A Spring season of top acts and emerging artists from the jazz, soul and funk world has been announced by Sage Gateshead today.
The Comet is Coming, Booker T. Jones and Ronnie Scott’s All Stars are among the highlights for Spring 2019.
Sage Gateshead’s New Year New Artist Festival in January will showcase some exciting, new generation artists including Vels Trio and the math rock and electronic sounds of Slow Loris and Purpleshirt. April 1 will see the first North East visit for Mercury Prize nominated, cosmic-psychedelic jazz trio The Comet is Coming. And in May the pioneering Gondwana records label (home to GoGo Penguin and Portico Quartet) celebrates 10 years with a special one-nighter featuring first visits by Mammal Hands, Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra, Noya Rayo and more.
Fans of boundary crossing, contemporary jazz/classical will enjoy ECM recording artist Tigran Hamasyan’s sensational solo piano and choral concert on January 26, with special guests Voices of Hope choir. March 3 will see Trumpet player/composer Laura Jurd and guests the Ligeti Quartet, Dinosaur, Heida Mobeck and Anja Lauvdal in a celebration of new sounds. This dynamic 14-piece ensemble will be made up of world-class improvisers and contemporary music-makers from Norway and the UK.
Also from Norway is spellbinding composer and tuba player Daniel Herskedal, appearing on March 23, promoting his third album Voyage on Edition Records. Following his recently released solo album, two-time Grammy-winning pianist and founding member of Snarky Puppy, Bill Laurance, will perform on April 6.
The legendary Booker T.Jones makes a welcome return to delight funk and soul fans on February 26. And The Cinematic Orchestra will also return to Sage One in the Spring with full details to be announced early in the New Year.
Mark Nightingale and his Strictly Smokin’ Big Band perform on February 23 and on April 26 the Ronnie Scott’s All Stars will perform their 60th Anniversary Concert. Direct from London’s world-famous jazz club, combining world class live jazz alongside rare archive photos and video footage, the band will take the audience on a guided, musical tour of what has now become a music institution.
The season is part of a refreshed approach to programming jazz at Sage Gateshead, which will see a broader year-round programme and a new, fixed-date slot for the Gateshead International Jazz Festival. The annual festival will be relaunched on the third full weekend of March (20-22) in 2020 after taking a break next year.
Tamsin Austin, Director of Performance Programme at Sage Gateshead, said: “We are very excited about entering a new era for jazz at Sage Gateshead. We are currently focusing on delivering a broader, year-round programme to grow our audiences.
“We have a fantastic Spring season of performances from across a range of jazz/cross over genres and at the same time we are working hard on refreshing our annual festival so that we can strengthen the offer at Sage Gateshead for the long term.”
For more information on jazz at Sage Gateshead or to book tickets visit www.sagegateshead.com
- 18 January – Vels Trio + Slow Loris + Purple Shirt
- 26 January – Tigran including special guests Voices of Hope
- 26 February – Booker T. Jones
- 3 March – Laura Jurd & guests ft. the Ligeti Quartet, Dinosaur, Heidi Mobeck & Anja Lauval
- 23 March – Daniel Herskedal
- Spring - The Cinematic Orchestra (full details to be announced in the New Year).
- 1 April – The Comet is Coming
- 6 April – Bill Laurance
- 26 April – Ronnie Scott’s All Stars
- 3 May – Gondwana Records 10: Mammal Hands, Matthew Halsall & Gondwana Orch, Noya Rao, Caoilfhionn Rose and Hania Rani
