Imperial Wharf Jazz Festival is Back on the Boulevard

Enjoy free performances in the open air tonight and tomorrow

Imperial Wharf's annual two day jazz festival is back for the tenth year on the boulevard tonight, September 12 and tomorrow, September 13 featuring some of today's most creative musicians.

The programme kicks off with performances from award-winning young band Ezra Collective playing an electrifying set, laced with vibrant Afrobeat undertones.

The headline act tonight is one of the UK’s leading good time bands, Jazz Jamaica, with special guest Myrna Hague, guaranteed to be a soulful fusion of classic and modern jazz with traditional Jamaican music.

On Saturday the festival will open with Sara Spade & The Noisy Boys playing an uplifting blend of retro-pop swing and Manchester’s rising stars of the jazz scene, GoGo Penguin will also be performing. Continuing into the afternoon there will be performances from Liane Carroll Trio and award-winning acoustic guitarist Antonio Forcione.

The Saturday evening session welcomes double MOBO award winner saxophonist YolanDa Brown and a headline performance by internationally acclaimed Roberto Pla’s Latin Ensemble playing a vibrant mix of salsa music.

Here is the programme in full:

FRIDAY 12TH SEPTEMBER

EZRA COLLECTIVE 7PM

Ezra Collective is the award-winning young band born out of the acclaimed Tomorrow's Warriors artist development programme.

JAZZ JAMAICA WITH SPECIAL GUEST MYRNA HAGUE 8.30PM

Jazz Jamaica are the finest exponents of the unique musical fusion known as Skazz.

SATURDAY 13TH SEPTEMBER

SARAH SPADE 1PM

Sara combines a beautiful mellow voice with the delightful sound of the ukulele, performing authentic vintage songs as well as her own original love songs

GOGO PENGUIN 2.15PM

Manchester trio GoGo Penguin are hotly tipped as the rising stars of the UK Jazz scene

LIANE CARROLL TRIO 3.45PM

The Observer's jazz critic Dave Gelly has described her as "one of the most stylistically flexible pianists around, with a marvellous, slightly husky singing voice

ANTONIO FORCIONE 5PM

The award-winning Antonio Forcione, acoustic guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, composer and talented artist, is a highly charismatic and inventive performer

YOLANDA BROWN 6.45PM

YolanDa Brown is the double MOBO Award-winning saxophonist, widely regarded as the emerging "voice" of mainstream jazz in the UK

ROBERTO PLA'S LATIN ENSEMBLE 8.30PM

Hailed as the Columbian Godfather of Salsa music in the UK. Roberto Pla performs with his 20-piece Latin Orchestra

For more details, visit: www.imperialwharf.com.

September 11, 2014