In this episode, recorded on Sunday of the festival backstage at our Peel Street Stage, we chat to more of the incredible artists, including tap dancer extraordinaire's Anette Walker and Lee Payne and Jazz drummer Dave Walsh, ahead of their performances and we delve deeper into the behind-the-scenes cogs of MJF as we chat to some staff members on how it all came together! All of this excellent content is followed by a short discussion on the interviews and the festival itself from our Artistic Director Barney Stevenson & Marketing Manager Charlotte Furness.   ..read more

In this episode, recorded on Saturday backstage at the Peel Street Stage, you can listen to artist interviews with past MJF performer and podcast guest NikNak, energising saxophonist Marcus Joseph, Jazz re:freshed co-founder Justin Mckenzie and the legendary double bassist Gary Crosby OBE, followed by a short discussion on the interviews and the festival itself from our Artistic Director Barney Stevenson & Marketing Manager Charlotte Furness.   Hear about the artist's experience of Marsden and getting back into live performance, Jazz re:freshed’s insight on the collaboration and the l ..read more

Did you know we've been creating this podcast for a whole year! Join us on our one year birthday as we have a great conversation with Francine Gorman, Pledge Manager at Keychange and Jennifer Maidman, musician and polymath. Keychange is a global network and movement working towards a total restructure of the music industry in reaching full gender equality. Marsden Jazz Festival has been signed up to the keychange pledge since November 2018 and is working towards the ambition of 50% of our gigs being fronted by a female or non-binary artist by 2023. Jennifer Maidman splits her time between New ..read more

In our eighth podcast episode, artistic director Barney Stevenson and marketing manager Charlotte Furness, welcome Oram Award-winning DJ & Turntablist Nicole Raymond (aka Nik Nak) and composer, arranger and alto-saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi.  Nicole is also a sound artist/composer, producer, tutor, sound engineer and radio presenter who played the Jazz Breakfast event at MJF in 2019. Cassie Kinoshi composes & plays in theatre, film, and contemporary dance, spanning jazz and classical performance worlds. Cassie first visited Marsden Jazz Festival in 2016 as a member of Nérija, return ..read more

In our seventh podcast episode, artistic director Barney Stevenson and marketing manager Charlotte Furness, welcome Charisse Beaumont & Roger Wilson from the organisation Black Lives in Music (BLiM). Charisse is Chief Executive at BLiM and has a strong knowledge of the UK’s urban music scene and has worked closely with award-winning and Grammy-nominated music artists across the UK and US from the beginning of their career. Roger is Director of Operations at BLiM and has many years of experience on both sides of the stage as musician, educator, tour manager and administrator. In recent year ..read more

In our sixth podcast episode, artistic director Barney Stevenson and marketing manager Charlotte Furness, welcome film maker Alistair MacDonald and Richard Whitelaw, chair of trustees at Marsden Jazz Festival to talk about the Chronotope project, what it was like to film live music on the moorlands above Marsden, and to look back reflectively over 2020 as a whole. There is also some tentative discussion about plans for the festival to return this year, and what audiences can expect to see this year.  Alistair MacDonald is an exceptional videographer who is used to running across Marsden M ..read more

In our fifth podcast episode, artistic director Barney Stevenson and marketing manager Charlotte Furness, welcome vocalists and composers Ruby Wood & Frenchie from The Naked Eye to the podcast to discuss their work on the Chronotope project filmed at St Bartholomew's Church in Marsden, sometimes referred to as the Cathedral of the Colne Valley. The haunting and atmospheric vocals from Ruby & Frenchie perfectly matched with the historic church building - one of the pieces has only ever been performed in Church settings! Have a listen to the podcast to find out more about Ruby & Fren ..read more

In our fourth podcast episode, artistic director Barney Stevenson and marketing manager Charlotte Furness, welcome guests cellist and composer Maja Bugge and pianist and composer Sarah Nicolls to the podcast to discuss their work on the fourth episode of the Chronotope project filmed on Marsden Moor.    Recorded on a plateau above Blakeley Reservoir, the improvised performances from Maja's atmospheric cello and Sarah's incredible vertical, inside out piano (the only one in the world!) discuss themes of climate change and the natural environment. They responded to the moorland around ..read more

In our third podcast episode, artistic director Barney Stevenson and marketing manager Charlotte Furness, welcome guests vocalist and composer Tess Hirst, and bassist and composer Daniel Casimir to the podcast to discuss their work on the third episode of the Chronotope project filmed on Marsden Moor.    Recorded at Close Gate Bridge in Marsden, their four performances are topical explorations of time and place, making us think about where we are right now and where we can go in the future. With exceptional vocals from Tess and evocative sounds of the double bass from Daniel, the res ..read more

In our second podcast episode, artistic director Barney Stevenson and marketing manager Charlotte Furness, welcome guests Tom Challenger, saxophonist and composer, and Jez riley French, located sound artist, to the podcast to discuss their work on the second episode of the Chronotope project called 'Geond'.   Geond (pronounced ‘yond’) derives from looking across ('yonder'), up and down, opening up Marsden as a natural amphitheatre. Tom's performances were made up of eleven movements split across three iconic locations in Marsden and they explored the historic trade routes across the moorl ..read more