The Hexham Jazz Festival is back - bigger and better and longer.

Organisers of the popular event are now delighted to announce its return on May 12-14.

The event is being run in association with Hampstead Jazz Club and is also being supported by both the Town Council and Northumberland County Council.

It will also be compered by Jazz FM’s Nigel Williams.

Hexham Courant:

Opening the festival in Hexham Abbey on Friday, May 12 will be the Ushaw Ensemble – led by virtuoso pianist, Paul Edis. They will be stirring up a potent mix of contemporary classical, folk and jazz, they have received a rapturous reception wherever they have performed.

In the evening Rachel Sutton, a singer with her top-notch trio, will be performing a selection of her favourite Great American Songbook classics.

On Saturday, May 13 at Hexham Abbey, Freddie Benedict will be accompanied by his superb quartet and will be stirring up a perfectly mixed cocktail of cool jazz standards, Brazilian sambas and contemporary pop songs. 

Hexham Courant:

After Freddie, will be Jo Harrop. Jo and her quintet of world class musicians will be performing a suite of songs taken from When Winter Turns To Spring, her debut with pianist Paul Edis.

Ending this special evening will be a late-night DJ session from Nigel Williams, Jazz FM’s breakfast show host.

On Sunday, May 14 at Forum Cinema, Hexham, The Time Of Golden Love – A Live Performance to Ernst Lubitsch’s 1921 Classic Film, Die Bergkatze (The Wild Cat) will take place - a rarely seen cult gem of Expressionist-era German silent film from 1921.

Finally, at the Queen’s Hall, opening the final evening of the festival will be local outfit BOREALIS, with their infectious blend of contemporary jazz and folk. 

Tickets can be bought at the Queen's Hall or on the website www.queenshall.co.uk and local Ukrainian refugees will receive complimentary tickets for the Sunday performance.

All profits and collections over the weekend will be going to cancer research carried out at Newcastle University.

One of the festival organisers, Andrew Rigg, said: “The idea of resurrecting the Hexham Jazz Festival arose after George Robinson and I saw the superb Jo Harrop and Rachel Sutton perform at a jazz club in London.

"We asked them if they would like to play in Hexham and they immediately said yes. We are incredibly excited that they will both be performing at this year’s festival.”