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M&P’s x mjf Jazz Jam, led by Johnny Hunter

Matt & Phreds

House Band Lineup 

Maisie Riley tenor saxophone / Andrew Stamatakis-Brown piano / Bim Williams double bass / Johnny Hunter drums

For this extra special Jam Night, Matt & Phred’s are teaming up with mjf to give all singers and musicians the opportunity to come down to the little backstreet Jazz Club and get on stage to perform. This year’s Jazz Jam will be led by the prolific drummer Johnny Hunter, whose band is composed of equally reputable musicians. The stage is open to all musicians to get up and play with the house band and fellow jammers. 

This is a unique experience to come together with others to perform some classic jazz, be it a ‘standard’ or something more modern, whilst showing the rest of the performers and audience your approach to improvisation.  Bring along your vocal cords, guitars, brass, strings, and whatever other instruments you play, and jam alongside like-minded music lovers. 

Over the years, the Matt & Phred’s Jam Nights have attracted the likes of Chuck Perkins, Lonnie Liston Smith, Benn Clatworthy, members of Riot Jazz Brass Band and Beats & Pieces… Who knows who might be in the audience and on stage tonight? You can certainly expect to see some familiar faces from the rest of the festival line-up, along with a host of players from across the Northern music scene. 

More of a listener than a player? No problem, there will be plenty of room for you to kick back and watch the evening unfold. It’s fair to say anything could happen. 

Date: monday 18 may

Time: 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Price: Free

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Big Ideas x mjf

The Carlton Club

Ben Cottrell director / Anthony Brown, Emily Burkhardt, Anna Chandler-King, Faye MacCalman, Kyran Matthews saxophones / Stan Lawrence, Mal McCormick, Tom Sharp, Graham South trumpets / Roz Fearnehough, Emily Mason, Rich McVeigh, Ben Moss trombones / Anton Hunter guitar / Richard Jones piano, keyboard / Joshua Cavanagh-Brierley bass / Josh Savage drums

Directed by Beats & Pieces leader Ben Cottrell, Big Ideas presents large ensemble jazz, improvised, experimental, and adjacent music in, of, and for the North of England. With a focus on stylistic diversity and emphasis on the new and adventurous, each project is freshly-commissioned from Northern-based composers and arrangers and performed by a unique ensemble drawn from a pool of musicians across the region, flexible in instrumentation and personnel. 

This special mjf gig showcases a selection of highlights from the various projects created since commencing a monthly residency at the Carlton Club in May 2025. The sets will include original compositions by the North’s finest composing and arranging talent alongside new takes on the music of Carla Bley, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Radiohead, Black Sabbath, David Bowie, and more, reimagined and reinterpreted by an 18-piece big band. 

Photography Credit: Richard Tymon

 

Date: monday 18 may

Time: 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Price: from £12 (advance)

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Women in Jazz Photography: Her Frame. Her Sound

Aviva Studios (The Social)

The exhibition takes place in The Social at Aviva Studios. Check here for opening hours.

Bringing together inspirational women from across the globe, the award-winning organisation Women in Jazz Media presents an exclusive photography exhibition: Women in Jazz Photography: Her Frame. Her Sound 

Celebrating women working in jazz behind and in front of the camera, the exhibition showcases inspirational moments in jazz captured by some of the remarkable female photographers leading the way in jazz photography. Exhibiting legends such as Geri Allen, Abbey Lincoln, Alice Coltrane, Nina Simone and contemporary artists Lakecia Benjamin, Nubya Garcia and Brandee Younger, this is the first exhibition of its kind.  

With award-winning photographers from South Africa, New York, Poland and the United Kingdom, this breathtaking exhibition features the work of Monika S Jakubowksa, Vuyo Giba, Tatiana Gorilovsky, Enid Farber and Kasia Ociepa. 

The exhibition launched in April 2025 at London’s award-winning Karamel Club, going on to visit the Black Mountain Jazz Festival in Abergavenny, and continues to the Highworth Jazz Festival in June. 

 The Photographers 

Enid Farber resides in New York City and has been photographing mostly jazz musicians since 1979 but her work includes artists from a variety of genres, including Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Ray Charles, Bob Marley, Charlie Watts, Diana Ross, Bono and Celia Cruz who have all appeared before her lens. 

Vuyo Giba is a South African -based photographer, writer, and creative professional dedicated to preserving South African jazz heritage. Her work spans jazz, abstract, and lifestyle photography, capturing evocative narratives through imagery. With experience in film production, research, and project coordination, she collaborates with artists and communities to document and celebrate cultural stories. 

Tatiana Gorilovsky is a London-based photographer specializing in music photography, particularly jazz. She has captured the dynamic spirit of the genre for renowned venues such as Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express, 606 and others, as well as festivals including the EFG London Jazz Festival and Love Supreme Festival. Tatiana loves experimenting with long exposure and multiple exposure to capture the sounds, rhythm and energy of Jazz. Her images are held in the National Jazz Archive and have been featured in prominent publications such as Jazzwise Magazine, The Times, The Guardian, Financial Times, Billboard, UK Jazz News, The Independent, Time Out London and others.  

Kasia Ociepa is a Wales-based photographer specializing in jazz, events, weddings, and portrait photography, with a deep love for fine art photography. Originally from Poland, she moved to the UK in 2006 and transitioned from garden design to professional photography during lockdown. As the resident photographer for Black Mountain Jazz Club, she has documented the club’s vibrant jazz scene, with her images used by musicians for album covers, press materials, and social media. Kasia sees photography as storytelling, capturing the energy and emotion of live music, and she is always happy to collaborate with musicians and event organizers. 

The award-winning photographer Monika S Jakubowska is renowned across the world.  As the in-house photographer for prestigious London venues, Ronnie Scott’s and Kings Place, she has captured award winning images of legends and is the photographer of choice by many artists. Her portfolio is vast and includes Jeff Goldblum, Genesis, Macy Gray, John Legend, Jazz royalty Dee Dee Bridgewater, George Clinton and Courtney Pine to name a few. Darius Brubeck included Monika’s photographer in his foreword to the brilliant book Sight Readings: Photographers and American Jazz, which was nominated for book of the year by the jazz Journalist Association. 

Date: friday 15 may

Price: Free