Venue: The Carlton Club

Big Ideas x mjf

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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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Brume x mjf: Stuart McCallum solo + vanillaforever – Beyond Nightmares + Emma Coates

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The Carlton Club

Please note, tickets go off sale at 7pm for this event via Eventbrite on the day of the event, but tickets are available to buy on the door at The Carlton Club.

A special mjf bill for the monthly Brume night at Whalley Range’s favourite independent music venue.  

NB Running order subject to change. 

Stuart McCallum

Stuart McCallum guitars 

Stuart McCallum is a genre-defying guitarist, composer, and producer whose music weaves together jazz, folk, ambient, and electronic textures. His solo performances of original material, alongside arrangements of old English folk songs, jazz standards and classical works are defined by spacious harmonic voicings, expressive use of reverb and delay, and melodic and virtuosic improvisation. 

Stuart rose to prominence as guitarist with The Cinematic Orchestra; he is also one half of The Breath, whose blend of alt-folk and ambient textures earned a BBC Folk Award nomination. Rooted in a deep commitment to sonic identity, Stuart’s work has also explored how new technologies — including immersive audio and AI-enhanced creation — can amplify emotional depth in music. 

His solo guitar catalogue includes Solitude (a series of acoustic EPs), Vinyl Room Session and Rain Is Coming, which uses generative music apps to create evolving sonic beds for improvisation and composition. 

Stuart has collaborated with artists across genres, including Jordan Rakei, Richard Spaven, JP Cooper, Manu Delago, John Surman, Kenny Wheeler, Ari Hoenig, Ira Coleman, Danny Thompson, and Michael McGoldrick.  

Emma Coates 

Emma Coates vocals, saxophone / Tom McEwen guitar / Nika Ticciati bass / Louis Berthoud drums 

Weaving jazz and folk, Leeds singer and saxophonist Emma Coates creates an intricate, intimate sound, taking inspiration from Men I Trust, Adrianne Lenker and This Is The Kit. She creates deeply personal storytelling, exploring feminine identity and growth, complimented by the delicate and airy tones of her voice and band. 

Her debut EP ‘Borrower’ attracted acclaim from BBC Radio 3, BBC Introducing and Amazing Radio. 

 vanillaforever – Beyond Nightmares 

vanillaforever is the new project by Ruben Sheriden, familiar to Manchester audiences as the resident drum chair for expansive nu-jazz guitar trio nonunonu.  For tonight’s Brume mjf special, Ruben brings together a group of like-minded spirits to explore textures, layers and beats, in keeping with the fertile testing ground of this much-loved monthly night. 

Date: tuesday 19 may

Time: 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Price: £15

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