Stars lined up for October Jazz Festival in Marsden; Jazz

Huddersfield Daily Examiner (Huddersfield, England), August 15, 2008

Byline: By ANDREW BALDWIN

FIRST news from October's Marsden Jazz Festival ... and it's looking good. Trad fans will be delighted to know that this year's event will be launched with impeccable style by a welcome return of the legendary Temperance Seven.

They topped the charts in 1961 with You're Driving Me Crazy and followed it up in the same year with their No 4 hit Pasadena. One of the great names in British jazz for more than 40 years, the band is set to get feet tapping when they appear on Friday, October 10. It's the 17th annual jazz festival to be held in Marsden and is run by a small but dedicated group of volunteers.

Thousands are expected to flock to venues throughout the district to see all styles of jazz over the weekend.

Organisers have lined up singer Claire Martin to bring the music which won her the British Jazz Awards' Best Vocalist gong on four occasions.

She's praised for the warmth and subtlety of her voice, for her intelligent phrasing and for her sheer class and is also known as the voice of BBC Radio Three's Jazz Line Up. Young group Empirical, described as one of the hottest properties in British jazz today, will also be there.

The five members were winners of the winners of the inaugural EBU/European Jazz Competition and are firmly tipped to be heading for the top.

Those who've heard them say you should think of a cross between Wayne Shorter and John Coltrane. Saxophonist Snake Davis is also among the headliners, playing his gig on the Sunday afternoon at Marsden Mechanics'.

As well as being resident saxophonist on Tonight With Jonathon Ross, he has played with the likes of James Brown, Smokey Robinson and Chaka Khan.

The traditional street parade starts at noon on the Saturday from Peel Street.

In all, there are 60 performances in all over the weekend, with 50 of them being free. Venues range from Marsden Mechanics' hall to pubs, a church and Puleside Working Men's Club. There's even a jazz train with entertainment on board a normal Northern Rail service from Huddersfield to Marsden and Stalybridge and back.

NEXT up at Wakefield Jazz are the Liane Carroll Trio, a treat for all music lovers. The pianist/singer has been much in demand since winning two BBC Jazz Awards and she recently added a Ronnie Scott Award to the list. She also won the accolade of Musician of the Year at this year's Parliamentary Jazz Awards and her new solo CD, Slow Down, is about to be released. With Roger Carey (bass guitar) and Mark Fletcher (drums) she will be at Wakefield

Jazz on Friday, September 5. It's a rare all-ticket event for the club, which is based at

Wakefield Sports Club on Eastmoor Road. Tickets are pounds 14/pounds 12.

Others appearing in the months before Christmas include the David Newton Trio

(September 26), the John Etheridge/Christian Garrick Duo (October 7), Tim Garland's

Lighthouse Trio (October 31) and the Clark Tracey Sextet (November 28).