FULL PROGRAMME LISTINGS (*)

Friday 12 July – From 4pm

The Wonder of Stevie with Derek Nash and Noel McCalla
Ian Shaw and Tony Kofi – Tribute To Billy Strayhorn
Art Themen’s Organ Quintet
The Sound of Bluenote with Greg Abate
Horns Upfront
Thokozile
Jivin’ Miss Daisy

Saturday 13 July – From 10.30am 

New Orleans Festival Parade
The Emma Rawicz Jazz Orchestra
The Gary Crosby Sextet ‘Mingus Moves’
The Brandon Allen Groove Band
Dave Newton/Alan Barnes Duo
Henry Lowther’s Still Waters
The Clark Tracey Quintet
The Emma Rawicz Quintet
The Noemi Nuti Quartet
Yetii
Soldoro
Jazz Knots
The TJ Johnson Band with Alex Clarke
Forest Hill Owls
Songs of 1924 with Janie Day and Martin Litton
Martin Litton’s Red Hot Peppers

Sunday 14 July – From 11am

The Liane Carroll Trio
Zoe Rahman’s Colour of Sound Octet
Five Way Split
The Printmakers with Norma Winstone and Nikki Iles
The Henry Spencer Band
The Alyn Shipton Quartet plays Gerry Mulligan
Marianne Windham’s Jazz Samba Project
The Andy Hague Quintet
Lucy Moon sings Anita O’Day
Alex Webb’s Quintet Blue
Digby Fairweather’s Half Dozen
John Maddocks’ Jazzmen
The Gin Bowlers
Vintage Jazz Collective

Plus free Festival Fringe in Swanage Hotels and Pubs – details to be announced. And free outdoor concerts

(TEXT OF PRESS RELEASE BEGINS)

“Swanage Jazz Festival launches 2024 Programme Friday 12th July – Sunday 14h July 2024

·            Swanage Jazz Festival announces its biggest programme since 2018

·            Second Marquee added on Sandpit Field, increasing Festival capacity

·            Arts Council funding secured for a new bands and new audiences programme.

Tickets have gone on sale for the 33rd Swanage Jazz Festival featuring another wide range of the best UK jazz on offer.  The programme starts at 4pm on Friday 12 July and runs through to 10.30pm on Sunday 14 July.

Headline names in the 50 Band programme include:

Liane Carroll Trio – their first performance at Swanage for 10 years
The Emma Rawicz Jazz Orchestra
Ian Shaw and Tony Kofi performing a tribute to Billy Strayhorn
Zoe Rahman’s Colours of Sound Octet
Gary Crosby’s Mingus Moves Band
The Wonder of Stevie with Derek Nash and Noel McCalla
The Printmakers with Nikki Iles and Norma Winstone

An Abundance of Talent

The 2024 Swanage programme includes ‘old favourites’ and British Jazz legends such as Dave Newton and Alan Barnes, Norma Winstone, performing with The Printmakers,  The Clark Tracey Quintet, Art Themen’s Organ Quintet, American alto saxist Greg Abate and the return of Henry Lowther’s Still Waters who performed to great acclaim in 2022.

These are complemented by new rising stars including Emma Rawicz who performs with her quintet and her 20 piece Orchestra, trumpeter Henry Spencer and his band and singer Noemi Nuti and her quintet.

The Sound of Things To Come

Swanage Jazz Festival has secured funding from Arts Council England and Dorset Council to attract new bands and new audiences in a programme titled ‘The Sound of Things to Come’  This programme will mostly be housed in a 250 seat marquee on Swanage’s Sandpit Field which overlooks the sea, expanding the Festival’s capacity.  The detail of the ‘The Sound of Things to Come’ programme will be announced in March.

Party on Friday

Swanage’s Friday programme takes on a party atmosphere with West and South African influenced Thokozile, Horns Upfront providing a Tower of Power atmosphere followed by Derek Nash and Noel McCalla jazzing up Stevie Wonder with their ‘Wonder of Stevie’ show.

New Orleans Programme

Swanage’s programme always includes a lively New Orleans and mainstream element and this year that programme strand includes Simon Thorpe’s exuberant ‘Jivin’ Miss Daisy’ band, Martin Litton’s Red Hot Peppers and trumpeter Digby Fairweather’s Half Dozen, his first appearance at Swanage for nine years.

Gerry Mulligan feature

Renowned author and broadcaster Alyn Shipton will be talking about his book on Gerry Mulligan and later performing music from Mulligan’s pianoless Quartet and at least one Jazz Jam session is planned. Work is also underway to re-stage the Sunday morning Jazz and Gospel Service at Swanage Methodist Church which proved very popular in 2023.

Festival Fringe

The Festival will have a free Festival Fringe in pubs and clubs with over 20 bands expected and the Festival expects to host up to four youth Big Bands in Swanage’s iconic refurbished bandstand.

Tickets

Advance Tickets for this jam-packed weekend of quality Jazz are £140 for a weekend stroller, £43 for a Friday-only stroller and £82 for a Saturday or Sunday Stroller. Stroller tickets give purchasers access to all ticketed venues, subject to capacity.   Advance tickets are on sale until 31 May and prices will rise from 1 June.  

Tickets are available from www.swanagejazzfestival.co.uk/tickets  Residents of the BH19 post code can get a 10% discount on the above prices.  Those tickets will only be available to purchase in person from Swanage Information Centre, Shore Road and will be available from a date in March to be announced.

(*)Some further acts are yet to be booked and programme updates will be made in due course.

Paul Kelly, Chair of Swanage Jazz Festival said, “Following the success of our 2023 Festival we are delighted to be bringing an even bigger programme of top-quality artists to Swanage in 2024.  We are grateful to Arts Council England and Dorset Council for helping us build the Festival capacity.  We are probably the largest Festival on the South Coast of England programming just Jazz and nothing else and we are one of the largest Jazz Festivals in England with a unique and wonderful setting. We are so much looking forward to July and hearing such a wonderful and diverse array of sounds and styles”.   (ENDS)

LINKS: Swanage Jazz Festival website /bookings