Seven brilliant people you need to know…

Rianne Thompson, one of this year’s seven independent industry experts advising Jazz North

Northern Line is Jazz North's live touring support programme. It enables jazz and jazz-inspired artists living in the North to upscale their live touring development, with a cash bursary to subsidise gigs and reach new audiences. 

Open for all artists and bands to apply, successful applicants also receive a showcase at mjf, a bespoke artist development plan, 1-1 career advice, and priority access to specialist workshops and events. 

Northern Line applications are assessed by a panel of independent industry experts from across the scene. We change up our panel each year to bring new voices to the room and make sure we’re representing jazz across the sector. 

This year those fantastic people are:

Aisling Doherty, Thomas Rees, Josh Aitman, Ni Maxine, Rianne Thompson, Bob Walker and David Porter.

Read on to find out more about who they are and what they do! 

Northern Line applications close at midday on Friday 7th November 2025

head to https://www.jazznorth.org/northern-line to find out more and apply! 

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Aisling Doherty

AISLING DOHERTY 

Aisling Doherty is the Programming Administrator at Serious, producers of the EFG London Jazz Festival. In this role she supports the programming and delivery of the EFG London Jazz Festival, as well as year-round gigs and UK tours, bespoke curated projects and the artist development programme Take Five.

Aisling previously co-founded and was Festival Manager of Leeds Jazz Festival, and has worked extensively in live events and festivals; including Glastonbury, End of the Road, Bluedot and Manchester Jazz Festival and venues such as Wembley Arena, Drumsheds, Brudenell Social Club, Howard Assembly Room and Belgrave Music Hall.

Building from performing in and managing bands, Aisling has also worked at The Leaf Label, Music:Leeds and hosted shows on JazzFM and Soho Radio.

Thomas Rees

THOMAS REES 

Thomas Rees is a writer, radio producer, song collector and musician based in Newcastle. In 2019 he travelled across Haiti, meeting carnival bands and vodou drummers, and is working on a book about the music scene. Thomas was the lead producer on BBC Radio 3’s jazz show J to Z and now co-produces ‘Round Midnight with Soweto Kinch. 

As a writer and producer, he has interviewed some of the world’s most inspiring musicians – including Quincy Jones, Ron Carter, Charles Lloyd, Sheila Jordan, Esperanza Spalding, Chick Corea, Roy Hargrove, Archie Shepp and Grimes. 

His journalism has been published by the BBC, the Barbican, Rough Guides, The Wire, Dazed, Wanderlust, DownBeat, Jazzwise and many others. He has recorded several dispatches for BBC Radio 4’s From Our Own Correspondent and has featured on Radio 3’s Late Junction, sharing his field recordings from Haiti and the Balkans. Thomas is also a (very out-of-practice) trumpet player, with a master’s in jazz performance from the Guildhall School of Music.

Josh Aitman

JOSH AITMAN

Josh Aitman is DJ, broadcaster and creative marketer who specialises in community development and brand building. Drawing on over a decade of hands-on experience in radio, events, and community building — including 9 years running Liverpool’s community radio station Melodic Distraction, long-standing radio residencies, and his current role leading the marketing team at We Out Here Festival — Josh brings a grounded, practice-led perspective shaped by both formal training and self-initiated projects.

Over 10 years he founded Independent radio station Melodic Distraction. A community platform supporting the North West creative community. His work helped platform creatives through broadcasting, events and content creation to provide opportunities and training while bridging the gap between brands, organisations and festivals to see the North West thrive.

Now working at We Out Here Festival, Josh leads their marketing strategy, raising awareness for the festival's activities, while spotlighting the creative contributors that come together to make We Out Here Festival what it is.

Ni Maxine

NI MAXINE

Ni Maxine is a Liverpool based multi-award winning Neo-Jazz Singer-Songwriter and curator; a Black British woman sparking intergenerational conversations for change, exploring themes of home, identity, self-esteem & belonging.

Named ‘Breakthrough Act of The Year’ at the Jazz FM Awards 2025, with live shows spanning The EFG London Jazz Festival, Africa Oyé, Brick Lane Jazz Festival, Mostly Jazz, Cheltenham Jazz Festival and We Out Here to name a few, Ni Maxine has made a name for herself nationally and internationally as an artist.

Ni Maxine’s artistry extends beyond music, with curating and producing spaces for the music community in Liverpool to gather, showcasing art (in all forms) that spark important conversations for change. Since September 2021, ‘The Wombat Jazz Club’, curated by Ni Maxine, has been popping up around the city, producing iconic events which bring the music community together, centring the Black experience and celebrating Black art. 

Curating intergenerational events in Liverpool with ‘The Jazz Project’ at Granby Winter Garden and ‘The Wombat Jazz Festival’ (Culture Liverpool at St George’s Hall (2024), Ni Maxine continues the legacy of Black jazz music which was first brought to the UK through Liverpool’s port. 

Rianne Thompson

RIANNE THOMPSON

Rianne is the Producer for the Artist Development programme at The Glasshouse International Centre for Music. She works on live events including BBC Introducing from The Glasshouse, BBC Proms and earlier this year MOBO Fringe 2025. She also commissions and produces new projects with artists from across the UK. 

Bob Walker

BOB WALKER

Bob Walker helped to set up Scarborough Jazz in 1984 alongside Mike Gordon. At that time his professional career in music meant that his contributions to the club were sporadic but, nevertheless, his association has been a strong one – both as a committee member and as resident bass player. More recently Bob  have taken over as chair and secretary and, yes, still holds the resident bassist seat! 

Despite the difficulties faced by so many of the grassroots venues nationally, Scarborough Jazz has managed to weather the storm and looks to be in a secure position moving forward. Recent initiatives to promote young musicians through its New Jazz Generation Scheme and

Scarborough Jazz Introduces programme, have proved very successful. These programmes have also served to further its commitment to work with musical educators – creating close ties with local schools, the Leeds Conservatoire and Hull University.

As the main booker for Scarborough Jazz, Bob takes a great interest in what is “out there”. Constantly looking for new and interesting artistes to keep the programme fresh. This is done in close collaboration with The Scarborough Jazz Festival which, itself, was born out of Scarborough Jazz Club. 

Bob’s career has always been proactive where music promotion and the welfare of musicians is concerned. To this end he has been an activist in the Musicians' Union for over fifty years and has contributed his experience to many Jazz organisations.

David Porter

DAVID PORTER 

David is celebrating 50 years as a producer, promoter, evaluator and mentor, working across a wide range of art forms and for a diverse spread of institutions across the country. He is a board member for Hull Music Hub and served as a member on the Arts Council North Board from 2013 to 2018. David has enjoyed a relationship with Jazz North since its inception in 2012 and is the current chair of its Northern Jazz Talent Developers Forum. He is currently programme director of Hull Jazz Festival and enjoys mentoring and commissioning artists through its Out of the Box programme.