Liverpool International Jazz Festival set for 10^th anniversary

Liverpool International Jazz Festival (LIJF) will host award-winning artists from around the world as it celebrates its 10^th anniversary this month. 

The four-day Jazz festival in Liverpool, which runs from 23 February – 26 February at the Capstone Theatre, is set to welcome some of the genre’s leading lights with a line-up organisers believe will appeal to anyone with an interest in music.

Organised and hosted by Liverpool Hope University, LIJF has earned a reputation as an innovative and forward-thinking festival, attracting both jazz aficionados and wider music fans looking for a new experience.

The 10^th edition boasts an eclectic mix of artists, featuring everything from Indo-jazz to Afro-funk and even classical.

This includes Shez Raja, one of the most entertaining live acts in the Jazz scene. Voted one of ‘the hottest bass players in the world’ by readers of Bass Player magazine, he’ll be bringing his high-energy brand of indojazzfunk to the festival. 

Multi award-winning saxophonist and composer Marius Neset will also be performing. The Norwegian, who has received commissions from the BBC amongst countless others, has performed at prestigious festivals around the world, including London’s acclaimed Ronnie Scott’s and the Montreal Jazz Festival.

Neset’s show forms part of the festival’s ‘Saxophone Day’, which includes masterclasses, workshops and performances from the man himself, as well as the North’s leading jazz tenorist/educator Dean Masser.

Guests can bring their sax and join in the ensemble classes hosted by prolific International sax expert and composer Andy Scott, and also try out the latest sax models and paraphernalia at the many trade stalls.

The full line-up includes: 

• Milap Indo Jazz Club – Thursday 23 February at 7.30pm
• Adee Lifshitz & Phil Shotton Quintet – Friday 24 January at 1pm
• Devils Of Moko – Friday 24 February at 7.30pm
• Dock in Absolute – Saturday 25 February at 1pm
• Hope Swings Eternal! – Saturday 25 February 2.30pm
• Shez Raja ft. Tony Kofi – Saturday 25 February at 7.30pm
• Marius Neset Quartet – Sunday 26 February at 7.30pm.

Neil Campbell, festival organiser and Venue Manager for Liverpool Hope University’s Creative Campus, said: “It is incredible to be celebrating our 10^th anniversary and it is fitting we are doing so with an incredible line-up that really encapsulates what the festival is about.

“We pride ourselves on bringing the world’s best jazz musicians to Liverpool, but our aim is always to create a line-up which has a broad appeal. 

“That’s why the festival is so unique. Anyone can turn up and enjoy it, whether they have listened to jazz for years or have come in search of a new musical experience.

“Whether you like electronic music, experimental rock or new genres of world music, there is something for everyone. The range of subgenres is really broad this year and with artists from across Europe and Asia, it has the truly global feel we always aimed for.”

Tickets for the festival are on sale at Ticket Quarter and the Capstone Theatre website. 

A full weekend pass, providing access to all five performances, is priced at £48.50. Individual shows cost £11.50 apart from the Marius Neset Quartet, which is £15. Adee Lifshitz & Phil Shotton Quintet and Hope Springs Eternal are both free to attend, with no booking required.

Tickets for the Saxophone Day are priced at £28 and include entry to the Marius Neset Quartet performance.