Southport Jazz Festival 2023: Brownfield-Byrne Quintet open three-day spectacle at The Grand

The 2023 Southport Jazz Festival opens on Friday 3rd February with the The Brownfield-Byrne Quintet.

The show is the first of 10 taking place at The Grand on Lord Street over three days and nights on 3rd-5th February. 

The opening show starts at 1pm featuring Jamie Brownfield and the Liam Byrne Quintet, with tickets £18 each. 

For tickets please visit: southportjazz.co.uk

The Brownfield-Byrne Quintet, or BBQ, was conceived back in 2009 by two young North Wales musicians, tenor saxophonist Liam Byrne and trumpeter Jamie Brownfield, and while initially inspired by the trumpet and tenor tradition of 1950’s bebop, the band’s sound has broadened considerably to incorporate earlier forms of jazz, drawing inspiration from the small groups of the 1930s, New Orleans rhythms and classic Duke Ellington, giving the quintet a wide appeal and a sound all of its own.

Trumpeter Jamie Brownfield, winner of the Rising Star category at the 2012 British Jazz Awards whose influences include Clifford Brown and Wynton Marsalis, has a prodigiously broad playing style running the gamut of jazz trumpet.

Liam Byrne on tenor sax, a postgraduate of London’s Guildhall School of Music, can often be heard playing in the Andy Prior Big Band, and has a deeply resonant tone and a growing reputation as a torchbearer of the jazz tenor saxophone tradition, inspired by the likes of Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins and Sonny Rollins.

Completing the line-up of the Brownfield / Byrne Quintet are three more fine young musicians, North West based Andy Hulme (guitar), Ed Harrison (double bass) and Jack Cotterill (drums).

Some of the greatest jazz musicians in the UK will be heading to Southport this February when the 2023 Southport Jazz Festival takes place.

The three-day event takes place from Friday 3rd February to Sunday 5th February 2023 in the spectacular setting of the art deco The Grand on Lord Street in Southport as part of the landmark building’s centenary celebrations.

Southport Jazz Festival is being organised for the first time by acclaimed local musicians Jez Murphy and Emma Holcroft, who have taken over from Neil Hughes.

Emma will be among the performers, starring with the Swingtime Big Band featuring herself and Liane Carroll on the opening night.

The new venue is among some welcome changes that audiences will enjoy seeing although some of the event’s much-loved traditions will remain.

There will be a variety of shows for people of all tastes from jazz enthusiasts to music lovers keen to enjoy something a little different in a glamorous setting.

• For more details about Southport Jazz Festival please visit: southportjazz.co.uk

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