Dr Jazz and the Cheshire Cats big band is joined by leading saxophonist Alex Clarke (a finalist in the BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year 2020 and winner of the Rising Star category in the 2019 British Jazz Awards) for a programme of music exploring legacies in jazz.
The centrepiece is Bill Pott’s The Jazz Soul of Porgy and Bess, a reimagining of music from Gershwin’s 1935 opera. Alongside this, the programme includes compositions by or written in tribute to jazz luminaries including Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson and Clifford Brown.
Dr Jazz and the Cheshire Cats are a community Affiliate Organisation at The Tung Auditorium for 2025–2027. Find out more about our affiliate scheme here.
Promoted by Dr Jazz and the Cheshire Cats.
Childhood and lullabies weave through this concert, which puts the spotlight on Benjamin Britten to mark the 50th anniversary of his death. Britten composed themes for his Simple Symphony as a child, while A Charm of Lullabies reimagines texts by Blake and Burns.
Timothy Jackson presents a gentle hymn of comfort, and two works by Grammy Award-winning composer Caroline Shaw offer a psychedelic take on fairytales and nature.
Promoted by Liverpool Philharmonic
Elizabeth Dodd is well known as a performer and teacher of the viola da gamba and is in demand as a tutor for early music summer schools and on weekend courses. She also performs and teaches early dance and has advised theatre companies on movement for period drama. She specialises in music for solo unaccompanied viola da gamba ranging from 16th Century Italy, English lyra viola music and music from 18th Century collections from France, Germany and England.
Elizabeth will be playing early 18th Century operatic arias for solo viola da gamba (bass viol), plus tuneful dance pieces; an allemande, sarabande, and ballet by Hotman, and a sonata by Abel, a pupil of J.S. Bach.
Part of the Yoko Ono Lennon Lunchtime Concert Series
Distinguished British artist and The Guardian’s “original folk voice” Ruth Theodore returns to the UK this November for a rare run of full-band shows amidst an especially expansive and creatively significant period in her international career, which has seen her touring extensively in the US.
Signed to Ani DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records, Ruth has earned international critical acclaim for her songwriting and recordings, alongside a growing reputation for immersive, audience-connected live performances, most recently wowing audiences across the US at iconic venues and major festivals.
Expect extraordinary lyricism, unique percussive guitar and emotive piano, with politics, playfulness and a sense of joyful rebellion that pushes the boundaries of gender and genre.
This tour will see Ruth joined by award-winning Zimbabwean bassist, singer and songwriter Edith WeUtonga, whose album Varipasi was shortlisted for the 2025 Folk Album of the Year Award; virtuoso pianist Calum Prior on keys and soundscapes; plus the debut appearance of dynamic drummer Tim Amatah, bringing beats and percussion.
Ruth’s latest album I Am I Am received consistent 5-star reviews. The November tour will feature brand-new songs from Ruth’s forthcoming record, fully realised in complete band arrangements for the first time. “you’d be crazy to miss this chance to see her!” — Time Out London
Jim White is a self-taught guitarist and singer who has seen a lot of life. He’s been a European fashion model, professional surfer, boxer, preacher, and dishwasher, culminating with thirteen long years driving a taxicab in New York City, where he crossed paths with David Byrne, who later signed White to his Luaka Bop label.
There followed a succession of critically acclaimed solo records, appearances on major network shows like Letterman and Conan, plus several off-beat side project releases (Hellwood with Johnny Dowd, Mama Lucky, Sounds of the Americans) His music runs the gamut – alt-country, indie pop, experimental music of various kinds. It is by turns deep, catchy, dark, beautiful, sad, and funny. Above all, he’s a brilliant lyricist and storyteller.
Many of his songs have appeared in film and television, (‘Word-Mule’ in Breaking Bad, and ‘Static on the Radio’ in El Camino with Aimee Mann) He starred in the 2003 award winning BBC documentary, ‘Searching for the Wrong Eyed Jesus’, a road movie set in the rural South, which has attained cult status among southern gothic fans far and wide. His first novel, Incidental Contact, is based on his days driving the taxi in New York City. He’s been published in the literary music journal Radio Silence, receiving the prestigious Pushcart Prize for short fiction. He served as literary commentator for the National Endowment of the Arts.
He exhibits visual art in galleries across the US and Europe. Don’t miss the last UK show of Jim White’s European tour, promoting his upcoming album: Gone Forever, Be Back Soon
For more than 20 years, Tommy Blaize has been one of the most familiar and best-loved voices on British television as lead singer on BBC Strictly Come Dancing. Now he takes centre stage with his full live band in a spectacular new show, The Golden Age of Swing.
From Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole to Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Dean Martin and many more, Tommy performs the timeless ballroom and Great American Songbook classics that have become synonymous with his voice for millions across the country.
Backed by a hand-picked ensemble of some of the UK’s finest musicians, Tommy brings these legendary standards and era-defining songs to life with all the elegance, authority and unmistakable style that have made him one of the nation’s most distinctive and treasured singers.
Join Tommy for an unforgettable evening of world-class music and hear the voice millions already know.
This concert of contrasts opens with Gluck’s Overture and Dance of the Blessed Spirits from his opera Orfeo ed Euridice. Gluck was an older contemporary of Mozart and his Dance is one of the most moving and exquisite pieces in the repertoire.
Next comes Stephen Pratt’s re-imagining of pieces by the baroque composer Lully, who had total control over music at the court of King Louis XIV of France. It is a strange but well-known fact that he beat time with a long wooden stick – you will hear a reference to this in Stephen’s piece – and died from a severe infection after accidentally hitting his own foot with it.
Quite different is a contemporary piece Lyric for strings by George Walker. This is being played in tribute to the orchestra’s much loved and missed violinist, Mark Julius, who died before his time.
Finally, Mozart’s Jupiter, one of the greatest of all symphonies and the composer’s last as it was written in 1788, some three years before his death. It is a profound and elegant piece with a bubbling Finale with which to conclude the concert.
NB: This concert takes place in the Great Hall at Liverpool Hope University Creative Campus, 17 Shaw Street, Liverpool L6 1HP.
The North West Duke Ellington Orchestra does what it says on the tin – plays the fantastic music written and arranged by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn.
Directed by Phil Shotton, the 15 piece big band celebrates the music of Duke Ellington playing music from all eras of Ellington’s output, from his Cotton Club days to the swinging suites.
With band members from all over the North West (Cheshire, Lancashire, Manchester, Merseyside) brought together by the challenge and excitement of playing Duke Ellington’s most brilliant music, this will be a night to remember.
The Phil Shotton ‘Kind of Cool’ Nonet plays live the entire iconic Birth of the Cool album! This concert is a rare and exciting opportunity to hear one of the most important and influential albums in jazz performed live, with the original instrumentation and arrangements, by some of the finest jazz musicians in the North of England.Birth of the Cool was the most important stylistic step to follow after bebop – generating an entirely new wave of playing that influenced a new generation in the early 1950s. This compilation album by American jazz trumpeter and bandleader Miles Davis, released in February 1957 by Capitol Records compiled eleven tracks recorded by Davis’s nonet for the label over the course of three sessions during 1949 and 1950.Featuring unusual instrumentation and several notable musicians, the music consisted of innovative arrangements influenced by classical orchestral music techniques such as polyphony, and marked a major development in post-bebop jazz. As the title suggests, these recordings are considered seminal in the history of cool jazz.
Relive the magic up close with the only show to be endorsed by Jon Bon Jovi himself. Direct from London’s West End, the show returns for its epic 33rd year, cementing its place as one of the UK’s longest-running tribute shows.
Get ready to rock through an unforgettable journey with The Bon Jovi Experience – a phenomenal celebration of timeless classics, packed with the magic, passion, and energy of true stadium rock.
The Bon Jovi Experience features smash-hits such as ‘Livin’ On a Prayer,’ ‘Always’, ‘It’s My Life‘, ‘You Give Love a Bad Name‘, ‘Bad Medicine‘ and many more. Backed by a powerhouse live band, charismatic frontman, Tony Pearce, leads an authentic, high-energy show that will have you singing and dancing all night.
Whether you’re a lifelong Bon Jovi fan or new to the music, this show promises an unforgettable experience.
Reviews:
“The best Bon Jovi tribute band I’ve ever watched” – Jon Bon Jovi
“Have you seen this guy? He’s so much like Jon Bon Jovi, it’s freaky man!” – Chad Kroeger, Nickelback
“The Bon Jovi Experience are up there among the best” – Liverpool Echo News
