Guildford Jazz ‘s  three day music festival runs from March 20-22 at Guildford’s Electric Theatre and features a wide spectrum of jazz, funk and latin grooves. 

The festival opens on Friday 20th March with a celebration of local young jazz talent  and a concert by Surrey Young Jazz Musicians of the Year.  Tickets for this event are only £8 for adults and free for young people aged 16 or under.  

The festival is a first for Guildford Jazz,  which has been arranging regular sell out monthly jazz gigs since 2011 . Its founder,  local bass player Marianne Windham comments: ”The festival represents a celebration of all that Guildford Jazz is about: bringing the finest UK jazz musicians to Guildford to play a wide spectrum of accessible music in a friendly club  like atmosphere. There is something for everyone in the programme whether you are just looking for great live music or are a committed jazzer”.  

All profits from the festival go to local charity Guildford Philanthropy which helps local residents disadvantaged by disability, mental health issues, poor education or caring responsibilities. 

The festival represents an excellent opportunity to inspire young people to develop their musical talents by experiencing the finest live jazz.  

Headlining the festival will be ECM recording artist and internationally recognised saxophonist and composer Iain Ballamy. 

Other major artists  appearing at JazzFest ’20 include: 

• The renowned trombonist Dennis Rollins and his Velocity Trio: a  simmering jazz, funk and world music roller coaster 
• The Mark Nightingale/Alan Barnes/Steve Waterman Sextet playing a tribute to the music of Henry Mancini including Clark Tracey on drums
• Virtuoso guitarist Nicolas Meier World Group,  one of the rising stars in a vibrant British jazz scene and “an unconditional must for connoisseurs of Jazz-World Fusion” (Adam Baruch)
• Latin Jazz Salsa band Heads South featuring Steve Waterman, combining Cuban and other Latin Rhythms   
• Award winning pianist David Newton playing duos alongside jazz impresario Alan Barnes  
• Renowned jazz vocalist and pianist Pete Churchill 
• Gareth Williams, one of the country’s leading modern jazz pianists, featuring in both the Sextet and as a live accompanist to the 1929 Buster Keaton classic,  Steamboat Bill Jr.

Alongside sets from leading UK jazz artists,  the festival features: 

• a talk organised in conjunction with West Surrey Arts Society on the early history of jazz by from broadcaster and bass player Sandy Burnett which might be of particular interest to those doing GCSE music 
• A New Orleans Dixie Jazz lunch from clarinet maestro Duncan Batchelor and his quartet
• a number of community events including a jazz vocal workshop 

More details about the festival can be found on the web at  https://guildfordjazz.org.uk/guildford-jazz-fest-20/ 

Booking for individual gigs and day and weekend festival passes  is now open through the Electric Theatre Box Office athttps://electric.theatre/

More information about Guildford Jazz , who run two regular gigs a month featuring national jazz artists at the Electric Theatre and Guildford Rugby Club at Broadwater, can be found at its web site at https://guildfordjazz.org.uk.