“If someone doesn’t ‘get’ jazz, how do you woo them towards enjoying it? The Cheltenham Jazz Festival”

The Times

Following a two-year break, Cheltenham Jazz Festival makes a much-anticipated return to the picturesque spa town of Cheltenham this spring for six days of live music featuring its trademark mix of international stars, jazz icons and trailblazing up-and-coming talent. Celebrating its milestone 25th edition, the Festival will take place from Wednesday 27 April to Monday 2 May incorporating large-scale concerts, intimate club shows, world premieres, masterclasses, family-friendly shows and an array of free events.

Amongst the names announced for this year’s event are star US vocalist Gregory Porter, who returns as the Festival’s Artistic Curator, legendary Led Zeppelin rocker Robert Plant with his Saving Grace project, Golden Globe winning pianist, singer and broadcaster Jamie Cullum, multi-million-selling BRIT Award winner Emeli Sandé, blues pop troubadour James Bay, two-time Grammy-winning UK singer Corinne Bailey Rae, chart-topping pianist and singer Tom Odell, and the multi-instrumentalist and Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement Award winner Nitin Sawhney.

BBC Radio 2 Celebrates 25 Years of Cheltenham Jazz Festival and the 100th anniversary of the BBC, in a special concert on Thursday 28 April to be broadcast on Sunday Night Is Music Night. 70 musicians including the Guy Barker Big Band and BBC Concert Orchestra will premiere a unique symphonic celebration commissioned by the Festival. The concert will also celebrate the past 100 years of British jazz, as well as some of the standout moments from across the Festival’s 25-year history featuring guest appearances from Gregory Porter, Paloma Faith and Imelda May.

The British jazz scene will be heavily reflected with shows from an array of its new stars including pioneering five-piece Ezra Collective, saxophonist Nubya Garcia, MOBO award-winning drummer Moses Boyd, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jordan Rakei, fast-emerging singer Cherise, and Mercury-nominated trumpeter Laura Jurd. Plus shows from a dazzling selection of the scene’s more established acts including Mike Westbrook, Iain Ballamy, Zoe Rahman Quintet, Neil Charles, Graham Costello’s Strata, and saxophonist Paul Dunmall in a group with Matthew Shipp, Joe Morris and Gerald Cleaver.

This year’s Festival will also present a series of ground-breaking collaborations including Imelda May performing an exclusive one-off show with the Ronnie Scott’s Big Band, legendary US saxophonist Gary Bartz with London six-piece Maisha, Brazilian icon Hermeto Pascoal teaming up with National Youth Jazz Orchestra, and the Dave Douglas and Joey Baron Duo.

Additional concerts across the five days include shows from revered keyboardist and Gil Scott Heron collaborator Brian Jackson, ‘60s soul great PP Arnold, the folk, jazz, pop and chamber music stylings of Penguin Café, powerhouse LA-based singer Lady Blackbird, the father of Ethio-jazz Mulatu Astatke, Afrobeat ensemble Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, American avant-garde pianist Myra Melford, Swiss vocalist Lucia Cadotsch in a band with Kit Downes, Phil Donkin and James Maddren, Austrian phenomenon Shake Stew,  blues/rock singer and guitarist Joanne Shaw Taylor, and blues harmonica wizard Errol Linton.

Invisible, Real - a brand-new audio-visual performance-installation by Faye MacCalman will create a subconscious dream-zone space exploring mental illness and inner worlds. The piece was commissioned as part of Cheltenham Jazz Festival’s Jerwood Jazz Encounters programme.

The Festival’s talent development strand offers opportunities for young, up-and-coming jazz artists. The sought-after Double Bill pairing in the Arena for rising stars will feature New York bass player and vocalist Adeline and songwriter Lola Young. Two emerging artists feature in the Showcase concert: Elles Bailey + Georgia Cecile. Kansas Smitty’s late-night takeover sessions in The Daffodil will introduce special guests from across the Festival programme and there is an international collaboration between the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and students from Siena. On the Free Stage, local school jazz bands will entertain the crowds in the popular Jazz It Up morning sessions. Meanwhile the very youngest jazz fans can enjoy a Family Concert with CBeebies stars YolanDa’s Band Jam.

Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2022 is hosted in a tented festival village in Montpellier Gardens, featuring the Big Top stage, Jazz Arena, Free Stage, a programme of family activities and events and a food, drink and market area. The Festival reaches beyond the festival village into Cheltenham, bringing jazz to venues throughout the day until late into the night. These include Cheltenham Town Hall, Cheltenham Ladies’ College, Parabola Arts Centre, Hotel du Vin, and The Daffodil, as well as a dynamic free …around town programme in association with Cheltenham BID. 

The full line-up for this year’s festival is below.

 Tickets go on general sale from Wednesday 2 March 2022 from http://www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/jazz.

Link to full brochure here.

For further information, including interview requests, please contact Joe Baxter:

Cheltenham Jazz Festival

In association Partner: BBC Radio 2

Cheltenham Festivals is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation

Principal Partner: Henry Westons Vintage Cider

Major Partners: Attivo Group, Cheltenham BID, Cotswolds Distillery, The Daffodil, Hazlewoods, Investec, Kohler Mira, My Pension Expert, Thirty Percy

Cheltenham Jazz Festival’s Jerwood Jazz Encounters Programme is an artist development opportunity designed with the support of Jerwood Arts to create ground-breaking new ways to present jazz at Festivals and outdoor sites across England. Supported by Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Jerwood Arts, PRS Foundation and Keith Norton & Louise Hewitt in partnership with 101 Outdoor Arts Creation Space, Birmingham City University, Britten Pears Arts, Manchester Jazz Festival, Oxford Contemporary Music, Sage Gateshead and The Space

Cheltenham Festivals is a PRS Foundation Talent Development Partner and has signed up to the PRS Foundation’s Keychange programme which aims for a 50:50 gender balance across the Festival line-up.

 

Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2022:

 

Wednesday 27 April 

Corinne Bailey Rae - Henry Westons Big Top

Denny Illett Sings Sinatra and Nat ‘King’ Cole - The Daffodil

 

Thursday 28 April

BBC Radio 2 Celebrates Jazz at the 25th Cheltenham Jazz Festival - Henry Westons Big Top 

Joanne Shaw Taylor - Jazz Arena

Liane Carroll - The Daffodil

 

Friday 29 April

Emeli Sandé - Henry Westons Big Top

Nitin Sawhney - Jazz Arena

Ezra Collective and Nubiyan Twist - Cheltenham Town Hall

Kansas Smitty’s - The Daffodil

Lucia Cadotsch with Kit Downes, Phil Donkin and James Maddren - Parabola Arts Centre

Zoe Rahman Quintet - Parabola Arts Centre

Errol Linton - The Daffodil

 

Saturday 30 April

Holly Thomas - Hotel du Vin

Imelda May and Ronnie Scott’s Big Band - Henry Westons Big Top

James Bay - Henry Westons Big Top

Gregory Porter - Henry Westons Big Top

NYJO + Hermeto Pascoal - Jazz Arena

Lady Blackbird - Jazz Arena

Nubya Garcia - Cheltenham Town Hall

Jordan Rakei - Cheltenham Town Hall

Cherise - The Daffodil

 Kansas Smitty’s - Cheltenham Town Hall

 Dave Douglas and Joey Baron - Jazz Arena

The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire - Parabola Arts Centre

 Neil Charles: Dark Days - Parabola Arts Centre

Shake Stew - Parabola Arts Centre 

Graham Costello’s STRATA - Parabola Arts Centre 

Invisible, Real by Faye McCalman - Venue tbc

BAM! Babies’ Adventures in Music - Discovery Space 

Family Sing with Juliet Kelly - Discovery Space

Adriano Adewale: A World of Sound and Percussion - Discovery Space

 

Sunday 1 May

Showcase: Elles Bailey and Georgia Cécile - Jazz Arena

Tom Odell - Henry Westons Big Top

Double Bill: Adeline and Lola Young - Henry Westons Big Top

Saving Grace ft Robert Plant and Suzi Dian - Henry Westons Big Top

Electric Lady Big Band - Jazz Arena

Gary Bartz & Maisha - Jazz Arena

Penguin Cafe - Cheltenham Town Hall

PP Arnold - Cheltenham Town Hall   

Mulatu Astatke - Cheltenham Town Hall

Kansas Smitty’s - The Daffodil

Emma Smith - The Daffodil

Paul Dunmall with Matthew Shipp, Joe Morris and Gerald Cleaver - Parabola Arts Centre  

Iain Ballamy with Rob Luft, Huw Warren, Conor Chaplin and Will Glaser - Parabola Arts Centre 

Mike Westbrook: The Uncommon Orchestra: On Duke’s Birthday - Parabola Arts Centre 

Laura Jurd Ensemble - Parabola Arts Centre  

Invisible, Real by Faye McCalman - Venue tbc

Jazz Babies with Holly Thomas - Discovery Space

Jazz Kids with Alex Woods - Discovery Space 

Grace Savage Beatbox Champion! - Discovery Space

 

Monday 2 May

Jamie Cullum - Henry Westons Big Top

Seun Kuti and Africa 80 - Henry Westons Big Top

Gabrielle - Henry Westons Big Top

Family Concert – YolanDa’s Band Jam - Jazz Arena

Moses Boyd - Jazz Arena

Brian Jackson - Jazz Arena

Myra Melford Quintet - Parabola Arts Centre

Bonfire Radicals - Discovery Space

Brass Blast! - Discovery Space