Manchester Jazz Festival (mjf) returns to the city for 10 days this May, and it’s not to be missed.
The city’s longest-running music festival, it’s completely unlike anything else in Manchester – featuring a jam-packed lineup showcasing some of the best names in UK contemporary jazz as well as up-and-coming talent from across the north of England.
Taking place from 20-29 May, the festival opens this weekend with a free weekender at Escape To Freight Island, followed by ticketed weekday gigs across the city.
Free performances will also take place in Piccadilly Station and Barbirolli Square this year as part of new work commissioned through the festival’s mjf Originals scheme.
Elsewhere, budding pianists are being encouraged to take part in the mjf piano trial, which sees thirteen pianos placed across Manchester city centre, courtesy of Forsyth’s Music.
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As part of the new piano trail, pianists of all skill levels are being encouraged to share their performances for a chance to win some top prizes – including their very own piano.
Rum Buffalo will be performing at Manchester Jazz festival 2022. / Image: mjf
From 20-29 May, mjf2022 will see gigs taking place from the likes of Nubya Garcia, Secret Night Gang, Tim Garland, Anthony Joseph, Zoe Rahman, Rum Buffalo, and Daniel Casimir.
Festival-goers can also check out weekday gigs at St Ann’s Church, The Yard, Matt & Phreds and Forsyth Music, before the festival closes with an extended weekend-long party at Band on the Wall.
Speaking on the upcoming festival, Steve Mead, mjf CEO and Artistic Director, said: “As well as taking audiences on a journey across Manchester’s iconic venues, we’re bringing you an exceptional array of jazz sounds by the very best players, and some new music encounters that you’ll be able to experience for free across the city centre.
“We can’t wait for you to join us.”
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2022 Manchester Jazz Festival highlights
Escape To Freight Island will play host to a free opening weekend to launch the Manchester Jazz Festival. / Image: Escape To Freight Island
Escape to Freight Island, 20-22 May
Escape to Freight Island will play host to the festival for a free opening weekender featuring performances from Secret Night Gang, Daniel Casimir, Xhosa Cole Quartet, Intergalactic Brasstronauts, Emma Johnson’s Gravy Boat, Dirty Freud, Jasmine Myra, Dilettante, Sarah Heneghan: Power Out, Kara, Nguvu, The Deportees, Abbie Finn Trio, Timeline, Ain’t Misbehaving’. There will also be family-friendly activities and DJs playing all weekend.
The Yard, presented in association with NQ Jazz, 23-25 May
Anthony Joseph, Emma Rawicz Quintet, Alex Hitchcock’s Dream Band will play at The Yard over three dates this May.
St Ann’s Church, 23-27 May
Zoe Rahman, Skylla, Brigitte Beraha’s Lucid Dreamers, Sara Colman & Rebecca Nash will all perform at St Ann’s Church as part of the festival.
Matt and Phreds, 20-29 May
Jeremy Sassoon Quartet, Heavy Beat Brass Band, Alligator Gumbo, Honey Bee Jazz, Rum Buffalo, Baiana, Nonunonu, Shapeshifters will perform at Northern Quarter jazz bar Matt and Phreds as part of a collaborative Open Jam night with mjf.
Band on the Wall, 26-29 May
Nubya Garcia, Mulatu Astatke, Tim Garland Group, Gary Crosby Sextet: Mingus Moves, Craig Charles Funk & Soul Club, Ayanna Witter Johnson, Hackney Colliery Band will take over Band on the Wall as part of the festival this month.
Forsyth Music, 27 May
The Ronnie Scott’s Trio featuring James Pearson – Remembering Oscar Peterson: A portrait of a jazz legend.
Lara Jones will stage her new work Ensō in a specially constructed geodesic dome in Manchester Piccadilly station. / Image: mjf
mjf originals performances at Piccadilly Station, May 19 – 22
Sax player and electronic musician Lara Jones will stage her new work Ensō in a specially constructed geodesic dome in Manchester Piccadilly station. Audiences can enjoy free performances of the immersive, cinematic audio-visual experience based on Lara’s field recordings of train journeys to loved ones.
Ruby Tingle will present Fountainia, a new piece inspired by Manchester’s unique relationship with water, at Barbiriolli Square. / Image: Manchester Jazz Festival
Barbirolli Square, May 27 and 28
Audiovisual artist and performer Ruby Tingle will present Fountainia, her new music inspired by Manchester’s unique relationship with water, particularly its public water features. The free evening performances will take place in Barbirolli Square next to the Bridgewater Hall.
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mjf piano trail, May 18-29
The mjf and Forsyth’s music shop are on the hunt for Manchester’s most entertaining street pianist as a trail of 13 street pianos are placed across the city. There’s a whole raft of prizes up for grabs, including a Yamaha P-45B piano, a return ticket for 4 anywhere on the Northern Rail Network, a gift package and vouchers worth over £100 from Quayside Media City UK and a £30 Wagamama voucher for each prize winner.
Read more:
Tim Garland. /. Image: MJF
How to get tickets
MJF 2022 will take place from May 20-29 in venues across Manchester city centre.
Tickets for the Manchester Jazz Festival are available now at manchesterjazz.com
News
Salford confirms another ex-player as new CEO of phoenix rugby club
Danny Jones
As Salford turns the page of a new chapter in its rugby league history, ex-Red Devils player Ryan Brierley has been announced as the new chief executive officer (CEO).
His appointment was confirmed on Wednesday, 24 December, giving Salford rugby fans some fresh hope over the festive period.
Brierley, who played as a full back at Salford Red Devils from 2022 before leaving for Oldham RLFC halfway through last season earlier this year, follows fellow former player Mason Caton-Brown in returning to the team in a leadership capacity.
Sharing the news on his own social media, he wrote: “Incredibly honoured to announce I have been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Salford RLFC.”
His official statement goes on to read: “I would like to place on record my gratitude to the board members Malcolm Crompton, Mason Caton Brown and Paul Hancock for this opportunity. I would also like to thank the RFL and Salford City Council for their continued support.
“Lastly, but most importantly, to the Salford fans: what we had to go through last year was heartbreaking. I think I can speak to the wider Rugby League community and echo the sentiments of all fans that no club should ever go through that experience.
“Thank you for letting me lead this organisation into a new era. I’ve always said Salford people are my people and I will protect this club, with its best interests at heart. It is important [that] expectations are managed, and patience is required.”
He signed off by simply asking for the same support he was afforded as a fan, adding: “I have no doubt in my mind that you will go above and beyond, it’s just what Salford fans do…”
Led by the aforementioned Caton-Brown (a retired winger who played for the Red Devils between 2014-26), as well as another pair of directors in Hancock and Crompton, the Salford phoenix club has officially been given a Championship license for 2026.
Although relegation from the Super League and liquidation after 152 years were dark days for the club, this new consortium has already provided fans with some promising signs.
Besides saving the Salford sporting institution from total extinction, having previous members of the old outfit who know the bones, the stadium, the culture and the city so well is obviously a big bonus.
For now, it is a race against time to get a squad ready for the season opener against Brierley’s last team, Oldham – though contracts for a head coach and several players have reportedly been “pre-agreed”.
Featured Images — John Moorhouse (via Geograph)/supplied (via Rumpus PR)
News
Netflix drops the first trailer for upcoming Peaky Blinders film
Danny Jones
It looks like Christmas has come early for TV drama fans and cinephiles, because Netflix has officially dropped the first trailer for the upcoming Peaky Blinders movie.
Popcorn at the ready – even the teaser alone has got us fired up.
ln just 70 seconds, they’ve managed to pull us right back in, and we cannot wait to see Cillian Murphy back in full-on Tommy Shelby mode.
Not exaggerating when we say we have LITERAL chills.
As you can see, they certainly haven’t scrimped on the budget with the first-ever feature-length Peaky Blinders film, neither in terms of production value nor the cast.
Then again, having already hosted the likes of Sam Neill, Tom Hardy, Adrien Brody, Anya Taylor-Joy and others in the series itself, as well as going on to become one of the most successful BBC shows of all time, they were never going to.
We’re sure you spotted plenty of them for yourselves, but the debut trailer for The Immortal Man gives us not only our first glimpses of now Oscar-winning Murphy, 49, back in the saddle (both figuratively and literally) but also fellow blockbuster Irish actor, Barry Keoghan.
Other big names set to appear in the movie – set for a limited release in theatres before launching exclusively on Netflix – include Rebecca Ferguson and Tim Roth. It still remains unclear, however, as to how any of these characters will knit into the new season.
It’s also worth noting that the trailer shares a little snippet of the historical context, this continuation of the Shelby story is playing into, as we see what looks to be Nazi figures meeting on screen.
Creator Steven Knight has already confirmed that the plot will fast-forward some years to meet back up with Tommy at the outset of WWII and his ancestral home of Birmingham during the Blitz.
Having already confirmed 6 March as the theatrical release date ahead of it going live on Netflix a fortnight later, the anticipation was seriously starting to ramp; this latest look has only added to the tinderbox of excitement.
What do you make of the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man trailer, and will you be watching it?
Georgina Pellant -
18th May 2022 
