Gregory Porter, Jamie Cullum, Paloma Faith & many other jazz icons announced for the 25th Cheltenham Jazz Festival

Gregory Porter, Jamie Cullum, Saving Grace ft Robert Plant, James Bay, Paloma Faith, Emeli Sandé, Tom Odell, Nubya Garcia, Corinne Bailey Rae, Gabrielle and Nitin Sawhney amongst names announced for 25^th Cheltenham Jazz Festival, taking place 27 April – 2 May 2022.

Following a two-year break, Cheltenham Jazz Festival makes a much-anticipated return to our picturesque spa town of Cheltenham this spring for six days of live music featuring its trademark mix of international stars, jazz icons and trailblazing up-and-coming talent.

Celebrating its milestone 25^th edition, the Festival will take place from Wednesday 27 April to Monday 2 May incorporating large-scale concerts, intimate club shows, world premieres, masterclasses, family-friendly shows and many free events. 

Amongst the names announced for this year’s event are star US vocalist Gregory Porter, who returns as the Festival’s Artistic Curator, legendary Led Zeppelin rocker Robert Plant with his Saving Grace project, Golden Globe winning pianist, singer and broadcaster Jamie Cullum, multi-million-selling BRIT Award winner Emeli Sandé, blues pop troubadour James Bay, two-time Grammy-winning UK singer Corinne Bailey Rae, chart-topping pianist and singer Tom Odell, and the multi-instrumentalist and Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement Award winner Nitin Sawhney. 

BBC Radio 2 Celebrates 25 Years of Cheltenham Jazz Festival and the 100th anniversary of the BBC, in a special concert on Thursday 28 April to be broadcast on Sunday Night Is Music Night. 70 musicians including the Guy Barker Big Band and BBC Concert Orchestra will premiere a unique symphonic celebration commissioned by the Festival. The concert will also celebrate the past 100 years of British jazz, as well as some of the standout moments from across the Festival’s 25-year history featuring guest appearances from Gregory Porter, Paloma Faith and Imelda May. 

This year’s Festival will present a series of ground-breaking collaborations including Imelda May performing an exclusive one-off show with the Ronnie Scott’s Big Band, legendary US saxophonist Gary Bartz with London six-piece Maisha, Brazilian icon Hermeto Pascoal teaming up with National Youth Jazz Orchestra, and the Dave Douglas and Joey Baron Duo.  

The British jazz scene will also be heavily reflected with shows from an array of its new stars including saxophonist Nubya Garcia, MOBO award-winning drummer Moses Boyd, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jordan Rakei, fast-emerging singer Cherise, and Mercury-nominated trumpeter Laura Jurd. Plus shows from a dazzling selection of the scene’s more established acts including Mike Westbrook, Iain Ballamy, Zoe Rahman Quintet, Neil Charles, Graham Costello’s Strata, and saxophonist Paul Dunmall in a group with Matthew Shipp, Joe Morris and Gerald Cleaver. 

Additional concerts across the five days include shows from revered keyboardist and Gil Scott Heron collaborator Brian Jackson, ‘60s soul great PP Arnold, the folk, jazz, pop and chamber music stylings of Penguin Café, powerhouse LA-based singer Lady Blackbird, the father of Ethio-jazz Mulatu Astatke, Afrobeat ensemble Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, American avant-garde pianist Myra Melford, Swiss vocalist Lucia Cadotsch in a band with Kit Downes, Phil Donkin and James Maddren, Austrian phenomenon Shake Stew, and blues/rock singer and guitarist Joanne Shaw Taylor.  

Invisible, Real - a brand-new audio-visual performance-installation by Faye MacCalman will create a subconscious dream-zone space exploring mental illness and inner worlds. The piece was commissioned as part of Cheltenham Jazz Festival’s Jerwood Jazz Encounters programme. 

The Festival’s talent development strand offers opportunities for young, up-and-coming jazz artists. The sought-after Double Bill pairing in the Arena for rising stars will feature New York bass player and vocalist Adeline and songwriter Lola Young. Two emerging artists feature in the Showcase concert: Elles Bailey + Georgia Cecile. 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. On the Free Stage, local school jazz bands will entertain the crowds in the popular Jazz It Up morning sessions. Meanwhile the very youngest jazz fans can enjoy a Family Concert presented by award-winning saxophonist and CBeebies star YolanDa Brown. 

Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2022 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, Cheltenham Ladies’ College, Parabola Arts Centre, Hotel du Vin, and The Daffodil, as well as a dynamic free …around town programme in association with Cheltenham BID.

The full line-up can be viewed here - www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/jazz 

Tickets go on general sale from Wednesday 2 March 2022

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For more festivals & major events taking place in Cheltenham this year visit: 

Cheltenham 2022 - Festivals & Major Events Guide

Live performances in Cheltenham 2022