Adjunct Ensemble
Adjunct Ensemble is a fluid collective of musicians and artists led by Irish composer and producer Jamie Thompson. Their collagist anti-opera ‘Sovereign Bodies / Ritual Taxonomy’, released on Diatribe Records, was The Guardian’s album of the month in May 2023 (a disorientating act of resistance) and was shortlisted for the 2024 Deutsche Jazz Preis.
https://diatriberecords.bandcamp.com/album/sovereign-bodies-ritual-taxonomy
Amanda Whiting
The harp is an exquisite instrument, so you can understand why Welsh artist, Amanda started the harp at 6 after being mesmerised by Harpo Marx on tv. She gained her BMus with Caryl Thomas at Cardiff University, & her master’s in jazz at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. She has since become a freelance harpist all over the world; from recitals in London’s Southbank to Jazz festivals in Hamburg, Johannesburg & Belgium to name a few.
https://amandawhiting.bandcamp.com/album/the-liminality-of-her
Andy Sheppard – Pushy Doctors
A great ‘anarchistic’ ride through standards of jazz pop and beyond by this hard swinging ‘out there’ classic organ trio. Formed to play in the in the deep club/pub environment this disrespectful grooving band can really blow the roof off. Taking a repertoire of well-known tunes (Sheppard’s personal favorites) and turning them inside out in an often humorous but always musical way. There are always rows of smiling faces at a ‘Doctor’s’ gig. The music is skillfully infectious but often very deep as well. A great blowing band with a medicinal twist – together we’ll heal the world…
Azamiah
Azamiah is a genre-fluid musical Glasgow-based collective led by vocalist INDIA BLUE. The band’s output is inspired by sounds of the natural world blended with dense rhythms & grooves. With their recently released debut album going down a storm, Azamiah continues to develop their sound through collaborative improvisation & build soundscapes with looping & effects pedals.
Petra Haller
Internationally acclaimed tap dancer Petra Haller is known for her innovative approach to tap dance as a percussive instrument. Haller’s performances blur the lines between dance and music, allowing her feet to act as a rhythm section that adds new textures to a jazz ensemble. Tap dance, historically intertwined with jazz, once played a vital role as both visual and rhythmic accompaniment. Petra Haller’s work redefines that role.
Córas Trio
NI based Córas Trio reinvent the spontaneous. Traditional melodies weave in & out of compelling textures that foreground fiddle, guitar & percussion with transcendental electronics; suspending elements of collective free improvisation. Challenging ideas of cultural purism, they sweep the lines of contemporary musical practice, unafraid in their exploration of new ideas.
Secret Path Trio
Fraser Fifield & leader of the trio has developed a distinctive sound across the variety of wind instruments he plays & an approach to music making which has lead to collaboration with a diverse list of artists. Described by the Sunday Herald as having “emerged as one of today’s outstanding talents” & by Jazzwise magazine as “an outstanding product of the Scottish jazz-folk scene”.
Ribbons: Rebecca Nash & Sara Colman
“…Colman’s exquisite vocals and Nash’s own penchant for blindingly beautiful chord structures…. the resulting music is simply stunning…” (UK Vibe)
The beauty, intimacy and creativity of the duo comes to the fore in this exquisite combination of singer Sara Colman and pianist Rebecca Nash. Their long-standing relationship has honed a musical intuition that produces the misleadingly easy sounding but musically adventurous story telling of all good singer-musician relationships.
https://www.rebeccanashmusic.com/ribbons
https://www.saracolman.com/sara-colman-rebecca-nash-duo
Tullis Rennie: Safe Operating Space
A vivid hybrid of club music-influenced analogue electronics and free improvisation, Safe Operating Space is inspired by the beautifully human endeavour of trying to grab unrepeatable moments. Rennie explains: “A second of magic within a spontaneous musical improvisation. Or, during a jungle tune breakdown on the dance floor of an intimate club space.” The lineup also features Tara Roberts, Cath Roberts and Dee Byrne.
Vipertime
“That was Vipertime. I wouldn’t mind hanging out somewhere where that was going on. I guess I’d have to go to Leeds” – Iggy Pop
Born in the snake pit of Leeds house parties, aggro-jazz four-piece Vipertime have earned a ferocious reputation making a series of incendiary appearances at venues and festivals across the UK, honing their craft while pushing their line up of saxophone, bass and twin drum sets to its sonic limits.
Yazz Ahmed
“I hope that through my music I can bring people together, building bridges between cultures, and changing perceptions about women in jazz and people of Middle Eastern heritage”
Through her music, British-Bahraini trumpet player, Yazz Ahmed, seeks to blur the lines between jazz and electronic sound design, bringing together the sounds of her mixed heritage in what has been described as ‘psychedelic Arabic jazz, intoxicating and compelling’. Over the last decade, Yazz has led her ensembles in performances across the UK & Europe, and further afield in Algeria, Bahrain, Beirut, Kuwait, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, USA & Canada. She has also enchanted audiences at major festivals such as WOMAD, Love Supreme, NYC Winter Jazz Fest & Pori Jazz. Her career is studded with high profile collaborations, which have seen her record and perform with the likes of Radiohead, Lee Scratch Perry, Transglobal Underground, Arturo O’Farrill, Natacha Atlas, and Obongjayar, including a world tour with These New Puritans.
In January 2020 Downbeat Magazine named Yazz as one of 25 artists set to shape the future of jazz over the next decade. At the 2020 Jazz FM Awards, Polyhymnia was voted Album of The Year, with Yazz also winning UK Jazz Act of the Year. The year culminated with the receipt of the highly prestigious Ivor Novello Award for Innovation.