Venue: Band on the Wall (The Copper Bar)

Beat the Jams x mjf: Tom Thorp & George King

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Band on the Wall (The Copper Bar)

Tom Thorp saxophone, bass clarinet / George King piano 

Sit out the rush hour in style, with a special edition concert for mjf, from the Beat the Jams series at Band on the Wall. 

Thorp and King – both international award-winning soloists and composers – showcase brand new duo material and further reworkings of their original music spanning over a decade of performing together.  

Tom Thorp was first introduced to Mancunian audiences as an mjf introduces artist in 2012 and has since released four studio albums, playing his music across Europe, the Far East and Australia. His work is known for crossing genre boundaries, with a back catalogue spanning the jazz and classical worlds. He has shared the stage with jazz titans Bob Mintzer and Pee-Wee Ellis, been awarded commissions from the BBC Concert Orchestra and has performed at the Proms.  

George King won critical acclaim for his mjf originals commission Songs of the Caged Bird and has performed at internationally renowned venues from The Southbank Centre to Carnegie Hall. He’s equally known for his diverse CV, which encompasses published classical works for piano, improvised solo recitals and his work with bass guitar phenomenon Jah Wobble. 

A blend of virtuosic improvisation, lyrical melody and heavy influences from the classical and folk worlds, this intimate set promises an eclectic musical journey from two of Manchester’s leading contemporary jazz performers. 

Date: tuesday 19 may

Time: 6:00 pm - 7:15 pm

Price: £12.50 (adv) / £15 (door)

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Finite Experience

Band on the Wall (The Copper Bar)

Terhile Adamu guitar / Lauren Heywood vocals / Briana Smith flute / Lucca Sivori keyboards / Sean O’Donnell bass / Roc de Yzaguirre drums

The Finite Experience is an Afro Jazz-Fusion and neo-soul collective from Liverpool that serves as a vessel for bandleader/multi-instrumentalist Terhile’s creative voice. Through this evolving soundscape, the band blends the rhythmic richness of Afrobeat with the improvisational spirit of jazz, inviting listeners into a world where tradition and innovation coexist in harmony. 

Date: thursday 21 may

Time: 10:30 pm - 11:30 pm

Price: Free

Yoni Mayraz

Band on the Wall (The Copper Bar)

Yoni Mayraz keyboards / Tom Driessler bass / Zoe Pascal drums 

Fast-rising keyboardist/producer Yoni Mayraz combines jazz with elements of 90’s New York hip hop, old-school breakbeats, and Middle Eastern music to create shimmering new hybrid forms.  

Yoni burst onto the new jazz scene in 2020 and has since gained plaudits for the raw energy of his dance floor-focussed live shows and his debut release Dybbuk Tse! 

The music on his latest album, Dogs Bark Babies Cry, is a dense yet delicate listening experience and sees Yoni pushing his singular sound into deeper, wilder territory. It’s a bold, uncompromising statement built on tightly structured compositions and grooves, weaving together elements of 90s hip-hop, Middle Eastern textures, and electronic soundscapes, whilst echoing the sound of the great 70s jazz-funk trios.  

Dogs Bark Babies Cry evokes the moment when a commotion takes place. “Dogs start barking, babies cry. It’s an ominous sound, yet a natural one. One that can be heard from afar,” he explains.  

Yoni has been championed by media around the world, including BBC 6 Music, FIP Radio (FR), RTE (IE), and CLASH Magazine, and featured at Montreux and Brussels Jazz Festivals, Jazz Cafe, and Ronnie Scott’s.  

 

Photography credit: Daniel Shiff 

Date: friday 22 may

Time: 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Price: Free

Thiara Collective

Band on the Wall (The Copper Bar)

Akira Thiara guitar / Tatiana Benham flute / Richard Smith tenor saxophone / Nathan Stoker trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn / Roz Fearnehough trombone / Matthew Sosthieu  keyboards / Mara Cruz bass / Jamie Boyles drums / Ben Bowden percussion 

Infused with the boldness and innovation of the UK’s new wave jazz scene, Thiara Collective is a dynamic fusion of rhythmically audacious grooves and neo-soul harmonies.  

The band’s name embodies the family spirit inherent in today’s young Manchester music scene, where these players met and are steadfastly carving out their own confident identity. 

Date: friday 22 may

Time: 9:30 pm - 10:15 pm

Time: 10:45 pm - 11:30 pm

Price: Free

Manchild

Band on the Wall (The Copper Bar)

Charlie Davies saxophone / Toby Freeman keyboards / Scarlett Baxter drums 

Manchild is a Leeds-based electronic jazz trio whose music was born of late-night sessions in the city. Using a convoluted mixture of cassettes, field recorders and voice memos, they embrace tape and digital artifacts in their music. Expect theatrics, and nods to contemporary artists Knower, corto.alto and Herbie Hancock for this, their mjf debut.  

Date: saturday 23 may

Time: 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm

Price: Free

Flo/ra

Band on the Wall (The Copper Bar)

Flo Taylor alto saxophone / Thomas McEwen guitar / Callum Greenaway keyboards / Jaden Hart double bass / Louis Berthoud drums

Flo/ra is a genre-blurring jazz quintet led by Leeds saxophonist/composer Flo Taylor (Ferg’s Imaginary Big Band, Goddess Collective).  

With performances at Hyde Park Book Club and Lancaster Jazz Festival behind them, the band’s sound is crafted, varied and evolving: at times heavy and distorted, at others gentle and fragile. Their music draws on spiritual jazz, classical, folk, drum’n’bass and chant music, defying classification, and reflecting Flo’s own resistance to stereotypes as a neurodivergent queer person.  

Flo’s honest and open on-stage demeanour captures their approach to music: an invitation to listeners to be part of it, to come as you are, and to join the band on a journey through sometimes difficult concerns – grief, loss and overwhelm – but also brighter themes of finding community and belonging. 

 

Photography credit: Callum Greenaway

Date: sunday 24 may

Time: 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm

Price: Free

Band on the Wall Jazz Workshop Band

Band on the Wall (The Copper Bar)

Band on the Wall’s Jazz Workshop is the longest running of its kind in Manchester. 

Taught and directed by renowned saxophonist Munch Manship, it has become a creative hub for amateur jazz musicians from across the northwest who are passionate about the music and get together to play on a regular basis. 

For this festival gig, the workshop’s band will be performing some of the hottest and coolest numbers from the giants of jazz, at Manchester’s iconic music venue. 

Date: sunday 24 may

Time: 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm

Price: Free

Jon Onabowu

Band on the Wall (The Copper Bar)

Jon Onabowu drums / Francois Fasano guitar / David Mrakpor keyboards / Leslie Essel bass 

Jon Onabowu is a London-based drummer, composer, and bandleader whose work centres on high-energy live performance, deep groove, and collective improvisation. His contemporary jazz project is driven by feel, intensity and musical conversation, shaped in real time on stage. 

His live band features players from bands such as Blue Lab Beats, INSXGHT, Sugababes and Stormzy, creating a fluid line-up built around trust, interplay, and rhythmic clarity. 

Jon performs regularly as a bandleader at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club and has appeared at major festivals including North Sea and Montreux Jazz Festivals. 

Date: saturday 23 may

Time: 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Price: Free

Nout

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Band on the Wall (The Copper Bar)

Delphine Joussein flute, fx / Rafaëlle Rinaudo electric harp / Blanche Lafuente drums

“A riot of musicianship, foundation-shaking noise and fearless originality.” – All About Jazz

Flute, harp, drums: a rare combination turned upside down by this explosive, effervescent French trio on their UK debut. The missing link between Nirvana and Sun Ra, Nout pushes those instruments beyond their limits with the enthusiasm of a mad scientist in front of his vials.

Following in the wake of John Zorn’s experiments at the border of jazz and noise, Nout’s music thrusts you through surprising twists and turns: starting, eyes shut, on the red seat of a movie theatre, and ending up rocking in a mosh pit.

Date: saturday 23 may

Time: 10:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Price: £7.50 (*plus fees)

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