Manchester Jazz Festival

Manchester has been possessed by the spirits of Chet Baker and Duke Ellington this week and there’s not a priest in the city that can exorcise it.
For those already in the know, Manchester’s Jazz Festival has taken over the city. This is the 13th edition of this musical showcase of sax power.
An amalgam of Northwest and worldwide talent, this festival features 60 bands in 10 venues, day and night until the 26th.

Performers such as The Troubadours featuring Kirsty Almeida; the Tom Sykes Quartet, Alex Douglas and Steve Grossman – the US Sax player from Miles Davis’ late 60’s jazz-fusion band - will be out there pouring sweet musical syrup into your ears, making your head swing to the heights and grooves of Bossa and bebop.

As a non-smoker it’s the only time I’d endorse lifting the smoking ban, purely because I grew up with images of smoky joints and trumpets; the two seemed as necessarily accompanied as Sonny and Cher.

Conceived in New Orleans and moving up the Mississippi River to Memphis, St. Louis and finally Chicago -Jazz is an artistic phenomenon, weaving together African tribal music, French hornets and scales, African-American rhythms and a dash of myth and folklore.

Jazz, like no other music, offers unprecedented scope for improvisation, ad-libbing, and exploration of the human condition. Structure is torn apart and what remains is a free-flowing beat of the conscience. Jazz is perennially cool and never irrelevant. Unlike many musical styles, it transcends eras and is never a fad.

The Beat Generation couldn’t exist without it and much of our inspiring and prophetic literature would remain unwritten. That’s something you could never say about the Cheeky Girls or Britney.

The events and venues are scattered around the city, so whether you’re a real jazz fan or simply a jazz tourist, there will be something to entertain you – from photographic exhibitions of jazz history to jam sessions that you can join in.

If you get the opportunity get out here, don’t let it pass – head out to Manchester, a city that’s currently performing as a New Orleans drag act, and get your groove on.

“Why all the fuss?” you ask.
As Louis Armstrong once said, "If you gotta ask, you’ll never know"

Festival runs from 18th-26th July. For a programme visit www.manchesterjazz.com.