Lineup announced for the 2025 Liverpool International Jazz Festival

Liverpool International Jazz Festival has announced the dates and line-up for its 12th annual celebration in 2025.

The four-day extravaganza of music and film at The Capstone Theatre will take place from Thursday 20th February through until Sunday 23rd February and will once again feature some of the world’s most talented artists in the genre.

On Thursday 20th February at 7:30pm, the son of legendary jazz musician and composer Dave Brubeck, Darius Brubeck will lead the London-based Darius Brubeck Quartet, which has been together for 15 years and tours internationally.

The following afternoon on Friday at 1pm will see a screening of Playing the Changes – Tracking Darius Brubeck, a film about what it is like to grow up as a jazz musician in a turbulent time of racial segregation in the US and political tension during the Cold War, and about applying these experiences to living and teaching in segregated South Africa. The feature examines how jazz had such a transformative role in different societies like (post-)Soviet Poland and Nelson Mandela’s South Africa, where jazz was present, but disowned through apartheid.

Following the screening there’s a Q&A with Darius, his wife Cathy and director Michiel ten Kleij.

The Friday evening will then see a performance from a ‘wild and exhilarating’ blend of top UK musicians from various generations, for whom Swiss drummer and percussionist Florian Arbenz has tailor-made his newest project.

Throughout his nearly 30-year musical career, Arbenz has consistently demonstrated that he’s not only a brilliant drummer but also has a keen sense for unique and gripping combinations of musicians and instruments. In his latest project, he turns his attention to the musical connections he’s formed during his frequent visits to the UK.

From the rising star Immy Churchill to internationally renowned musicians like Percy Pursglove, Jim Hart, and Ivo Neame, and the legendary veteran Christy Doran, five illustrious British musicians contribute to Arbenz’s supergroup.

On the afternoon of Saturday 22nd February at 1pm, the festival joins forces with Liverpool’s South Asian arts company, Milap for a captivating afternoon of music featuring the extraordinary talents of Rekesh Chauhan and Kousic Sen.

Chauhan, a multi-award-winning British pianist and composer, is celebrated for his versatility in both Indian and Western classical traditions. His performances have graced some of the world’s most prestigious stages, and he has collaborated with legendary artists such as Pt. Birju Maharaj and Mercury Prize-winner Talvin Singh.

In Milap’s Beyond Roots, Rekesh will be joined by internationally renowned tabla maestro Kousic Sen. Together, they will explore the dynamic intersection of Indian classical music and jazz, blending tradition with contemporary innovation.

Then, on Saturday evening, the festival will welcome Neil Cowley Trio onto the Capstone Theatre stage, returning to the scene after a break of 7 years with their new album ‘Entity’.

As a young boy, Cowley studied classical music and by the age of 10 had performed a Shostakovich piano concerto to a full house at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. By his mid-teens he had turned his back on his classical career entering the world of old-school R’n’B, soul and funk and working with some of the most successful bands of the day including the Brand New Heavies and Zero 7 alongside his own chill-out production duo, Fragile State.

The trio went on to record six highly acclaimed studio albums – Displaced (2006) winner of the 2007 BBC Jazz Award for Best Album; Loud… Louder… Stop (2008) hailed by Mojo as a ‘modern classic’, Radio Silence (2010), cementing Cowley’s credentials as a brilliant, dazzling composer; The Face of Mount Molehill (2012) with a string ensemble that earned them the 2013 Jazz FM award for Best UK Jazz Act and Touch and Flee (2014), described by Cowley as his ‘concert hall album’.

The Sunday afternoon of the festival will see internationally acclaimed jazz pianist Dorian Ford celebrate the 50th anniversary of Keith Jarrett’s legendary improvised 1975 Köln Concert with a unique performance.

Reaching back through time he blends his passion for Jarrett’s brilliant original with his own improvisations, Ford’s riffs and grooves re-igniting the spark of genius of the young Jarrett. The original live recording is still the best-selling solo piano album in history in both classical and jazz.

Closing the festival on the evening of Sunday 23rd February at 7:30pm will be the award winning young saxophonist and composer, Emma Rawicz.

Rawicz is a bandleader with an astonishing musical maturity. At just 22 years of age, she has achieved a huge amount, including the release of two critically acclaimed albums Incantation and Chroma and extensive headline tours across 15 countries.

She has appeared in high profile festivals and venues including concerts featuring as a soloist with the BBC Concert Orchestra at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and with the German SWR Radio Big Band at a sold out Berlin Philharmonie. She was the youngest ever Artist in Residence at Cambridge Jazz Festival and has received a number of awards and nominations recognising her achievements.

After a record year in 2024, Liverpool International Jazz Festival is back in 2025 with another exciting line up featuring some of the world’s leading jazz musicians. Individual event tickets start at just £5.50, whereas full festival bundle tickets are just £65.45.

Book tickets for the Liverpool International Jazz Festival here.

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