Jazz North is giving one emerging band the chance to showcase their music at six leading jazz festivals in the north. Yaatri, based in Leeds, are the latest beneficiaries of Jazz North Introduces, a scheme which will offer them high-profile exposure at festivals in Lancaster, Marsden, Liverpool, Gateshead, Manchester and Durham, alongside career support and promotion.

The band was selected from a wide range of applications after impressing a selection panel of festival directors, professional musicians, promoters and educators who prioritised musical excellence in musicianship, creativity, innovation and potential. “The music of Yaatri is technically accomplished but with a sensitive musical spirit,” explains panel member Neil Campbell, Artistic Director of Liverpool International Jazz Festival. “The band’s compositions are performed with great subtlety and taste and boast wonderfully distinctive and beautiful vocals. Compositionally it seems to me there is a clear sense of purpose in the bands fusing of atmospheric jazz with rhythmic and melodic ideas from Indian classical music.”

A genre crossing quintet, Yaatri blend complex composition and ethereal soundscapes. The influences of the emotive quality of the Scandinavian jazz tradition, the momentum of the rhythms of India and the energy of rock and roll, give their music a strong sense of purpose and journey. Yaatri are:

Liam Narain DeTar – Guitar
Bethany Herrington – Vocals
Felix Bertulis-Webb – Keys
Jona Tromp – Drums
Joe Wilkes – Bass

Applications for Jazz North Introduces were open to bands at an emerging stage in their career, with a commitment to living, working or studying in the north of England.

Yaatri will also receive a package of help as part of the Jazz North Introduces scheme, including payment and expenses for the gigs, professional mentoring, a photo-shoot and assistance in creating an electronic press kit.

More about Yaatri can be found on the band’s website here.

Jazz North’s partners in Jazz North Introduces are:

• • DJazz Festival
  • Gateshead Jazz
  • Lancaster Jazz Festival
  • Liverpool International Jazz Festival
  • Manchester Jazz Festival
  • Marsden Jazz Festival
  • Leeds College of Music

Jazz North Introduces Festival Showcases:

• • Lancaster Jazz Festival – September 2019
  • Marsden Jazz Festival – October 2019
  • Liverpool International Jazz Festival – February 2020
  • Gateshead Jazz – March 2020
  • Manchester Jazz Festival – May 2020
  • DJazz Festival – June 2020

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