Bristol’s month in jazz – September 2025

As we step back into term time and things pick up on the gigs front a bit of a fanfare is called for, so: tarantara! Bristol jazz lovers will no doubt be delighted to know that there is now an on-line calendar of local jazz-related events. Bristol Jazz Live has been put together by locally-based jazz writer Jon Turney and saxophonist Jake McMurchie, the latter in his web design alter-ego. Nice work, gentlemen, and just in time to welcome the re-opened Croft venue. Their first gigs include an Enter The Noid night of experimental noise (Sat 13) and imaginative prog-pop jazzers Fantastic Stranger (Thur 25).

One thing not mentioned on the site, however, is the impending Hidden Notes festival in Stroud (various venues, Sat 20/Sun 21). This celebration of the leftest of fields grows stronger every year and the 2025 line-up includes avant classical composer/performers like violinist Anna Phoebe and cellist Francesca Der-Berg alongside vocal experimenters HOWL, ‘expanded flute playing’ septet viibra and trancey electronic duo James Holden and Waclaw Zimpel.

But firmly back in the parish it is always good to welcome back Andy Sheppard (Beacon, Sun 14) bringing the latest in his seemingly limitless series of duos, this time with Swiss pianist Michael Arbenz. Their collaboration began way back in the days of the Albert Inn jazz sessions when promoter Ian Storrer introduced Andy to Arbenz’ trio Vein, leading to several joint tours over the years. Their recent album covers the ground from Bach to Ellington with predictably intelligent elegance. Another piano/sax duo Naissance is the latest in John Law’s hush-hush Ppianissimo series at Bristol Music Centre (Fri 5) with John joining tenor player Jon Lloyd.  And over at El Rincon Invisible Apples,the house duo of pianist John Baggott and trumpeter Pete Judge, returns (Thur 18).

Guitarists abound, too, with the excellent Yetii piano trio welcoming Ant Law for their Greenbank session (Thur 4) and the weekly Sunday lunchtime gigs at Spirited Bristol hosting the welcome return of Dan Messore (Sun 7) as well as Snazzback guitarist Eli JItsuto (Sun 22) joining Dan Moore (keys) and Matt Stockham-Brown (drums). The venue also has cool saxophonists Dan Newberry (Sun 14) and Greg Sterland (Sun 28), each with their respective trios. Greg will somehow be squeezing his lively contemporary big band Yard Dogs into Fishponds’ Café Grounded (Fri 26), the same night as drummer Robert Brian brings his quartet including tenor sax player Matt Sibley to the Crafty Egg, Fishponds. The Crafty Egg also has guitarist James Chadwick’s Trio (Fri 12) while Ben Kerrigan’s fusion jazz-rock trio will shake the Grain Barge (Tue 9).

Maddy Coombs is one of the brightest young saxophone stars from the London scene and she comes to St George’s for a lunchtime gig (Fri 26), while the Stage and Hounds jam session features a trio of local reeds stars starting with Sophie Stockham-Brown (Sun 7), followed by Jake ‘webmeister’ McMurchie (Sun 21) and John Martin (Sun 28) as well as vocalist Victoria Klewin (Sun 14).

Long-standing powerhouse jazz rockers Led Bib come to The Cube (Tue 16) in their new format as a twin saxophone-led quartet. The high energy music on their new album Hotel Pupik confirms their trademark improvisatory flow is still very much in evidence.

Vocalist Brigitte Beraha’s versatility and range was a great contribution to Kevin Figes Sound Dimension concert last month and she returns to the Bebop club with Brigitte Beraha’s Lucid Dreamers (Thur 18), an experimental jazz quartet that showcases her voice in all its many styles. The Bebop’s new season starts, appropriately, with mainman Andy Hague’s Quintet (Thur 11) – an all-star combo of Bristol talent – with a later gig from trumpeter James Borland (Thur 25) giving us a taste of what’s hot on the Birmingham contemporary scene. One of the country’s top trumpeters and composers Laura Jurd joins pianist Rebecca Nash and trombonist Raph Clarkson for an improvisatory session at Fringe In The Round (Tue 2, Fringe).

Latin influences abound, with the Jim Blomfield and Michal Padron Sextet bringing Cuban style to Portishead’s Speakeasy Jazz Club (Fri 12) and those two also figure in the Saoco Collective who should crank up the heat in The Forge (Fri 19). All the way from Argentina, the Tango Jazz Quartet will be making their annual visit to The Bell (Mon 15) followed by the contemporary Afro-Brazilian outfit Da Lata (The Bell, Sat 27). Venezuelan jazz-funk bandleader Tomasito Garcia plays at Canteen (Tue 30) and vibes player and composer James Dorman’s Bossa Soul Orchestra also play there (Thur 25).

Sticking with the dance-floor friendly vibe: South London sextet Tanhai Collective (Rough Trade, Tue 9) have the ear of DJ/guru Gilles Peterson while Manchester’s soulful Secret Night Gang (Jam Jar, Thur 18) come from the Brownswood Nu-soul scene. The mighty Kokoroko (Electric Bristol, Mon 22) were an early success of the Jazz Re-Freshed wave and they, too, have morphed in the nu-soul direction of late.

Bristol’s cool soul-jazz King Chameleon are at the Jam Jar (Sat 6) and it’s likely they’ll be catching Australian soul-funk sextet Surprise Chef’s carefully produced sound at The Lantern (Fri 12). There’s more straight ahead funk and boogaloo from the Manuals of Fire organ trio (Old Fish Market, Sun 14) and Dan Waldman’s Hammond Trio (Canteen Thur 11) when Dan goes head-to-head with fellow guitarist Charlie Allen. Mr Wolf’s have a couple of jazz-funk nights with Hunzz (Sat 13) and Manor Funk (Sat 20).

For classic vocal jazz and swing there’s Marvin Muoneké’s accomplished take on the Great American Songbook at Fringe (Thur 4) and in the Swing Sunday afternoon in Redcatch Community Garden (Sun 27) – that latter gig comes ’with cake’ apparently. Ruby Hall cover similar territory at Tobacco Factory (Sun 7) and you can warm up for that with a bit of Lindy Hopping at the earlier jazz and swing Sunday Social Dance (Hen & Chicken, Sun 7). The big swing showcase, however, will be when the Down For The Count All-Stars bring their Swing That Music show to the Redgrave Theatre (Sun 14).

When you are reading this it may be too late to catch the South West Improvisers Group’s September session (Star & Dove, Mon 1), which is a shame because they are welcoming sometime Bristol resident freeform cellist Hannah Marshall. But there’s no doubt that many SWIG players will be at St Anne’s Church (Sat 13) to watch a free jazz legend in action. It’s been 60 years since drummer Eddie Prevost co-founded AMM, a radical ‘meta music’ experiment that lasted on and off until 2022. Eddie has played and recorded constantly through those decades, an acknowledged pioneer and a major influence on improvising drummers to this day. This Bristol performance will also feature Swiss trumpeter Silvan Schmidt and bassist Tom Wheatley.

Drummer Mark Sanders will have followed Eddie’s work over the years and he appears with sax player Rachel Musson and US improv duo Jessica Ackerley and Eli Wallace as headliners at the latest Liquid Library night at The Cube (Tue 9). Rachel also appears at Arnolfini (Thur 18) in a double bill with improvising cellist Khabat Abas to mark the return of the gallery’s Eavesdropping platform for new music. Drummer Dan Johnson – who will surely know Mark Sanders well enough – joins MXLX’s ‘fullbody powerdrone’ keyboards with Viridian bass player Jo Kelly to headline a Strange Brew night of ’not your dad’s jazz’ (Sun 14).

Thrashing noise merchants Ex Agents release a new EP (Strange Brew, Sat 27) with a heap of other radical acts and the whole Bristol DIY scene is celebrated in the film In’sive, showing at the Cube (Sat 20). Many of the featured musicians will be performing afterwards including drummer Dan, Ex Agent and Improv’s Greatest Hits (IGH) luminaries like  Harry Iceman Furniss.

IGH have a night themselves at Café Kino (Fri 12) with spoken word artist Devin Birse bidding farewell to Bristol  in the company of violinist Annalise Lam and Berlin ‘punk ambient duo’ Slow Slow Loris among many others. Another musician bidding farewell to Bristol (albeit only for a year) is percussionist Harriet Riley who heads for Bali to immerse herself in the world of traditional Balinese Gamelan music. Beat Frequencies (St George’s, Thur 25) is a showcase of the Gamelan both in its traditional role and also in contemporary classical composition, with the Bristol Bali Gamelan ensemble.

Random Modulations is a celebration of the world of modular synth music at The Cube (Thur 25) curated by Steve Davis and Gaz Williams, with eight performers (who are also instrument builders) playing in random duos with real-time visuals. The annoyingly named Warrington Runcorn Newtown Development Plan will bring their retro-futurist synth music to Rough Trade (Sat 27).

And jam sessions are weekly at Mr Wolf’s: Donut Filler (Weds), The Old England’s Community Jam Collective (Tues) and on Sundays at Stag & Hounds.

Fringe has: Hot Club Jam (Mon 1), Peanut Butter Jam (Mon 8), Jazz Rapport Jam (Mon 15) and Seed Sessions (Mon 29).

Canteen has Beat Cleaver Cypher Space (Mon 1), Stone Cold Funk Jam (Tue 2), Canteen Jazz Session (Wed 3), Slapdash (Tue 9), Canteen Latin Session (Tue 16).

The Dark Horse has its Free Jazz Gachapon (Thur 18)

Bristol Jazz Live has the full calendar of jazz related events