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Date: Wednesday 20 May

mjf x OCT presents: Vipertime (ft. Troy Osmond)

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Whittles

Ben Powling tenor saxophone / Matias Reed bass / Luke-Reddin-Williams, Josh Smout drums / Troy Osmond guest vocals 

Another in mjf’s new series of programme partnerships – here with our friends at Oldham Coliseum Theatre – taking place at venues around the town. 

Another in mjf’s new series of programme partnerships – here with our friends at Oldham Coliseum Theatre – taking place at venues around the town. 

Leeds aggro-jazz group Vipertime launch their new collaborative album, which was recorded with Kent-based post-punk band Moron Butler, whose lead vocalist Troy Osmond guests for this gig: a new sound that’s lyric heavy, hard edged and combining the acerbic attack of Gang of Four, the motoric drive of krautrock and the abstractions of John Coltrane.  

Born in the snake pit of Leeds house parties, aggro-jazz four-piece Vipertime have earned a ferocious reputation 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. Their excursions to the borders of modal jazz, post-punk, dub and afrobeat have built a sound that is simultaneously unique to the band and a microcosm of the thriving UK scene.  

The band’s new release with post-punk group Moron Butler catapults the voice and lyrics of Troy Osmond to the forefront, his insistent incantations interspersed with saxophone abstractions and fuelled by hard edged bass and drums. Jazz is dialled down in favour of the acerbic attack of Gang Of Four, distorted punk-dub of The Pop Group and the motoric drive of Can.  

Beginning as a free-improvising group in 2018, Vipertime have since produced three albums, achieving airtime on BBC Radios 2, 3 and 6 Music and Worldwide FM, are festival regulars (Solfest, London and Leeds Jazz Festivals), and have been championed by Gilles Peterson, Colin Curtis and Iggy Pop. 

 

Photography Credit: Natasha Joseph

Date: wednesday 20 may

Time: 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm

Price: £15 (£12 Concessions)

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Hania Derej Trio

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Matt & Phreds

Hania Derej piano & keyboard / Krzysztof Kuśmierek saxophone / Mateusz Szewczyk bass / Gniewomir Tomczyk drums 

Hania Derej is a Polish pianist-composer studying at Amsterdam Conservatoire. She creates music in a variety of styles, including jazz, chamber, film or electronic music, and brings her piano trio to M&Ps to share some of her 130+ compositions: jazz with neo-classical, impressionistic and cinematic harmonies. 

Hania has received numerous composition and performance awards, including the Young Composer 2023 prize from the Polish Composers’ Union, the Triton Award at FAMA Festival and in the JAZZTOP 2024 music critics’ survey of the international magazine JAZZFORUM, Hania won the New Hope award for her solo work. 

“Hania Derej captivates with her modesty, consistency and diligence” –  Gazeta Wyborcza Katowice 

Date: wednesday 20 may

Time: 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Price: Free

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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

Double Bill: Tom Cawley & Sarsen Drift

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Low Four Studio

Join us for an intimate evening with some of the UK’s pioneering contemporary artists to explore the richly blurred line between the acoustic and the treated electronic textures of the piano keyboard. 

Tom Cawley

Tom Cawley piano, electronics

Hot on the heels of the eponymous album – hailed as “Magnificent!” by artmuselondon – Tom Cawley brings Oktopus, Vol. 1 to manchester jazz festival.

An intriguing blend of acoustic piano and live electronic sampling/sequencing, this is a hugely expressive and dynamic set of original music and free improvisations. Cawley manipulates the piano to create enormous soundscapes, rhythmic mayhem, harmonic lushness and spontaneous moments of magic – performing on the instrument and machines at the same time.

Cawley has created cultured pianistic contributions to Peter Gabriel’s last three albums and, more recently, demonstrated his inventive command of synthesisers on records from Janek Gwizdala, Orlando le Fleming and Robin Mullarkey. Known for his energetic, driving keyboard playing with Acoustic Ladyland, his virtuosic piano playing here melds with forward-thinking electronics to produce a world of musical expression unlike anything else.

Sarsen Drift

Nick Walters trumpet, electronics / Rebecca Nash piano, electronics

Sarsen Drift presents The Sanctuary, a vibrant new project masterminded by pianist Rebecca Nash and trumpeter /producer Nick Walters.

The pair have always had a plan to combine musical forces, having individually notched up several acclaimed releases over the last twelve years. This new venture, firmly rooted in their mutual appreciation of electronica and jazz, began when Nick and Rebecca produced a Jazz South Radar Commission in 2020. Echoes of the influences of Royksopp, Aphex Twin, and Lemon Jelly can be heard in the mix of their sound, along with live improvisation.

The duo chose to explore the concept of ley-lines and their effect on the natural world, incorporating musical samples taken from Avebury Stone Henge and its surrounding areas. Nick and Rebecca have since continued to compose in the same trajectory, writing material to incorporate live electronics and samples alongside acoustic instruments.

Date: wednesday 20 may

Time: 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm

Price: £16.50

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