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More than two decades after first
introducing jazz to the town, the Wigan International Jazz Festival this
week announces its 2008 line-up.
Where many of the country’s larger towns and cities have tried and
failed with their own jazz festivals, the Wigan event continues to grow.
“The 2008 line up is one of the best we have seen in Wigan.” says Ian
Darrington, Festival Director. “What we have this year is a great
balance of the well known and the new and the contemporary and the big
band sound.”
Kicking off the festival is Elkie Brooks. This will be a return to the
region for the Salford-born singer. The evening of Saturday July 12,
will see Elkie perform a number of her past hits.
The first Sunday (July 13) sees BBC Concert Orchestra vocalist and
Ronnie Scott Jazz Award nominee Matthew Ford take to the stage with his
own big band in the afternoon with the critically acclaimed and highly
original Guy Barker Amadeus Project providing the evening show.
It’s Big Band Monday and Tuesday with Synthesis – the Big Band of
Brigham Young University playing on the Monday night (July 14) and
Australian Trumpet supremo James Morrison (July 15) joining forces with
the Wigan Jazz Club Big Band on Tuesday night.
Top bass player Avishai Cohen will be
playing Wigan with his trio on Wednesday (July 16). Avishai is currently
one of the most sought after jazz musicians on the international circuit
and getting him on the Wigan bill is a coup for the festival.
“We had to work hard to make this gig happen. We wanted to add something
modern and original to the programme this year and Avishai seemed to be
the man of the moment, earning fantastic reviews for taking jazz in a
new direction. So we are delighted to have him at this year’s festival,”
explains Ian.
“One of the reasons that our festival has remained popular with
audiences and indeed artists for the past two decades and more, is our
ability to recognise and seek out the new and the up and coming and
putting this shoulder to shoulder with the tried, tested and the
enjoyed.”
This philosophy is in action on Thursday (July 17) when Dennis Rollins
and Empirical return to Wigan, this time to perform with the Wigan Youth
Jazz Orchestra.
And finishing off the celebrity series on Friday (July 18) is Liane
Carrol and Ian Shaw.
“The festival was conceived out of a sell-out weekend of jazz back in
1985. Nobody thought that this northern town of Wigan – more famous for
cloth caps than jazz would make it as a festival. But this novelty
factor has actually worked in our favour and has helped attract
audiences, artists and media attention. And when other festivals have
come, gone and some come and gone again, Wigan stays firmly put on the
international jazz calendar,” says Ian.
Other artists performing at the Wigan International Jazz Festival 2008
include: The Vic Ash Quintet. Colm O’Brien. The Alan Benzie Quartet.
Greg Abate. Alan Barnes. Jim Mullen. The Munch Manship Trio. The Nick
Kellie Band. Pearl Jazz and Acoustic Graffiti.
Rover tickets go on sale on Friday May 2 with general tickets on sale
from May 12.
Tickets and festival brochures are available from Wigan Tourist
Information Centre. Wallgate, Wigan, telephone 01942 825677. For regular
updates visit the official festival website:
www.wiganjazz.net
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Notes to editors
For further information on this press release please contact Keith L
Bergman (Wigan Tourism Unit), on 01942 486951 (mobile: 07958 461421) or
at
k.bergman@wlct.org Alternatively contact Phil Green, Public
Relations Officer for Wigan Council on 01942 827369.
The Wigan International Jazz Festival is organised by Wigan Leisure and
Culture Trust, Wigan Council and Wigan Jazz Club. The festival is now in
its 23rd year. For further information contact Festival Director Ian
Darrington on 07785 982524 or at
ian.darrington@blueyonder.co.uk
Sponsors: The Wigan International Jazz Festival’s principle sponsor is
Manchester Airport. Other sponsors and supporters of the festival are:
Stewart Milne Homes; John Smith’s Ltd; JJB Stadium; and Leisuretec.
Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust: Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust is a
charitable trust working on behalf of Wigan Council to manage and
support leisure and cultural facilities, initiatives and events for over
300,000 residents in the Wigan Borough. See
www.wlct.org
Getting Wigan Active: Getting Wigan Active is Wigan Leisure and Culture
Trust’s vision to help people across the Wigan Borough to become more
physically, mentally and creatively active. It also aims to increase
community activity and to encourage good citizenship.
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Elkie Brooks
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