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About

If you would like to get involved or sponsor us we would love to hear from you.

 

Previous Festival programmes: 

CJF2015 

CJF2016

CJF2017

CJF2018

CJF2019

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Official Festival photographer websites: 

Gareth Millar

David Hone

Trevor Lee

Hiatus Kaiyote, CJF2015 Junction J1, Photographer - David Hone

Video created with help from students from the ARU (CJF 2015) 

The Cambridge Jazz Festival was founded in 2014, the first in this city for over 45 years. Not that the jazz scene in Cambridge has been lying dormant. Anything but. This is a city that punches way above its weight in terms of the quality and variety of its arts, and jazz is no exception. Throughout Cambridge, jazz thrives in all its different guises.

The organisers had some specific goals in mind – bringing together the jazz communities from the town and the universities, showcasing local talent (and in some cases, inviting them back home again!), and bringing the best bands from around the country and internationally to perform in our city.

The festival is a celebration of the huge variety of music that jazz encompasses, from gypsy jazz to funk, from jazz poetry and spoken word to hip-hop, from solo artists to big bands and to open jazz up to new audiences, particularly young people, and to give them the chance to get involved as well as come and listen.

This will hopefully break down some of the old preconceptions and stereotypes, and present jazz in Cambridge as what it truly is - a thrilling, varied, and compellingly creative art form. A lot has changed in 45 years, as you’ll see…come to the gigs, see the films, hear the talks, and learn something new at the workshops of the Cambridge Jazz Festival

With the generous support of sponsors including the Arts Council England, Brewin Dolphin, and CambridgeBID, and with your participation and encouragement, Cambridge can be given the jazz festival it richly deserves.

  • Presents 14 days of live music each November.

  • Features over 400 musicians and 80 events in 30 venues, day and night.

  • Presents both ticketed and free gigs.

  • Champions our regional artists and showcase them alongside headline acts.

  • Brings together jazz communities from town and the universities in joint projects and performances.

  • Promotes jazz to a wider audience within the city and beyond.

  • Celebrates and encourages the multiple genres of jazz and breaks down musical boundaries.

  • Encourages and supports awareness and teaching of jazz in local schools.

  • Provides talks, educational workshops and masterclasses for both children and adults.

  • Commissions and performs new and original music.

  • Encourages and supports collaborations with other arts media such as film, literature and the fine arts.

  • Joins forces with Cambridge's leading music venues such as the Cambridge Corn Exchange, Cambridge Junction and The Mumford Theatre.

  • Works with partners, including BBC Radio Cambridgshire, Cambridge Live, Cambridge Modern Jazz, University of Cambridge & Anglia Ruskin University.

 

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