Narc. Magazine Online
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Three venues will host 15 diverse and enthralling acts
Image: Dennis Rollins by Darren Cowley
The Toon’s premier festival of all things jazz returns after a pandemic-enforced break to pick up where 2019’s marvellous revival left off! For almost fifty years the Newcastle Jazz Festival has long been a showcase of both local, national and international talent (from Ronnie Scott right through to Art Blakey) and this year’s stellar line-up is no exception.
Across the weekend of Friday 13th–Sunday 15th August, three venues (Tyne Bank Brewery, Newcastle Civic Centre and Flat Caps Café) will host performances from fifteen diverse and enthralling acts (including acts specially paired for the festival), ensuring NJF is guaranteed to be a strong testament to the constantly evolving and varied jazz community both in the North East and further afield.
Headliners include the Strictly Smokin’ Big Band & Alice Grace (paying tribute to the broad songbook of Ella Fitzgerald), Tyneside’s empress of the blues Mo Scott and Jay Phelps (who, in an illustrious career, has collaborated with the likes of Courtney Pine, George Benson, Jean Toussaint and even Amy Winehouse). Add into the mix the plethora of local acts including Not Now Charlie, Abbie Finn Trio and Swing Manouche among others, and it’s clear that the pandemic’s effect on live events has done little to stop the North East jazz scene from evolving and continuing to be both exciting and innovative.
