New location: WHELLEY EX-SERVICEMEN'S CLUB, VAUXHALL RD, WIGAN, WN1 3LU
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New location: WHELLEY EX-SERVICEMEN'S CLUB, VAUXHALL RD, WIGAN, WN1 3LU
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25TH WIGAN JAZZ FESTIVAL: THE PARTY'S OVER Well the Silver Jubilee Wigan International Jazz Festival has come and gone, leaving many great memories and, appropriately, renewing old friendships and forging new ones. The challenge of finding a new venue was overcome, and Celebration Hall materialised within the shell of a sports hall - providing a venue appreciated by the musicians and fans alike, if early feedback is anything to go on. For the 25th festival (and how many festivals can boast a quarter century of events?) a truly special lineup was assembled. Under the title of 'Looking Forward... Looking Back', we welcomed back many old friends (notably our musician in residence, Bobby Shew) as well as some of the finest of today's jazz musicians. Big bands were, as always, to the fore - this year we welcomed the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, the Gordon Campbell Big Band, the Big Chris Barber Band, the Stan Tracey Big Band, the Columbia Jazz Band (USA), the Drake University Jazz Orchestra (USA) and our own Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra (featuring Bobby Shew). It wasn't all big bands, however, and other artists appearing in our celebrity concert series included the Monty Alexander Trio, the Gerald Clayton Trio in a double bill with the sensational US vocal group Take 6, and the great American vocalist Curtis Stigers. The programme of lunchtime concerts at the Wigan Cricket Club was the strongest ever, and most of the shows were packed. Artists included Tommy Whittle & Karen Sharp, the Mark Nightingale / Nigel Hitchcock Quintet, the Joe Stilgoe Trio, the Stan Tracey Quartet, and Bobby Shew with Alistair White & the Dave Newton Trio. There were also Dinner Jazz concerts at Rigalettos restaurant , free street performances in Wigan town centre, seminars, instrumental and vocal workshops, and an art exhibition featuring the jazz paintings of Gordon Humphreys. For a selection of photographs from the main concerts, go to our Jazz Festival page. See also the item below for another take on the Festival. Your thoughts please: If you attended any or all of the Jazz Festival Events, please email wigan.jazz@virgin.net to let us know what you thought of the shows, the new venue, the Cricket Club lunchtime events, the fringe events and anything else that you want to comment on. Your comments will be passed on to the organisers, and a selection displayed on this site. In the meantime, the anticipation and planning for Festival No. 26 begins - roll on July 2011!
FORTHCOMING CONCERTS - NEW SEASON We kick off our 2010-11 season on September 26th with a very special concert featuring the award-winning FAT CHOPS BIG BAND, with vocalist MATTHEW FORD. On October 31st, we welcome from Scotland the STU BROWN SEXTET, with their tribute to the music of 1930s bandleader Raymond Scott (many of whose compositions are familiar to us from cartoon soundtracks). October also sees the first appearance of the new season by WIGAN YOUTH JAZZ ORCHESTRA. November 28th is the new date for a performance by our senior band, WIGAN JAZZ CLUB BIG BAND (postponed from earlier in the year). On TUESDAY December 28th, we present our now-traditional Christmas Jazz Club, featuring WIGAN YOUTH JAZZ ORCHESTRA, WIGAN YOUTH BIG BAND and WIGAN SCHOOLS' SWING BAND. Tickets will be on sale for this show, as we expect a sell-out attendance. Details of all these concerts can be found on our What's On page, with web links where available. For those who have yet to visit our new base at Whelley, links to maps and directions to the venue are below, but for those who know Wigan, it is just up the hill from Tesco (the former Central Park), at 180 Vauxhall Road, Wigan, WN1 3LU. Directions/map for Whelley Ex-Servicemen's Club (as recommended by Google maps) from M6 Junction 25 (northbound) from M6 Junction 26 From M6 Junction 27 from M61 Junction 6 from M61 Junction 5 from Wigan North-Western Rail Station (on foot)
JUNE JAZZ CLUB - NORTHERN JAZZ ORCHESTRA Today, Sunday June 27th, saw our final session of the 2009-10, when our guests were the excellent NORTHERN JAZZ ORCHESTRA led by ex-WYJO drummer Paul Rigby. Although seven of the band were ex-WYJO members, this was the first appearance by NJO at our club. Despite the competing attractions of sunshine and a certain football match, it was pleasing to see how many people made wise choice (all the more so in view of the result!) Pictures from this concert are now online - you can access them by clicking here , or navigate via the Photos menu for pictures from all this season's shows, as well as several years' archived pictures.
Jazz Club resumes in September (see below) but in the meantime we have the 25th Wigan International Jazz Festival starting on July 10th.
The Jazz Orchestra will once again be touring Ireland this August, with several concerts planned (see below), as well as the social side of the visit. Congratulations to the Ian and the band for their superb Festival performances, with guest star Bobby Shew. Such situations always seem to bring out the best of the band, and they earned their right to be on the main Festival Hall stage with an exceptional concert. The new CD 'WYJO Goes Green' is now on sale, and the feedback so far is excellent. Details of how to order it can be found elsewhere on this page. WYJO will be making 3 appearances in early September (see below) in Goose Green (Wigan), Atherton and Clitheroe. The Goose Green details are as follows: Wigan Jazz Club Presents A Concert of Big Band Music Featuring Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra Directed by Ian Darrington MBE Goose Green Labour Club, Wigan Thursday 2nd September 2010 Admission £5 Pay on the door Further details from: Gordon Humphreys 01925 727408, Ian Darrington 01942 243974 Mary Haynes 01942 720656
CALLING ALL ASPIRING JAZZ MUSICIANS - COMPETITION
Pure-Solo, in association with Jazz FM, are running a series of competitions. The superb prize is the chance to have a mentoring session and perform live with one of the following three jazz stars:
For more details click the banner above of go to www.puresolo.com
CRYPTIC PUZZLE - JAZZ FESTIVAL ARTISTS - ANSWER The series of cryptic clues to Jazz Festival artists concluded with the following clue: Clue: I ran into grand ensemble, and I ran it! (3, 10] The answer was IAN DARRINGTON, Festival Director and Musical Director of Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra. The clue contained the phrase I RAN INTO GRAND - an anagram of Ian Darrington, who of course 'ran it' (the Festival). Thanks to those who took part - a new puzzle feature will begin shortly.
WHAT'S NEW MAGAZINE FROM SANDY BROWN JAZZ We are happy to draw your attention to "What's New", the free monthly internet jazz magazine from the Sandy Brown Jazz website. To check it out, you can click on the link below: http://www.sandybrownjazz.co.uk/whatsnew.html
MAY JAZZ CLUB: STEVE PARRY & THE BIG BAND FROM HELL
Our guests for the May Jazz Club (Sunday May 30th) were the intriguingly named Steve Parry and The Big Band From Hell. Led by drummer and arranger Steve Parry, the mainly Leeds-based band lived up to their word-of-mouth reputation, delivering high quality Big Band music full of originality, excitement and high quality musicianship. The band featured several musicians who had previously brought their own smaller groups to Wigan, plus the classy vocals of Doreen Edwards. Photos from the event can be accessed by clicking here , or navigate via the photos menu to see these and several years of archived club photos.
APRIL JAZZ CLUB: SWINGSHIFT & SIMON SPILLETT
Our guests at Whelley for our April session were our old friends SWINGSHIFT BIG BAND, featuring SIMON SPILLETT. They played the Big Band music of the late Tubby Hayes, with Simon displaying not only his superb sax playing, but also his encyclopaedic knowledge of the life and work of Tubby Hayes. Swingshift recreated the sound of Tubby's Big Band with Debbie Wilson (appearing at Rigalettos as part of the Jazz Festival) adding her stylish vocals.Photos of the concert can be viewed here , or navigate via the Photos menu for this plus previous concerts.
MARCH JAZZ CLUB: DONCASTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA
What a delight to have our new home venue at Whelley Ex-Servicemens Club absolutely packed for our first regular session. It was pleasing to see just how many people had stayed with us in our migration, and also to see a lot of new faces. Our guest band for this occasion was the award-winning Doncaster Jazz Orchestra, directed by John Ellis, MBE. Doncaster Jazz Orchestra are the senior band of Doncaster Jazz, they proceeded to demonstrate just how well-deserved their reputation is. MD John Ellis MBE selected a well-balanced programme, a mixture of the familiar and the unexpected - the one common denominator being the expertise and panache which the band displayed throughout. Considering they had made the long journey over the Pennines, and had also lost an hour's sleep in the chance from GMT to BST, the band were amazingly fresh and dynamic. DJO have set a very high standard for the acts that follow them in our new home. Photos from the event are online now - click here to see them.
FINAL LOWTON CONCERT: BBQ + WYJO (FEB 28TH)
On February 28th we welcomed the talented young BBQ (Brownfield-Byrne Quintet), supported by WYJO for our final Jazz Club session at Lowton Civic Hall. It is with regret that we leave Lowton, where we have established a thriving base since our 'exile' from Wigan, but the need to plan for the future made it impossible to remain at a venue which the authority intends to close in the near future. It was wonderful to see such a huge turnout, and both BBQ and our own WYJO put on a wonderful show. More photos from the event can be viewed by clicking here, or by navigating via the photos menu.
JANUARY JAZZ CLUB AT LOWTON: BRASS JAW + WYJO
For our penultimate Jazz Club session at Lowton Civic Hall today (31st), we welcomed the critically acclaimed Brass Jaw - a virtuoso quartet comprised of three saxes and a trumpet. They proved to be innovative, entertaining and original, bringing something different to our Sunday sessions. They were ably supported by the continually improving Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra. The finale of the afternoon was when Brass Jaw combined with WYJO to display the fruits of their intensive rehearsal earlier in the day. Photos from this event are now online - click here to see them or use the photos menu to access our complete picture archive.
WYJO @ WHELLEY - REPORT AND PICTURES
Sunday January 17th saw a special Jazz Club session, a 'dry run' for our new home. As many will be aware, our present base at Lowton will be closed sometime in 2010, and after an exhaustive search for a new venue we have concluded that the Whelley Ex-Servicemen's Club seems to provide an excellent alternative, with the added benefit of being back in Wigan. The concert featured Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra and the aim was to allow everyone to experience the new venue for our club. It was wonderful to see so many of our 'regulars' there, and the general impression seemed to be positive, especially with regard to the suitability of the room and the general feeling that it was likely to make a good 'home' . If you have any comments on the venue, especially if you were at the concert, please email them to wigan.jazz@virgin.net . Photos of the venue and performers are now online - click here to view them.
CHRISTMAS JAZZ CLUB - WYJO/WYBB/WSSB
Our Christmas Jazz Club, at Lowton Civic Hall on Tuesday 29th January, was the now-traditional family day out, a perfect antidote to snow, sales and seasonal telly. Once again all three of Wigan's Youth bands were featured - Wigan Schools Swing Band, Wigan Youth Big Band (both directed by Andy Morel) and Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra (directed by Ian Darrington). The standard of musicianship was, as usual, excellent - and demonstrated once again that the next generation of young Wigan musicians will be ready to step up to the ranks of WYJO when the present members move on. Thanks to all the families who supported their children and made the occasion a great success. Pictures of all three bands are online - click here to see them.
NOVEMBER JAZZ CLUB: MAGIC HAT & W.Y.J.O.
Our November Jazz Club at Lowton featured two contrasting bands. Steve Chadwick's exciting Manchester-based five-piece, Magic Hat Ensemble, showed just why they have built up such a strong reputation on live appearances throughout the UK, with some dynamic virtuoso playing. Our own Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra made their first club appearance in their latest line-up, and it is clear that once again Ian has assembled a group of talented young players capable of carrying on the proud WYJO name. Pictures of both bands can be found here, or navigate via the photos menu to see pictures from all of our concerts in recent years.
OCTOBER JAZZ CLUB: BIG BAND THEORY
Summer time may have ended, autumn is definitely upon us, but our guests on Sunday October 25th, Big Band Theory, banished any seasonal blues with an outstanding performance. Led by Tez Smith, well-known for his work with High Brass, this fairly new addition to the north-west big band scene showed just why they made such an impression in their town centre performance during the Jazz Festival. Their superb ensemble playing and soloing was clearly appreciated by the sizeable audience at Lowton, and they will surely be back at the club before too long. Pictures from the event are now online - click here to see them, or navigate via the Photos menu.
SEPTEMBER JAZZ CLUB: STRATHCLYDE Y.J.O.
We kicked off our new season on Sunday 27th September with a welcome visit from the superb STRATHCLYDE YOUTH JAZZ ORCHESTRA, directed by Stewart Forbes. Despite the traffic (and catering) problems caused by a mass gathering of scooter riders in the car park, the band and a large audience eventually found their way into the hall and SYJO provided an excellent afternoon's entertainment; Stewart led the band through a demanding and varied programme, allowing them to display a high standard of ensemble playing and some excellent soloing. Pictures from the show are now online - to see them click here - or navigate via the Photos link to see these and previous photos.
2008-09 PHOTO ARCHIVE All the photos from last season can now be accessed on one page. Click here to see them or use the Photos link to find all of the archived photos from previous years.
If you wish to receive our email updates, you can subscribe to our Emailing List by contacting wigan.jazz@virgin.net .
LINKS & CONTACTS Our Links & Contacts page has contact details for Wigan Jazz Club, WYJO, WJCBB and Wigan International Jazz Festival. In addition, there is now a growing list of links to local, national and international jazz-related websites, as well as online jazz radio stations. We welcome your suggestions for suitable links to add to the list - email them to wigan.jazz@virgin.net (Please note that we are not responsible for the content of external websites).
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Wigan Jazz Club is the home of
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W.Y.J.O. GIGS
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