Over 50 artists set to perform at one of Europe’s biggest jazz festivals including Gregory Porter, Laura Mvula, Damian Lewis, Squeeze, Will Young, Rufus Wainwright, Madeline Bell, MIKA, Jake Bugg, Tony Hadley, Van Morrison, Lizz Wright, Joe Stilgoe, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Ezra Collective, Georgia Cécile, Stanley Clarke and many more
26 April – 1 May 2022

The Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2023 brochure is available HERE

“If someone doesn’t ‘get’ jazz, how do you woo them towards enjoying it? Cheltenham Jazz Festival” The Times

Cheltenham Jazz Festival is set to return this spring with a broad programme featuring over 50 concerts from an eclectic mix of established stars and pioneering emerging talent. Running across six days from Wednesday 26 April – Monday 1 May 2023, the Festival will once again present a smart balance of classic and contemporary jazz, blues, soul and pop with an array of world premieres, brand new commissions, exclusive collaborations, one-off shows and free performances taking place at venues across the picturesque spa town.

Among the artists confirmed to perform this year are the Ivor Novello Award-winning vocalist Laura Mvula, who returns to the Festival following a sold-out show in 2014, Van Morrison, who will draw on his vast back catalogue alongside performing tracks from soon-to-be-released new album Moving on Skiffle, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra, who will join forces with Spandau Ballet lead singer Tony Hadley to perform new arrangements of standout tracks from across his career, Damian Lewis, who teams up with seven-piece jazz outfit Kansas Smitty’s to perform tracks from his much- anticipated forthcoming debut album, acclaimed US singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, Grammy-winning Mexican guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, 10 million-selling pop troubadour MIKA, much-loved British singer Will Young, chart- topping blues-rock singer and guitarist Jake Bugg, acclaimed UK singer and pianist Joe Stilgoe, and British pop royalty Squeeze, who will perform a hit-laden set from across their near-50-year career.

Once again returning as the Festival’s Artistic Curator is Gregory Porter who, alongside handpicking a selection of artists for this year’s programme, will perform his own headline show featuring an array of star special guests including Lizz Wright and more. Porter will also perform as part of Soul Jazz Summit, a brand-new annual show for the Festival which will feature the BBC Concert Orchestra and Guy Barker’s Big Band celebrating the explosion of jazz and soul that reverberated around the globe in the late fifties. The Soul Jazz Summit concert will also feature guest appearances from Madeline Bell, Mica Millar, Ashton Jones, Vanessa Haynes and Georgia Cécile.

A strong contingent of the thriving UK scene will be represented on this year’s line-up with performances from the likes of boundary-pushing trumpeter Laura Jurd, pioneering London jazz collective Ezra Collective, Mercury-nominated pianist Fergus McCreadie, multi-award-winning Scottish singer Georgia Cécile, fast emerging soul singer Mica Millar, Pat Thomas and Orphy Robinson’s duo Blacktop featuring BBC Young Jazz Musician Of The Year winner Xhosa Cole, and acclaimed vocal trio SKYLLA, led by bassist Ruth Goller and featuring Lauren Kinsella and Alice Grant.

The leading lights of the international scene will feature in the form of star of Buena Vista Social Club Eliades Ochoa, the legendary four-time Grammy-winning bassist Stanley Clarke, US American jazz-soul vocalist Lizz Wright, wildly acclaimed

Blue Note guitarist Julian Lage, and experimental Norwegian guitarist Stian Westerhus who teams up with Mark Sanders and Chris Mapp for CollapseUncollapse.

Additional concerts include Dutch gypsy swing guitarist Mozes Rosenberg with Giacomo Smith Quartet, Deadeye, featuring Berlin-based musicians Kit Downes, Reinier Baas and Jonas Burgwinkel, Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen- Love’s Circus, Espen Eriksen Trio with Andy Sheppard and Angusori, which brings together the Norwegian Stavanger Kitchen Orchestra and a selection of musicians from Roma.

The Festival’s talent development strand offers opportunities for young, up-and-coming jazz artists. The sought-after double bill pairing in the Jazz Arena for rising stars will feature Tamzene and Immy. Kansas Smitty’s late-night takeover sessions in The Daffodil will introduce special guests from across the Festival programme and there is an international collaboration between the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and students from Siena Jazz Accademia. On the Free Stage, local school jazz bands will entertain the crowds in the popular Jazz It Up morning sessions while an array of family- themed events will include Family Sing – with Black Voices, Arun Ghosh – Indo-Jazz Adventures, and Fabulous Flamenco.

This year’s Jerwood Jazz Encounters commission is Waves II, Andrew Woodhead’s bellringing project which explores the relationship between music and physics.

Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2023 is hosted in a tented Festival village in Montpellier Gardens, featuring the Big Top stage, Jazz Arena, Free Stage, a programme of family activities and events and a food, drink and market area. The Festival reaches beyond the Festival village into Cheltenham, bringing jazz to venues throughout the day until late into the night. These include Cheltenham Town Hall, Parabola Arts Centre, Hotel du Vin, and The Daffodil, as well as a free “…around town” programme in association with Cheltenham BID.

The full line-up for this year’s Festival is below.
Tickets go on general sale on Wednesday 1 March.

Tickets available at http://www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/jazz.

Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2023:

WEDNESDAY 26 APRIL
Judith Owen
The Daffodil
Mika
Big Top

THURSDAY 27 APRIL
Denny Ilett
The Daffodil
Connor Selby
The Jazz Arena
The Soul Jazz Summit with the BBC Concert Orchestra
Big Top

FRIDAY 28 APRIL
Mica Millar
Jazz Arena
Skylla
Cheltenham Ladies’ College, Parabola Arts Centre
Amanda Whiting
The Daffodil
Will Young
Big Top
Stian Westerhus
Cheltenham Ladies’ College, Parabola Arts Centre

SATURDAY 29 APRIL
JazzLabs
Family Tent
Birmingham Conservatoire Sienna Exchange
Cheltenham Ladies’ College, Parabola Arts Centre
Emberlight
Family Tent
Showcase Double Bill Tamzene and Immy
Jazz Arena
Waves II
Montpellier Woods
Lucy-Anne Daniels
Hotel Du Vin
Tony Hadley with Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra
Big Top
CollapseUncollapse with Stian Westerhus
Cheltenham Ladies’ College, Parabola Arts Centre
Bostin Brass
Family Tent
Black Top with Xhosa Cole
Cheltenham Ladies’ College, Parabola Arts Centre
Rufus Wainwright
Big Top

Georgia Cécile
Jazz Arena
Diana Masters
The Daffodil
Sarah Brown Sings Mahalia Jackson
Jazz Arena
Espen Erikson Trio with Andy Sheppard
Cheltenham Ladies’ College, Parabola Arts Centre
Jake Bugg
Big Top
Ezra Collective
Cheltenham Town Hall
Kansas Smitty’s
The Daffodil

SUNDAY 30 APRIL
Laura and Her Musical Explorers
Family Tent
Family Sing with Black Vocals
Family Tent
Lizz Wright
Jazz Arena
Paal Nilssen-Love’s Circus
Cheltenham Ladies’ College, Parabola Arts Centre
Waves II
Montpellier Woods
Joe Stilgoe & the BBC Concert Orchestra
Big Top
Eliades Ochoa – Star of Buena Vista Social Club
Cheltenham Town Hall
Arun Ghosh – Indo Jazz Adventures
Family Tent
Deadeye – Kit Downes and Reiner Baas
Cheltenham Ladies’ College, Parabola Arts Centre
Mozes Rosenberg & Giacomo Smith Quartet
Jazz Arena
Rodrigo Y Gabriela
Big Top
Stanley Clarke ‘N’ 4EVER
Cheltenham Town Hall
Angusori
Cheltenham Ladies’ College, Parabola Arts Centre
Michelle David
The Daffodil

Julian Lage
Jazz Arena
Van Morrison
Big Top
Laura Jurd
Cheltenham Ladies’ College, Parabola Arts Centre
Fergus McCreadie
Cheltenham Town Hall
Kansas Smitty’s
The Daffodil

MONDAY 1 MAY
SK Shlomo’s Beatbox Adventures for Kids
Jazz Arena
Camilo Menjura Landscapes of Latin America
Family Tent
Laura Mvula
Big Top
Waves II
Montpellier Woods
Kit Downes
St Andrew’s Church
Randolph Matthews
Family Tent
Damian Lewis
Jazz Arena
Squeeze
Big Top
Binker Golding
Jazz Arena
Gregory Porter & Friends
Big Top