Andrew McCormack’s Graviton Artists’ publicity photo

Peter Bacon finds a reason to be cheerful in the gloom of early February.

There’s a jazz light that gleams off the Irish Sea in the dark days of winter – it’s the reflection from The Royal Clifton Hotel & Spa, which for four days is the home of the Southport Jazz Festival’s Jazz On A Winter’s Weekend. The 2018 edition is the 14th and runs from Thursday to Sunday, 1-4 February.

Appearing will be: pianist Andrew McCormack and his band Graviton, the Phil Meadows Quartet, guitarist Mike Walker, keyboardist Gwilym Simcock and percussionist Asaf Sirkis, singer and pianist Ian Shaw, the Alan Barnes Octet, The Weave and Ben Crosland’s Ray Davies Songbook (2016 INTERVIEW). These are just a few of the more than 70 musicians across 12 gigs over three-and-a-half days.

Director Neil Hughes, at the helm for his second festival, said: “Once again, I have incorporated the flavours that Southport has become well known for: International artists, challenging and contemporary Jazz, some Big Band music and of course the best in British with a lovely North West smattering.”

Tricia Evy Artist’s publicity photo

The 14th Southport festival’s special international visitor will be French Caribbean singer Tricia Evy. She grew up in Guadeloupe, settled in Paris in 2006 and her first album was released in 2010. Evy will be singing in English, French and Creole, and her repertoire includes original material and traditional beguine
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Big Band fans get two bands: Swingtime Big Band featuring ex-Syd Lawrence vocalist Matt Ford, and the Leeds College Big Band. A slice of jazz history is provided in Blakey’s Boys, with Ronnie Scott’s programmer Paul Pace as narrator, and Matt Telfer and Andy Davies in the frontline of a band telling the Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers’ story.

Ian Shaw will not only be entertaining the smart set at the Gala Dinner but also helping those singers who want to get their cords dirty at a vocal workshop.

For full details of the 14th Southport Jazz Festival, see the website link below. There are full weekend, day and individual concert tickets, all now on sale.

LINK: Southport Jazz Festival