is an award-winning outfit. Regular participants at the big band jamboree in Sunderland – the annual Great North Big Band Jazz Festival – the band walks away with prizes as a matter of course. The Alumni boasts outstanding soloists, the sections are of ‘first call’ calibre, all down to the efforts of Durham Music Service and its partner organisations. Making a guest appearance with the band will be Al Wood. A man known for his dedication to jazz education and a multi-instrumentalist into the bargain, it will be an education in itself to observe the man in action. Mr Wood has worked with the likes of Maynard Ferguson…say no more!

Paul Edis: Improvisation workshop · 2:30pm
Pianist, sometime alto saxophonist and clarinetist, Paul Edis hosts a workshop for anyone interested in the art of jazz improvisation.

Alyn Shipton and Alan Barnes: What is jazz? · Exhibition Hall · 4pm · £5.00

Broadcaster, musician and writer, Alyn Shipton teams up with Alan Barnes to present an entertaining talk on the contentious issue: What is jazz? Expect erudition, hilarity and an opportunity to ask that all important question: What is…?

Mark Williams and Joel Byrne-McCullough · 6pm

Two Irishmen, two guitars. Men of few words and friends of longstanding, Mark and Joel are two supremely talented musicians. At home in all styles, expect to hear echoes of jazz guitar down the years from Joe Pass to Pat Metheny and perhaps a few tunes of their own

Alan Barnes and Bruce Adams with the Paul Edis Trio · Exhibition Hall · 8:00pm. £10.00

This Saturday evening concert promises to be a major highlight of the inaugural Ushaw Durham Jazz Festival. Multi-reeds virtuoso Alan Barnes is a sell-out attraction in his own right. Stand him alongside the brilliant trumpet and flugelhorn virtuoso Bruce Adams and you’ve got the makings of a memorable occasion. Barnes and Adams prefer to work with the best, and in working with the Paul Edis Trio that’s exactly what they’ve got here. The Paul Edis Trio – Edis, piano, Andy Champion, bass and Russ Morgan, drums – boasts an enviable cv having worked with Greg Abate, Vasilis Xenopoulos and tonight’s headliners Barnes and Adams. Unsurprisingly, tickets for this concert are selling fast, so don’t delay, book your tickets today.

Jam session: Peter Gilligan Trio · Francis Thompson Room · 10:15pm 

Any self-respecting jazz festival organises a late-night jam session and Ushaw Durham is no different! The house trio works out of the Jazz Café up the road in Newcastle. Having established a top quality jam session attracting many top flight musicians sitting-in, Peter Gilligan, piano, Paul Grainger, double bass and drummer Russ Morgan, will visit Ushaw to host a County Durham equivalent. You are welcome to sit-in, any instrument.

Sunday

Square One · Francis Thompson Room · 1pm · £5.00.

A quartet of young musicians currently based in Scotland, Square One features a County Durham success story. Guitarist Joe Williamson emerged on the Darlington jazz scene as a young musician guided by Durham Music Service. Relocating to Glasgow to further his studies, Williamson recently made his bow with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra.

New Century Ragtime Orchestra · Exhibition Hall · 4pm · £10.00.

The ‘three centuries of jazz’ tag applies to Dave Kerr’s New Century Ragtime Orchestra. A unique ensemble, the NCRO unearths, dusts-off and revives tunes from the late 1900s through to the mid-1930s and here they are in the twenty first century playing the music! Musicologist Dave Kerr painstakingly transcribes charts for his hand picked band before handing them over to Steve Andrews and company to breath life into his labour of love. A rare ensemble, a rare treat.

Nigel Price Trio · Francis Thompson Room · 8pm · £7.00.

The first Ushaw Durham Jazz Festival closes on Sunday evening with a set from guitarist Nigel Price. Respected across the jazz scene, Price swings ferociously, a skill honed with the Hammond-propelled James Taylor Quartet. In the absence of live fireworks, expect a display of musical pyrotechnics.

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Dave Barden – Artist in residence

Artist Dave Barden enjoys an international reputation. A lecturer in art for many years, an interest in sport led to Barden being commissioned to create art works following a visit to the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. One of Dave Barden’s other passions is jazz. The Ushaw Durham Jazz Festival is delighted that the artist will be present during the festival to make sketches and take photographs, with an exhibition of his work to follow at a later date. A selection of the artist’s jazz paintings will be exhibited at Ushaw College over the August bank holiday weekend. Do take time to view the exhibition.          

Tickets for Ushaw Durham Jazz Festival – August 26-28 – are available now from: www.ushaw.org