David Farnor | On 18, Mar 2021

Cheltenham Jazz Festival will return this May for a second online event.

After last year’s successful streaming weekender, the annual jazz festival will once again take place virtually on Sunday 1st and 2nd May, with two days of online sets led by Gregory Porter and Steve Winwood.

Winwood will be premiering brand new material recorded during lockdown at 7.30pm on Saturday 1st May, while Porter will be performing a set on Sunday 2nd May especially created for Cheltenham. Additional acts lined up for weekend include pioneering saxophonist and rapper Soweto Kinch, recording-breaking beatboxer, producer and live-looper SK Shlomo, distinguished British vocalist Cleveland Watkiss, shows from rising star saxophonists Rachael Cohen, Faye MacCalman and Lara Jones, revered sibling duo Zoe & Idris Rahman, and a premiere from guitarist Chris Montague, who will unveil his new trio Warmer Than Blood featuring Kit Downes on piano and Ruth Goller on bass. Also performing will be ensembles from the innovative jazz development organisations Tomorrow’s Warriors and Birmingham Town Hall’s Rise Up.

A vibrant selection of international acts will also appear across the weekend including Broadway and West End star Marisha Wallace, Cuban trumpeter Yelfris Valdes, French singer Leïla Martial with her Baa Box group, and a first UK show from Portuguese punk-jazz outfit The Right of Trio.

All of the concerts will be free to view on the Cheltenham Jazz Festival YouTube page. The weekend will be hosted by BBC 6Music presenter Cerys Matthews and the Festival’s Artistic Curator Gregory Porter.

The online event will be followed in July with what is hoped to be a three-night, in-person event at Cheltenham Town Hall.

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