Sax and the City: Manchester Jazz Festival

From humble beginnings in 1995, the annual Manchester Jazz Festival has seen both its audience and status continue to grow. Now taking place over nine days and seven venues, it remains true to its original intent to showcase emerging talent while focusing on the contemporary end of the jazz spectrum. “I’m pleased we’ve managed to pull off a broad programme and belie the perception of the current fragile state of the arts,” says the festival’s artistic director Steve Mead. “We’re the jazz festival for people who don’t like jazz!”

He’s right, too – this is a festival as inclusive as it is daring. While many will be drawn to the likes of the BBC Big Band with Claire Martin at The Bridgewater Hall or 70s funk legend Lee Fields with his current band The Expressions at Band on the Wall (both 27 Jul), there’s treasure aplenty for those prepared to dig a little deeper.

Three must-see shows (all in the Festival Pavilion Teepee in Albert Square) catch the eye. On 29 Jul, Locus – a sextet led by Dumfriesshire's (via New York) Leah Gough-Cooper on alto sax – offer up a bubbling set of contemporary originals. On 31 Jul, Georgia Mancio and her band play a set that should showcase the singer and lyricist’s sharp mix of popular standards and originals. The next day, head for the standout show in this year’s 'mjf introduces' strand, where the young Manchester quartet Kurfuffle spice jazz-fusion with big beats (1 Aug).

On 3 Aug, St Ann’s Church hosts this year’s 'mjf originals' performance. Each year, composers from the region propose new works to première at the festival. This year’s commission, The Felonious Monks, is a collaboration between local jazz stalwart Mike Hall and early music specialist Debbie Rogers that sees them perform as part of a unique 12-piece ensemble, fusing music from the early Renaissance with contemporary jazz. Expect players to switch period as they switch instruments, saxophonist and trumpeters moving from sackbuts and crumhorns during the performance. Typical of the festival’s determinedly catholic intentions, this one should be unmissable.

Jazz aficionados will know the work of singer-songwriter Sara Colman, and at the Festival Pavilion Teepee on 4 Aug she teams up with pianist Jamil Sheriff. Together they are The April Songs. Expect a laid-back – but rug-pulling – mix of compositional tradition and improvisational daring in the festival’s closing performance.