Thousands of visitors make the trip by train, bus, car or narrow boat to experience the unique atmosphere the festival brings to Marsden every year, and more than 60 volunteers give up their time to help make the weekend a success.
We are proud to showcase a wide range of jazz musicians from internationally-acclaimed artists to local school bands and rising talent.
Our New Stream gigs feature cutting edge and experimental jazz music as well as our new commissions, some of which have been broadcast on
Alexander: Tube Zone 83 is a one-hour piece of music that Toby Comeau and I have written, commissioned by Marsden Jazz Festival. It’s essentially a fusion between jazz and dance music with a six-piece band with a slightly unusual lineup, including an electric drum kit and synths as well as acoustic instruments.
Alexander: Honestly, I love all three equally. They’re all very linked to me. My first love was playing. But then that, especially in jazz music, merges with composition, as improvisation is kind of composing on the spot. Then production is very linked to composition and songwriting. The instruments and sounds you use in a piece of music and how you arrange them are arguably just as crucial to the overall result as the melody, harmony and rhythm.
Toby: We share a lot of approaches, as we’ve been working together since we were 16 and learnt through similar institutions. We’ve tried to play to our individual strengths. So far, Alexander has been focusing a bit more on the sound design and groove ideas whilst I’ve focused more on harmony and melody, but overall we’ve very much shared everything. Our process has essentially consisted of one of us having an idea and making it into something, then the other one will build on it, then the first will edit that, until it grows into something complete that we are both happy with.
Toby: In order to find new paths in music there is an element of risk that cannot guarantee a short-term profit, which is why opportunities such as this are a rare thing. The funding provided to us and other artists who are trying to break new ground is essential for allowing the time and space to do so. As history has proved, new answers to music do actually create masses of profit in the end, however, those who are now making billions from the hip-hop industry (for example) could not have predicted it at the time that hip-hop was being born.
Arun brought us a spellbinding sell-out gig at our 2015 festival and we’re delighted he’s chosen to return to Marsden to launch his new album.
You can help to support the free gigs by taking part in our
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