Bristol’s month in jazz – October 2025

It’s October and that means … students, of course, and the welcome return of the weekly JFS (Jazz, Funk and Soul) nights at Mr Wolf’s, kicking off with live sessions from firebrand multi-instrumentalist Kaidi Akinnibi (Tue 7) and cool grooving 8-piece Orchard (Tue 21). The FringeJazz sessions return to Bristol Music Club, too, with Riaan Vosloo’s excellent quintet Commotion welcoming top trumpeter Laura Jurd for their opening gig (Wed 8) – an absolutely storming combination of talents. And there’s yet another debut as Get The Blessing’s Pete Judge reveals his new ‘Solo-ish’ trumpet music at Centrespace Gallery (Sun 12) – hitherto only played for the benefit of Welsh shrublands. But the big October news is that the Bebop Club’s tireless organiser, trumpeter Andy Hague (pictured above), will be celebrating his sixtieth birthday with a fine Sixty-tet session at the club (Thur 30). Bristol music lovers owe a big debt of gratitude to him for his long-standing contribution to the jazz life of Bristol – both as club organiser and as the leader of a number of fine combos – and the gig is sure to be a great (and star-studded) party. Andy’s Quintet can also be caught at Canteen (Wed 15).

And don’t forget – Bristol Jazz Live is a handy on-line calendar of all jazz gigs around Bristol.

There’s a fine spread of keyboard players across the month, starting with pianist Alex Veitch whose trio Yetii launch their new album Inner Worlds at The Greenbank (Thur 2). It’s their first studio recording, surprisingly, and the gig is the first date of a UK tour. Jon Law’s Naissance duo with saxophonist John Lloyd are at Bristol Music Club (Fri 3) and they also welcome Laura Jurd on trumpet for another restrained Ppianissimo session.

The month’s Fringe In The Round night has a solo performance from the dazzling Robert Mitchell (Fringe, Tue 7) featuring music for the left hand only as well as original tunes and improvisations, while the afternoon gigs at Spirited Bristol have the subtle and elegant compositions of Rebecca Nash (Sun 12) in a duo with bass player Henrik Jensen. Henrik brings his own Trio to Fringejazz (Bristol Music Club, Wed 15) featuring Danish pianist Esben Tjalve and drummer Dave Smith and Yetii’s Alex Vetch pops up again at the Flamingo Club (Grain Barge, Tue 14) accompanying vocalist Peter Jones in a set of jazz and Latin numbers.

More big name visitors will come to tinkle their ivories in Bristol, with definite sell-out warnings attached: there’s a clash of dates on Wednesday 22 when Ezra Collective’s Joe Armon Jones is at St George’s and Reuben James comes to The Exchange. Both are big names in the hip jazz scene and a third superstar will be coming later to Lost Horizon in the  shape of the Moses Yoofee Trio (Thur 30).

There’s a guitar theme running through October too, starting with saxophonist Craig Crofton’s Quartet in a tribute to jazz guitar legend Wes Montgomery (St George’s, Wed 1). The versatile Matt Hopkin will be doing the fretwork on the night and he also shows up at Spirited Bristol (Sun 26) with pianist David Newton accompanying stylish swing vocalist Lucy Moon. Back at St George’s there’s another sell-out warning for Rosie Frater-Taylor one of the UK’s top emerging young guitarists (Wed 8) who dazzled alongside Snarky Puppy’s Bill Laurence at the venue last year.

It’s impossible to be surprised by John Etheridge – he’s capable of every guitar style from prog to manouche and beyond. His empathetic duo with the great folk and blues player Gordon Giltrap (Beacon, Fri 10) is yet another strand of his multifaceted musical CV, and the Beacon also has Marc Ribot (Mon 27) another eclectic guitar legend. Marc has been associated with anarchic No Wave composer John Zorn, idiosyncratic singer Tom Waits and the equally strange Italian Vinicio Capossela but it is his own voice that leads his Map Of A Blue City solo album.

We could be seeing a lot of guitarist Martin Kolarides since his recent move from London to Frome. The Nick Malcolm and Martin Kolarides Quartet (Bebop Club, Thur 23) has him jousting with Nick’s formidable trumpet dexterity alongside bass player Greg Cordez and drummer Mark Whitlam – a top line-up to introduce the guitarist to the local scene. Less in need of introduction is Nigel Price whose Organ Trio with the powerhouse Ross Stanley on Hammond B3 is the latest Jazz In The Loft session at Tobacco Factory (Fri 10). As well as being a fine player in the classic style Nigel has been a supporter of the Bristol Jazz Festival (who are behind these gigs) and during COVID he organised a vital funding lifeline for local jazz venues that was a great support to the Bebop Club in Bristol. He will also be giving a workshop for jazz guitarists at the same venue on Saturday (11).  And trumpeter Nick Malcolm will also feature alongside guitarist Adam Stokes in his sextet with bassist Chris Jones at St George’s (Wed 15) playing Chris’ arrangements of tunes composed by the amazing Carla Bley.

There’s a couple of Australian acts coming over: Sydney’s trio The Necks are making their annual visit to Bristol (Strange Brew, Mon 27) – again, probably an early sell-out gig – with their well-established stream of consciousness instrumental improvisation. Melbourne drummer Ziggy Zeitgeist brings a fresh generation’s take to that idea, propelling his Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange through the equivalent of a DJ set’s shifting moods and themes (Jam Jar, Wed 8). And the World Service Project’s mercurial Dave Morecroft has new instrumental power trio FUUG (Canteen, Thur 23), described as ‘a liberating ritual with a hunger for pleasure’. Another intriguing new quartet Zeñel come to the Forge (Fri 10) bringing a mix of electronics and acoustic instruments to a jazz interpretation of contemporary dance grooves and 9-piece powerhouse Muito Kaballa (Jam Jar, Fri 24) relentlessly plunder Afro-Latin rhythms for their energetic jazz.

Anyone seeking something a little more reflective should catch the mesmeric Les Égarés, aka Sissoko, Segal, Parisien, Peirani, at The Beacon (Mon 6) for a beautifully constructed coming together of West African music and contemporary jazz. There’s lunchtime chamber jazz at St George’s with the J.A.M. String Collective (Fri 10), a trio of violin, viola and cello playing original compositions and a later lunchtime session (Fri 24) features amazing Peruvian flute and sax player Allexa Nava. She’s part of the formidable Latin-jazz outfit Colectiva and has just released her own solo EP. Portico Quartet bass player Milo Fitzpatrick’s cinematic chamber jazz project Vega Trails is at the Beacon (Mon 20) with a line-up including Mammal Hands’ sax player Jordan Smart.

It’s a busy month for another bass player – Bristol-based Riaan Vosloo who starts with a trio gig at Spirited Bristol (Sun 5) alongside Dan Moore and Ross Hughes, then he has the aforementioned Commotion outing with Laura Jurd (Bristol Music Centre, Wed 8) before a brace of sessions with his quintet Uphill Game firstly back at Spirited Bristol (Sun 19) and then just along North Street at El Rincon (Thur 23).

Saxophonist Dom Franks Strayhorn Quartet last album – the teasingly titled Duality Pt 1 – got great reviews for the energetic fluency of his playing and the band come to the Bebop Club this month (Thur 9) bracketed by another couple of powerful sax-led combos: Greg Sterland’s Trinomika (Thur 2) and the Ben Clatworthy Quartet (Thur 16) – the latter also featuring Riaan Vosloo on bass. Dom will be featured soloist at the Old Fish Market (Sun 19), where other Sunday sax stars include No Go Stop’s tenor player John Pratt (Sun 12) and Get The Blessing’s Jake McMurchie (Sun 26). Fringejazz have their share of sax stars, too, with Music Club favourites the Ian Ballamy Trio (Wed 22) and James Morton’s Groove Den, but, sadly, while the month’s Cotham Club session was dedicated to The Spirit Of Trane, the godfather of so much saxophone jazz, their featured Palestinian soloist Farish Ishaq has had to cancel due to understandable travel difficulties. The gig will hopefully be rescheduled, however, and meanwhile there’s a Play For Palestine benefit gig at Jam Jar (Wed 15) headlined by Afro-beat stars No Go Stop.

Looking towards the groove end of the scene things kick off with Sheffield 7-piece funk fusion outfit We Hate The Sharkman at Mr Wolf’s (Thur 2) and the venue goes on to offer soul-jazzers Mr Griff & The Grifters (Sat 4) and a jazz-funk night with Clusterfunk and the Every Day Quartet (Sat 11). The Brass Junkies brand of New Orleans funk-hop return to Canteen (Fri 10) and one of the inspirational projects that launched the revival of that second line sound through a hip-hop lens comes to Thekla in the shape of Youngblood Brass Band (Tues 28). Southville’s Vookoo collective have another one of their big Common Unity nights out up at Ashton Court Mansion (Sat 18) with live acts including Lords of Veg Funk and Glasgow’s ever-popular livewire act corto:alto will rock the Beacon (Wed 22). Spirited and soulful singer/songwriter (and excellent bass guitarist) Marla Kether and her band are at Jam Jar (Thur 23).

Happily more people are aware of electronic music pioneer Delia Darbyshire these days but maybe fewer know of Daphne Oram, her predecessor and mentor who actually established the BBC Radiophonic workshop where Delia was able to develop her ideas. It would have been Daphne’s 100th birthday this year and the Arnolfini is marking it with a day of events (Sat 25) culminating in a specially commissioned collaboration between A/V artist Kathy Hinde and experimental musicians Dali de Saint Paul and Lia Mazzari. Dali also features in an installation in the Crypt of St John in the Wall (Sat 11, afternoon) and headlines an experimental night at The Cube (Thur 30).

Kathy Hinde is part of another experimental event at The Cube with Chicago trio Haptic (Mon 6) and she is also one of the featured performers at Westport Sound. This is the second year of the weekend festival in Malmesbury (Sat 11-Sun 12) and it features a mind-bogglingly good roster of improvisational, jazz and outsider folk acts headlined by 137, the quartet of Larry Stabbins, Adrian Utley, Seb Rochford and Jim Barr. If those names ring a bell with you, you will definitely want to be there. The monthly SWIG improvisers night at Star & Dove (Mon 6) has guests Sylvia & I (bringing bicycle wheels!) and multi-instrumental duo Sponge while Improvisations Greatest Hits present the unfathomable weirdness of the Jonny Halifax Invocation (Cafe Kino, Sat 11). The Cube also has Transfiguration (Thur 23) and ambitious immersive experience put together by jazz fusion guitarist Fabio Ferri in collaboration with the Undergrowth Collective plus an evening headlined by distinctive vocal and bass duo Sealionwoman with support from electric guitar alchemist Stereocilia and powerful singer/songwriter Annie Gardiner.

The jam session programme for this month includes:

Mr Wolf’s – Donut Filler (weekly, Weds from Wed 1), JFS Open jam (Weekly, Tues from Wed 8)

Bristol Fringe – Jazz rapport Jam (Sun 12), Peanut Butter Jam (Mon 13), Jazz Rendezvous Jam (Mon 20), Seed Sessions (Mon 27)

Canteen – Canteen Jazz Session (Wed 1), Beat Cleaver (Mon 6), Stone Cold Funk Jam (Tue 7), Slapdash (Tue 14), Bristol Street Music (Thur 16), Beat Cleaver Cypher Space (Mon 20), Latin Descarga Session (Tue 21), Riddim Roots Reggae Jam (Tue 28)

Elmer’s Arms – Byrfyfyr open improv (Sat 18)

Attic Bar – Sun Trap Neo Soul Jam (Thur 23)

Cafe Grounded Fishponds – Hot Jazz Jam (Thur 30)