Jazz breaking news: Manchester Jazz Club To See In The Changes
Monday, August 1, 2011
Matt and Phred’s is planning a relaunch to expand its range and become a “pan-arts” venue, according to the club aiming to take advantage of “the diversity of talent in the thriving artistic community of Manchester’s Northern Quarter and beyond.
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Jam nights will be devoted to Mondays, with the first Monday of the month the jazz jam; the second the blues jam; the third the funk jam; and the fourth an open mike Lend Us Your Stage night for spoken word and theatre pieces.
Matt and Phred’s which has been running for eight years on Tib Street in the Northern Quarter is also to host Classical Revolution, a chamber music night, that has its origins in San Francisco, championing chamber music in an informal setting.
In the aftermath of the recent Manchester Jazz Festival, a peak in the city’s yearly jazz activity which the club was heavily involved with, what this means for the club’s key customer base remains to be seen. Jazz clubs which have tried to expand into other areas often struggle to retain their key audience. Paradoxically to non-jazz fans they still seem to be a jazz club and don't come. So it’s a brave move.
Recent artists to have performed at the club have included jazz inspired by Congolese and Cameroonian music courtesy of Amani, and straightahead jazz from drummer Myke Wilson’s Hidden Treasures celebrating Wilson’s fiftieth birthday.
Matt and Phred’s lacks the national and international profile of Swan Street’s Band on the Wall currently enjoying a renaissance since re-opening after a major refit. But the two clubs combine to lift Manchester’s status as a leading regional jazz city in England.
August highlights at the club before the relaunch kicks in next month include Go Go Penguin (6 August); Andrew Woodhead Trio (10 Aug); and Adam Fairhall (11 Aug). – Stephen Graham
For more go to www.mattandphreds.com