Cheltenham Jazz Festival is one of the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

’s leading jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 festivals, and is part of Cheltenham Festivals

Cheltenham Festivals

]Cheltenham Festivals is a registered charity that organises four festivals every year in the spa town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire: the Jazz, Science, Music and Literature. In addition to this it promotes the use of several venues for private and commercial use ]Cheltenham Festivals is a...

: also responsible for the Science

Cheltenham Science Festival

The Cheltenham Science Festival is one of the UK's leading science festivals, and is part of Cheltenham Festivals: also responsible for the Jazz, Music and Literature Festivals that run every year.-Introduction and History:...

, Music

Cheltenham Music Festival

The Cheltenham Music Festival is one of the oldest music festivals in Britain, held annually in Cheltenham in June/July since 1945. The festival is renowned for premieres of contemporary music, hosting over 250 music premieres as of July 2004....

 and Literature

Cheltenham Literature Festival

The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival, a large-scale international festival of literature in the Spa town of Cheltenham, and part of Cheltenham Festivals: also responsible for the Jazz, Music and Science Festivals that run every year....

 Festivals that run every year.

]

Introduction and history

The Cheltenham Jazz Festival was started in 1996, under the direction of Jim Smith, and has established itself as one of the UK’s most popular jazz festivals. With a programme now developed by Tony Dudley-Evans

Tony Dudley-Evans

Tony Dudley-Evans is a British linguist and expert in English for Specific Purposes. One of the most influential authors in the development of the modern notion of genre, he is usually grouped together with John Swales and Vijay Bhatia as the driving force behind recent developments in ESP...

, the festival’s artistic director, the Cheltenham Jazz Festival consists of a broad range of jazz in many guises.

Previous artists

The Festival has presented a range of star names over the years, including Herbie Hancock

Herbie Hancock

Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...

, Ornette Coleman

Ornette Coleman

Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....

, Van Morrison

Van Morrison

Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...

, Jamie Cullum

Jamie Cullum

Jamie Cullum is an English pop and jazz-pop singer-songwriter. Though he is primarily a vocalist/pianist he also accompanies himself on other instruments including guitar and drums. Since April 2010, he has been presenting a weekly jazz show on BBC Radio 2, broadcast on Tuesdays from 19:00.- Early...

, Jools Holland

Jools Holland

Julian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, The Who, David Gilmour and Bono.Holland is a...

, Eartha Kitt

Eartha Kitt

Eartha Mae Kitt was an American singer, actress, and cabaret star. She was perhaps best known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 hit recordings of "C'est Si Bon" and the enduring Christmas novelty smash "Santa Baby." Orson Welles once called her the "most exciting woman in the...

 (in her last ever UK performance), Chick Corea

Chick Corea

Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...

, Maceo Parker

Maceo Parker

Maceo Parker is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, as well as Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of Brown's hit recordings, and a key part of his band, playing alto, tenor and baritone saxophones...

, John Scofield

John Scofield

John Scofield , often referred to as "Sco," is an American jazz guitarist and composer, who has played and collaborated with Miles Davis, Dave Liebman, Joe Henderson, Charles Mingus, Joey Defrancesco, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Pat Martino, Mavis Staples, Phil Lesh, Billy Cobham,...

, Gilles Peterson

Gilles Peterson

Gilles Peterson , is a DJ, record collector and record label owner from London, UK. Through his labels Acid Jazz, Talkin' Loud, and latterly Brownswood Recordings, he has been associated with the careers of well-known artists of the 1990s such as Erykah Badu, Roni Size and Jamiroquai...

, the BBC Big Band

BBC Big Band

The BBC Big Band, originally known as the BBC Radio Big Band is a British big band run under the auspices of the BBC. Widely regarded as the UK’s leading and most versatile jazz orchestra, the band broadcasts exclusivley on BBC Radio, particularly on BBC Radio 2's long running series Big Band Special...

, Dave Holland

Dave Holland

Dave Holland is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for 40 years....

, Mr Scruff, Charles Lloyd, Silje Nergaard

Silje Nergaard

Silje Nergaard is a Norwegian pop and jazz musician.While some of her old titles have a distinct pop feel, she has now almost completely given up making pop music, and virtually the entirety of her later releases consists of jazz...

, Guillemots

Guillemots (band)

Guillemots are a BRIT Award nominated indie rock band formed in November 2004 by Fyfe Dangerfield. The band consists of 4 members: Fyfe Dangerfield, MC Lord Magrão, Aristazabal Hawkes & Greig Stewart. Although formed in Birmingham and now based in London, the band's members have been compiled from...

, Madeleine Peyroux

Madeleine Peyroux

Madeleine Peyroux is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Peyroux is noted for her vocal style, which has been compared to that of Billie Holiday....

, The Cinematic Orchestra

The Cinematic Orchestra

The Cinematic Orchestra is a British jazz and electronic outfit, created in 1997 by Jason Swinscoe. The band is signed to Ninja Tune independent record label. In addition to Swinscoe, the band includes PC former DJ Food member on turntables, Luke Flowers , Tom Chant , Nick Ramm , Stuart McCallum ...

, Curtis Stigers

Curtis Stigers

Curtis Stigers is an American jazz vocalist, saxophonist, guitarist, and songwriter.-Early life and career:Stigers was born in Boise, Idaho, and started his music career as a teenager, playing in jazz, rock and blues groups, as well as receiving formal training in clarinet and saxophone at high...

, The Nextmen

The Nextmen

The Nextmen are a UK production/songwriting group consisting of Dom Search and Brad Baloo . Often incorporating hip hop drum sets and electronic basslines into their sound, they have worked with many artists from the UK, US and Jamaica...

, Bennie Maupin

Bennie Maupin

Bennie Maupin is a Detroit Michigan jazz multireedist. He performs on various saxophones, flute and bass clarinet.He is probably best known for his participation in Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi sextet and Headhunters band, and for performing on Miles Davis's seminal fusion record, Bitches Brew...

, Marti Pellow

Marti Pellow

Marti Pellow has been the lead singer of the Scottish pop group Wet Wet Wet since their formation in 1982. He has also recorded solo material.-Early life:...

, Ben Allison

Ben Allison

Ben Allison is an American jazz double bassist and composer born in New Haven, Connecticut.His groups include The Ben Allison Band, Peace Pipe, the Ben Allison Quartet, Medicine Wheel, the Kush Trio, Man Size Safe, and the Herbie Nichols Project...

, Michael Brecker

Michael Brecker

Michael Leonard Brecker was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Acknowledged as "a quiet, gentle musician widely regarded as the most influential tenor saxophonist since John Coltrane," he has been awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer and was inducted into Down Beat Jazz...

, Dianne Reeves

Dianne Reeves

Dianne Reeves is an American jazz singer. She currently lives in Denver, Colorado.-Early life:Reeves was born in Detroit, Michigan to a very musical family. Her father, who died when she was two years old, was also a singer. Her mother, Vada Swanson, played trumpet. A cousin, George Duke, is a...

, The Claudia Quintet

The Claudia Quintet

The Claudia Quintet is an "eclectic post-jazz" ensemble formed by drummer and composer John Hollenbeck.-Personnel:*Drew Gress – double bass*John Hollenbeck – drums, percussion, composition*Matt Moran – vibraphone*Ted Reichman – accordion...

, Courtney Pine

Courtney Pine

Courtney Pine CBE is an English jazz musician. At school he studied the clarinet, although he is known primarily for his saxophone playing. Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also playing the flute, clarinet, bass Clarinet and keyboards...

, Zoe Rahman

Zoe Rahman

Zoe Rahman is a British jazz composer and pianist.-Education:Born and raised in Chichester, United Kingdom. Rahman studied classical piano at the Royal Academy of Music, a music degree at St Hugh's College, University of Oxford, and won a scholarship to study jazz performance at Berklee College of...

, Cassandra Wilson

Cassandra Wilson

Cassandra Wilson is an American jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. Described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack [who has] expanded the playing field" by incorporating country, blues and folk music into her...

, Benny Golson

Benny Golson

Benny Golson is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger.-Biography:While in high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Golson played with several other promising young musicians, including John Coltrane, Red Garland, Jimmy Heath, Percy Heath, Philly Joe Jones, and...

, Joe Zawinul

Joe Zawinul

Josef Erich Zawinul was an Austrian-American jazz keyboardist and composer.First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with trumpeter Miles Davis, and to become one of the creators of jazz fusion, an innovative musical genre that combined jazz with...

, Adrian Adlam

Adrian Adlam

Adrian Adlam is a British violinist, conductor and music educator. He was educated at Westminster Abbey, Winchester College, Conservatoire Royale de Musique of Brussels and the Hochschule fur Musik, Hanover....

, and Ray Brown

Ray Brown (musician)

Raymond Matthews Brown was an American jazz double bassist.-Biography:Ray Brown was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and had piano lessons from the age of eight. After noticing how many pianists attended his high school, he thought of taking up the trombone, but was unable to afford one...

.

In previous years, the festival has also featured an artist in residence, and these have included:

• 2004 John Taylor
  John Taylor (jazz)
  John Taylor is a British jazz pianist; he has occasionally performed on the organ and the synthesiser. He is one of Europe's most celebrated jazz pianists and composers.-Performing career:...
  
  
• 2005 Bobby Previte
  Bobby Previte
  Robert "Bobby" Previte is a drummer, composer and bandleader. Previte earned a B.A. in Economics at the University at Buffalo, where he also studied percussion. He moved to New York City in 1979, and became active in the city's thriving jazz and experimental music scenes...
  
  
• 2006 Ken Vandermark
  Ken Vandermark
  Ken Vandermark is an American jazz composer and saxophone and clarinet player.A fixture on the Chicago-area music scene since the 1990s, Vandermark has earned wide critical praise for his playing and his multilayered compositions, which typically balance intricate orchestration with passionate...
  
  
• 2007 Bob Brookmeyer
  Bob Brookmeyer
  Robert Brookmeyer is an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer.-Biography:Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of Gerry Mulligan's quartet from 1954 to 1957. He later worked with Jimmy Giuffre...
  
  

The Jerwood Jazz Generation

The Jerwood Jazz Generation series is the result of a long-standing partnership between the Cheltenham Jazz Festival and the Jerwood Charitable Foundation to nurture the British Jazz legends of the future. Since 2002 the scheme has backed more than 50 young British artists who come to Cheltenham to premiere a new commission, launch a new band or for a valuable second outing of a new project.
The series has seen such rising stars as Bryan Corbett, Soweto Kinch

Soweto Kinch

Soweto Kinch is a British jazz alto saxophonist and rapper.Born in London, England to a Barbadian father, who is a playwright, and British-Jamaican mother, who is an actress, Kinch began playing saxophone at the age of nine after learning clarinet at Allfarthing Primary School, Wandsworth, SW London...

, Ingrid Laubrock

Ingrid Laubrock

Ingrid Laubrock is a German-born jazz saxophonist, who plays soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones.She studied with Jean Toussaint, Dave Liebman and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama....

, Gwilym Simcock

Gwilym Simcock

Gwilym Simcock is a British pianist and composer working in both jazz and classical music, and often blurring the boundaries of the two....

 and Seb Rochford

Seb Rochford

Sebastian "Seb" Rochford is a British drummer who spans many musical genres.He comes from Aberdeen and has a large family of 2 brothers and 7 sisters...

, and has produced landmark projects such as Denys Baptiste

Denys Baptiste

Denys Baptiste is a jazz musician from London, England. A graduate of Tomorrow’s Warriors, Baptiste plays tenor and soprano saxophone in addition to composing....

’s Let Freedom Ring! and Abram Wilson

Abram Wilson

Abram Wilson is a jazz trumpeter and vocalist raised in New Orleans and now based in London, United Kingdom. Wilson was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas and began playing trumpet at the age of nine, going on to study at the New Orleans Center For Creative Arts under the tutelage of Clyde Kerr Jr,...

’s Ride! – Ferris Wheel to the Modern Day Delta.

The Fringe

As the festival grows so does its side line, The Fringe. Located in pubs, parks and restaurants around Cheltenham

Cheltenham

Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...

, The Fringe allows small bands and artists to show their talent and make a name for themselves. Many gigs

Gig (musical performance)

Gig is slang for a musical engagement in which musicians are hired. Originally coined in the 1920s by jazz musicians, the term, short for the word "engagement", now refers to any aspect of performing such as assisting with performance and attending musical performance...

 are often free and enable people who do not have tickets for everything to get a little taster of what else is going on in the jazz world, whilst significantly contributing to the festival vibe throughout the town. Many famous performers such as Jamie Cullum

Jamie Cullum

Jamie Cullum is an English pop and jazz-pop singer-songwriter. Though he is primarily a vocalist/pianist he also accompanies himself on other instruments including guitar and drums. Since April 2010, he has been presenting a weekly jazz show on BBC Radio 2, broadcast on Tuesdays from 19:00.- Early...

 have played at the Fringe before becoming successful jazz musicians.

Education

A variety of workshops and ‘masterclasses’ are available to children, teenagers and adults throughout the festival. These have included popular band, drum and voice workshops, as well as advice from jazz musicians on performance and improvisation.

Venues

The events of Cheltenham Jazz Festival take place in a number of different venues including the Playhouse Theatre, the Daffodil Restaurant, and the main festival venue, the Cheltenham Town Hall

Cheltenham Town Hall

Cheltenham Town Hall is an early-20th century assembly rooms in Cheltenham, England. Unlike most town halls, it is a public venue and not the seat of the borough council, which is housed in the nearby municipal offices....

. Outdoor stages are also used, such as the "Budvar Jazz Marquee", in Imperial Gardens.

Big names

Jamie Cullum

Jamie Cullum

Jamie Cullum is an English pop and jazz-pop singer-songwriter. Though he is primarily a vocalist/pianist he also accompanies himself on other instruments including guitar and drums. Since April 2010, he has been presenting a weekly jazz show on BBC Radio 2, broadcast on Tuesdays from 19:00.- Early...

, Paloma Faith

Paloma Faith

Paloma Faith is a British singer-songwriter and actress. In 2009, she released her debut single "Stone Cold Sober", then her debut album, Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?, which was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. Her debut album stayed within the top 40 album...

, Elaine Paige

Elaine Paige

Elaine Paige OBE is an English singer and actress best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, North London, Paige attended the Aida Foster stage school, making her first professional appearance on stage in 1964, at the age of 16...

, Eric Bibb

Eric Bibb

Eric Bibb is an American acoustic blues singer-songwriter. He is based in London and launched his career in Europe. Today he lives in Finland.-Biography:...

, Imelda May

Imelda May

Imelda Mary Higham, Clabby , known as Imelda May, is an Irish vocalist and musician. She began her career in music at 15 and released her debut album in 2005. She also plays the bodhrán and guitar...

, Liane Carroll

Liane Carroll

Liane Carroll is an English pianist/vocalist who grew up in a musical family. She has played professionally since she was 15....

, Sir Michael Parkinson, Kit Downes

Kit Downes

Kit Downes is a British jazz pianist. Downes plays regularly with his own trio, Stan Sulzmann, Troyka, The Golden Age of Steam, Sam Crockatt and Clark Tracey - and has played with Joe Locke, Gilad Atzmon, Empirical, Gerard Presencer, Seb Rochford, Iain Ballamy, Peter Ind, Gwyneth Herbert, John...

 and Mark Sanders

2009

Big names

Hugh Masekela

Hugh Masekela

Hugh Ramopolo Masekela is a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, and singer.-Early life:Masekela was born in Kwa-Guqa Township, Witbank, South Africa. He began singing and playing piano as a child...

, Nigel Kennedy

Nigel Kennedy

Nigel Kennedy is a British born violinist and violist. He made his early career in the classical field, and he has performed and recorded most of the major violin concerti...

, BBC Big Band

BBC Big Band

The BBC Big Band, originally known as the BBC Radio Big Band is a British big band run under the auspices of the BBC. Widely regarded as the UK’s leading and most versatile jazz orchestra, the band broadcasts exclusivley on BBC Radio, particularly on BBC Radio 2's long running series Big Band Special...

, The Souljazz Orchestra

Souljazz Orchestra

Souljazz Orchestra is a Canadian Afrobeat band based in Ottawa that has had success in touring Canada and Europe.- Members :The band has six members:* Pierre Chrétien - electric piano, clavinet, organ, percussion, guitar, bass, vocals...

, Beardyman

BeardyMan

Darren Foreman , better known as Beardyman, is a musician from London renowned for his beatboxing skills and use of live looping technology, and according to the BBC "King of Sound and Ruler of Beats".-Stage name and musical style:...

, Portico Quartet

Portico Quartet

Portico Quartet are a 4-piece modern jazz group from London and Southampton. Their sound is made distinctive by the use of the Hang, a 21st Century percussion instrument used on all their tracks. The group is composed of Jack Wyllie , Duncan Bellamy , Milo Fitzpatrick , and Keir Vine...

, Jack DeJohnette

Jack DeJohnette

Jack DeJohnette is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. He is one of the most influential jazz drummers of the 20th century, due to extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians like Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett and Sonny...

, Madeleine Peyroux

Madeleine Peyroux

Madeleine Peyroux is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Peyroux is noted for her vocal style, which has been compared to that of Billie Holiday....

, Robert Mitchell

Robert Mitchell (jazz pianist)

Robert Mitchell is a British jazz musician, composer and teacher.Born in Ilford, Essex, Mitchell has forged a formidable reputation as a gifted pianist and composer. As part of the F-ire Collective, Robert won the Jazz on 3 Innovation Award at the 2004 BBC Jazz Awards; he has also been nominated...

, Alex Wilson

Alex Wilson (musician)

Alex Wilson is a pianist, composer, producer, arranger, and educator. He is a respected British Latin jazz recording artist and composer.-Biography:...

, Pat Martino

Pat Martino

Pat Martino is an Italian-American jazz guitarist and composer within the post bop, fusion, mainstream jazz, soul jazz and hard bop idioms.-Biography:...

, Dave Douglas

Dave Douglas (trumpeter)

Dave Douglas is an American jazz trumpeter and composer whose music derives from many non-jazz musical styles, including classical music, folk music from European countries and Klezmer. He has been a member of the experimental big band Orange Then Blue...

, Don Byron

Don Byron

Don Byron is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. He primarily plays clarinet, but has also used bass clarinet and saxophones....

, John Surman

John Surman

John Douglas Surman is an English jazz saxophone, bass clarinet and synthesizer player, and composer of free jazz and modal jazz, often using themes from folk music as a basis...

, Nikki Yeoh

Nikki Yeoh

Nikki Yeoh is a British jazz pianist, keyboardist and composer born in London, UK, probably better known for her work with Courtney Pine, Neneh Cherry, Phillip Bent, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Chante Moore and Steve Williamson, among others...

, BBC Concert Orchestra

BBC Concert Orchestra

The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five which is not a full-scale symphony orchestra....

, Dave Liebman

Dave Liebman

Dave Liebman is an American saxophonist and flautist. In June 2010, he received a NEA Jazz Masters lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts.-Biography:...

, Imelda May

Imelda May

Imelda Mary Higham, Clabby , known as Imelda May, is an Irish vocalist and musician. She began her career in music at 15 and released her debut album in 2005. She also plays the bodhrán and guitar...

, Lea Delaria

Lea DeLaria

Lea DeLaria is an American comedienne, actress, and jazz musician. The "famously controversial" DeLaria was "the first openly gay comic to break the late-night talk-show barrier" with her 1993 appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show....

, and the Scratch Perverts

Scratch Perverts

The Scratch Perverts are a collective of turntablist DJs from London, formed in 1996 by Tony Vegas, Prime Cuts and DJ Renegade.-Biography:The Scratch Perverts originally consisted of 4 members; Tony Vegas, Renegade, First Rate and Mr Thing. The Scratch Perverts later expanded to an 8-member...

.

Budvar's title sponsorship

After being previous partners with the Festival (as the 'official drink' in 2007 and hosting the popular 'Budvar Jazz Marquee' and competition 'Budvar Brewed Jazz' in 2008), the year 2009 saw the Czech beer company Budvar

Budejovický Budvar

Budweiser Budvar Brewery is a brewery in the city of České Budějovice , Czech Republic, that is best known for brewing a beer known as Budweiser Budvar in the European Union, Czechvar in the United States and Canada, and either Budweiser Budvar or Budějovický Budvar in the rest of the world.-...

 successfully become the title sponsors of Cheltenham's Jazz Festival: making the full name "Budvar Cheltenham Jazz Festival".

Big names

Eartha Kitt

Eartha Kitt

Eartha Mae Kitt was an American singer, actress, and cabaret star. She was perhaps best known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 hit recordings of "C'est Si Bon" and the enduring Christmas novelty smash "Santa Baby." Orson Welles once called her the "most exciting woman in the...

 (in her last-ever UK performance), Cleo Laine

Cleo Laine

Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth, DBE is a jazz singer and an actress, noted for her scat singing and vocal range...

, Maceo Parker

Maceo Parker

Maceo Parker is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, as well as Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of Brown's hit recordings, and a key part of his band, playing alto, tenor and baritone saxophones...

, Carol Brewster

Carol Brewster

Carol Brewster, born Miriam Elizabeth Hechler on February 25, 1927 in Los Angeles, California, is a former American actress.-Filmography:* Hell's Bloody Devils * Rosemary's Baby...

, Dennis Rollins

Dennis Rollins

Dennis Rollins is a British jazz trombonist, the founder and bandleader of BadBone and Co.Rollins was born in Birmingham, of Jamaican parents, and brought up in Bentley, Doncaster and attended Don Valley High School...

, John Dankworth

John Dankworth

Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE , known in his early career as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist and clarinetist...

, Ruby Turner

Ruby Turner

Ruby Turner is a British R&B and soul singer, songwriter and actress. In 1967, she relocated with her family to Handsworth, Birmingham, England when she was nine years old...

, Imelda May

Imelda May

Imelda Mary Higham, Clabby , known as Imelda May, is an Irish vocalist and musician. She began her career in music at 15 and released her debut album in 2005. She also plays the bodhrán and guitar...

, Courtney Pine

Courtney Pine

Courtney Pine CBE is an English jazz musician. At school he studied the clarinet, although he is known primarily for his saxophone playing. Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also playing the flute, clarinet, bass Clarinet and keyboards...

, Bill Frisell

Bill Frisell

William Richard "Bill" Frisell is an American guitarist and composer.One of the leading guitarists in jazz since the late 1980s, Frisell's eclectic music touches on progressive folk, classical music, country music, noise and more...

, Jack DeJohnette

Jack DeJohnette

Jack DeJohnette is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. He is one of the most influential jazz drummers of the 20th century, due to extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians like Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett and Sonny...

, Van Morrison

Van Morrison

Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...

, Gilles Peterson

Gilles Peterson

Gilles Peterson , is a DJ, record collector and record label owner from London, UK. Through his labels Acid Jazz, Talkin' Loud, and latterly Brownswood Recordings, he has been associated with the careers of well-known artists of the 1990s such as Erykah Badu, Roni Size and Jamiroquai...

, Jose James

José James

José James is an American vocalist best known for performing and blending modern jazz and hip-hop. James performs all over the world both as a leader and with other groups.-Biography:...

, the BBC Big Band

BBC Big Band

The BBC Big Band, originally known as the BBC Radio Big Band is a British big band run under the auspices of the BBC. Widely regarded as the UK’s leading and most versatile jazz orchestra, the band broadcasts exclusivley on BBC Radio, particularly on BBC Radio 2's long running series Big Band Special...

, Elan Mehler, Roberto Fonseca

Roberto Fonseca

Roberto Fonseca is a Cuban jazz pianist.. From an early age, Fonseca was surrounded by music: his father was a drummer, his mother, Mercedes Cortes Alfaro, a professional singer , and his two older half-brothers, Emilio Valdés and Jesús “Chuchito” Valdés Jr...

, Nicola Conte

Nicola Conte

Nicola Conte is an Italian DJ, producer, guitarist, and bandleader, known initially for introducing an innovative style of acid jazz that incorporates bossa nova themes, melodies drawn from Italian film scores of the 1960s, easy listening themes, and ethnic Indian music...

, Tawiah

Tawiah

Beverly Tawiah, also known as Tawiah, is a female soul/R&B singer from South London, UK. She has been a backup singer for Corinne Bailey Rae, The Guillemots and Mark Ronson's touring band, The Version Players, with whom she toured internationally....

, and Mr Scruff.

Jerwood Jazz Generation artists

Soweto Kinch

Soweto Kinch

Soweto Kinch is a British jazz alto saxophonist and rapper.Born in London, England to a Barbadian father, who is a playwright, and British-Jamaican mother, who is an actress, Kinch began playing saxophone at the age of nine after learning clarinet at Allfarthing Primary School, Wandsworth, SW London...

, Iain Ballamy

Iain Ballamy

Iain Ballamy is a British composer, soprano, alto and tenor saxophone player.- Career :Ballamy was schooled at 1975-80 George Abbot School, Guildford. He then studied Musical Instrument Technology from 1980-1982 Merton College...

, Phil Robson, Dave Stapleton, and Pete Wareham

Pete Wareham

Pete Wareham is a British saxophonist, known for his group Acoustic Ladyland and Seb Rochford's Polar Bear. He is a member of the London based jazz collective F-IRE.- Career :...

.

Fringe artists

2008’s ‘Fringe’ performers included:
Nia Lynn's 'The Bannau Trio', Le Tatou Bleu, Swing From Paris, Blue Soup, Monk's Milk, Strung Out, Clint Denyer, The Dave Greatrex trio, Joe Summers, Rokhsan Heydari, Peter Hopcroft Quartet, Step Change, Sam Wooster trio, Ricardo Gazzini, Alex Merritt Quartet, Aida severo, Xposed Club Performance, Edward Leaker Trio, Fat Digester, Moment's Notice, Tym Jozwiak, Adam Sanders Quintet, 8-Fold, Ben Bryden, Jamie Safiruddin Quartet, Espresso, Patsy Gamble, Salsa del sol, Andre Canniere, Tommy Charles Quartet, Melonious Funk, IPSO Facto, Big Brunch Band, Steve Franks & Janey Ross, Bunty and The Worm, Tom Bunting quartet, Gareth Roberts Quintet, Alcyona Mick Quintet, Free Spirits and Royal Oak Brass.

Quotes

The Independent

The Independent

The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...

"an event that now rivals London's for the position of leading UK jazz festival"

Birmingham Post

Birmingham Post

The Birmingham Post newspaper was originally published under the name Daily Post in Birmingham, England, in 1857 by John Frederick Feeney. It was the largest selling broadsheet in the West Midlands, though it faced little if any competition in this category. It changed to tabloid size in 2008...

"a music festival with a glorious present and a very insiring future"

The Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...

"The Cheltenham Jazz Festival rose to its climax, with events bursting from every nook and cranny."

The Times

The Times

The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

"This year’s Cheltenham Jazz Festival was more ambitious than ever… what has always set Cheltenham apart is its mixture of the new with well-established artists." *}

Cheltenham festivals

Budvar Cheltenham Jazz Festival is just one of the four festivals that Cheltenham Festivals

Cheltenham Festivals

]Cheltenham Festivals is a registered charity that organises four festivals every year in the spa town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire: the Jazz, Science, Music and Literature. In addition to this it promotes the use of several venues for private and commercial use ]Cheltenham Festivals is a...

 run each year. Combined with the Science

Cheltenham Science Festival

The Cheltenham Science Festival is one of the UK's leading science festivals, and is part of Cheltenham Festivals: also responsible for the Jazz, Music and Literature Festivals that run every year.-Introduction and History:...

, Music

Cheltenham Music Festival

The Cheltenham Music Festival is one of the oldest music festivals in Britain, held annually in Cheltenham in June/July since 1945. The festival is renowned for premieres of contemporary music, hosting over 250 music premieres as of July 2004....

 and Literature

Cheltenham Literature Festival

The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival, a large-scale international festival of literature in the Spa town of Cheltenham, and part of Cheltenham Festivals: also responsible for the Jazz, Music and Science Festivals that run every year....

 Festivals, Cheltenham Festivals

Cheltenham Festivals

]Cheltenham Festivals is a registered charity that organises four festivals every year in the spa town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire: the Jazz, Science, Music and Literature. In addition to this it promotes the use of several venues for private and commercial use ]Cheltenham Festivals is a...

 host over 700 events across 12 months. The four festivals have worked together to ensure Cheltenham’s

Cheltenham

Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...

enviable reputation as the festival capital of Britain, and attract some of the art’s biggest names.