Press release: Newcastle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music 2026 Sept. 24-27/ Sept. 30-Oct. 4

We’re absolutely delighted to announce funding has been secured for Newcastle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music 2026 and gratefully acknowledge Arts Council England along with our partners and investors for their support. Tickets are now on sale.

More than 67 musicians will feature over 26 performances in nine days across seven of the region’s top music venues including Gosforth Civic Theatre, The Cluny, The Cumberland Arms, The Globe, The Lubberfiend, The Lit and Phil and Glasshouse International Centre for Music.

We’ve commissioned Manon McCoy and Emmy Lambert to create our festival interludes, Jon Bradley will make two performances at the historic Edith Adamson Carillon, and two great workshops lined up with Rachel Musson and Free The Aanimals. It’s an absolutely fantastic programme with so many twists and turns, can’t wait to see you there!

As ever we feature an explosive mix of experimental and improvised music alongside some of the best contemporary jazz around. Regular Portishead collaborators Get The Blessing are welcomed, this time with Radiohead regular Clive Deamer being replaced by Dave Smith, best known for his six years touring and recording with Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters. Sharing the bill will be the delectable art-pop sounds of Dilettante. Adam Fairhall and Johnny Hunter bring their swinging tribute to Mary Lou Williams downstairs at the legendary Cumberland Arms, and there’s a soft launch planned for the new album by John Pope Quintet, one of five releases coinciding with the festival through side hustle New Jazz and Improvised Music Recordings.

Internationally acclaimed Alex Hitchcock Quartet join us for a regular Sunday night jazz session at The Globe to close the festival’s opening weekend. Regular partners the South Asian GemArts organisation support us in promoting Arun Ghosh, Zoe Rahman, Urvashi and New Ways of Moving in the Counterworlds. Counterworlds also feature in the BBC Introducing From The Glasshouse programme with return visits from Helen Anahita Wilson and Juliana Day with Manon McCoy.

New to the festival this year is the DIY arts venue space Lubberfiend whose suggestion of the incredible Valentina Magaletti is to be complemented with the brand new duo of Steve Malley and Raymond MacDonald of Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra. For our opening event at the festival’s spiritual home of the Lit and Phil, Alison Gill performs George Crumb’s Makrokosmos Book 1. Andy Champion returns for one of his spellbinding double bass and electronics sets, joined by the compelling Zoë GIlby and Johnny Hunter voice and drums duo, having performed their first live dates in this pairing around the UK earlier this year.

Jeppe Zeeberg will be visiting us from Copenhagen to play one of his devastating solo piano shows, whilst accordionist Zbigniew Chojnacki will visit from Poland to play in an exclusive trio alongside Manon McCoy on harp and John Pope on double bass. On Saturday we also see a rare outing from the Laura Cole driven Anemone Quartet, the night climaxes with the spiritual jazz sounds of Harper Trio, a rare Northern solo set from Alexander Hawkins, and closing with the powerhouse Olie Brice Quartet.

Our closing concert on Sunday afternoon will feature three acts who all feature in this years Jazz North artist development programme Ceitidh Mac, ATFK and Rivkala. - Wesley Stephenson (Artistic Director and Festival Producer)