The Preston Jazz & Improvisation Festival is back, culminating in the finale: “Jazzin the Park 2025”.
Set in the beautiful Georgian Park, which is Winckley Square Gardens, Jazzin’ the Park 2025 has curated some of the finest local, national and international, Jazz and Jazz-fused artists.
Building on the previous year’s success, 2025 brings amazing artists to Preston City Centre for a FREE non-profit event designed to capture all tastes, generations and communities.
With support from Arts Council England, Preston Jazz & Improvisation Festival, Jazzin the Park Productions, University of Central Lancashire, Friends of Winckley Square, Preston City Council and the Festival of Music & Culture, we are delivering a final event designed by the community for the community.
Please join us on Saturday the 7th of June 2025, from 12:00 to 19:00hrs, at Winckley Square Gardens, for an afternoon of sublime music. Bring your deck chairs, bring your picnic rugs and hampers. Eat from our wonderful vendors. Shop at our craft stalls. But most of all, come together, in unity, enjoying one another’s company, to the beautiful soundtrack of Jazzin’ The Park 2025.
Rebecca Nash’s new trio, Aurum (meaning gold in Latin) is a bold statement of intent —where raw energy and deep musicality collide. Inspired by the curious tale of the sunken treasure ship The Merchant Royal, this band inhabit a rebellious, darkly futuristic universe.
Nash’s ethereal melodies and densely saturated harmonies, along with Smith’s punk-spirited restless drumming and Jensen’s warm resonant tones, plunge listeners into a shadowy, realm that evoke the mystery of the ocean seabed.
“Nash is at the vanguard of innovative and compelling new music” – Downbeat
“Jensen is thoughtful, richly chordal and attractively Charlie Haden-like on the bass” – John Fordham, The Guardian.
“Drummer Dave Smith exhibited a mastery of irresistible rhythms” LA TIMES – Randy Lewis
Having firmly established herself as a pianist withing the UK, Rebecca Nash is now garnering an international reputation for her distinctive sound, full of artistry and heart, having recently completed a mini tour in Ireland with Sara Colman, as well as also taking her new band Aurum to Jazzahead! 2025 to play a showcase as part of the UK CLUBNIGHT.
Henrik Jensen is a distinguished Danish bassist and composer who has become a prominent figure on the UK jazz scene. He moved to London from Denmark in 1997 to study electric bass at The Musicians Institute. Recognizing his passion for the double bass, Jensen later transitioned to this instrument and furthered his education at the Royal Academy of Music.
Dave Smith is best known for his work with Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters, Fofoulah, and Afro-Blues group Juju. He has recorded drums for Rachid Taha, Bassekou Kouyate and Robert Plant and has performed with Patty Griffin, Donny McCaslin, Chrisse Hynde and Eddie Henderson.
Bruno Berle, the young songwriter and poet originally hailing from Maceió, the capital of Brazil’s Alagoas state, crafts songs that are simple, direct, and full of tender nuance. With his first album No Reino Dos Afetos (which translates to “In the Realm of Affections” and was released in 2022), Berle firmly established himself as a unique and important voice in the burgeoning scene of new Brazilian artists making a global impact, including peers like Ana Frango Elétrico, Tim Bernardes, Bala Desejo, Sessa and more. Now back with his second album, No Reino Dos Afetos 2, he stretches that further.
Bruno Berle’s music lives between two worlds – a traditional Brazilian folk talent steeped in history, and a contemporary, dreamy electronic pop; the result is song writing that’s genre-bending, intentional, iconoclastic and consuming, spacious and sinewy and singular, a striking reflection of its composer while leaving space for the listener to settle in. The album follows Bruno’s relocation to São Paulo, and the songs are a reflection of his past and present. A rebuke of former categorizations of his work in Brazilian music scenes, and an idea of where his music can move, unfettered.
Musically he weaves together a rich tapestry of Brazilian folk, UK 2-step garage/dub, trip hop and sun soaked west coast songwriters; something akin to the worlds of Milton Nascimento, Arthur Russell, James Blake, Feist, and Sade colliding into one. But even then No Reino Dos Afetos 2 floats separately, a romanticism driven by a simplicity and intimacy, an open-ended possibility, Berle’s singularity as an artist at the helm of the ship.
Knats, a quintet led by two lifelong best mates from Newcastle Upon Tyne, Stan Woodward (Bass) and King David-Ike Elechi (Drums), alongside their younger sidekick and virtuoso Trumpeter, Ferg Kilsby, making Geordie Jazz with sophisticated arrangements, strong melodies and danceable grooves. After moving to London at the end of 2022, Knats took London by storm playing a sold out Jazz Refreshed headliner, supporting Str4ta at Jazz Cafe and performing for the BBC proms; as well as working with the likes of Geordie Greep, Eddie Chacon, Tom Ford and Anatole Muster. Now signed to Gearbox Records, Knats are set to release their debut album in 2025.
Manchester-born pianist, producer, and composer Matt Wilde discovered jazz through an unconventional journey. Starting out as a self-taught beatmaker, growing up Matt made tracks for friends in the grime scene before falling in love with jazz through the sample-heavy works of Madlib, J Dilla and Pete Rock. This led Matt to dig into improvisation and harmony, crafting a sound that bridges jazz, hip hop and electronic music, and sharing his process with wide audiences on social media and YouTube.
Guided by values of accessibility and creativity, Matt has become a key voice in the UK’s boundary-pushing jazz and beats scene, with his debut album ‘Hello World’, EPs, and singles being championed by BBC Radio 1, 2, 3, 6, Jazz FM, Worldwide FM and more.
In 2024, Matt performed at Brick Lane Jazz Festival and celebrated his debut album with headline shows at Band on the Wall in Manchester and The Lower Third in London. 2025 sees the release of his second album and collaborations with artists in the UK jazz scene.
A proud Mancunian with Polish roots, Matt’s values-driven approach reflects his passion for community and empowering others through the arts.
Plantfood are a six-piece, blood-pumping jazz force, summoning an intricate mix of electronic and acoustic layers, with influences ranging from spiritual jazz to contemporary club music. Plantfood’s sound draws inspiration from artists such as The Prodigy, John Coltrane, and Nubiyan Twist. From the mosh pit to serene soundscapes and back again, the journey Plantfood takes you on is unforgettable.
Their debut album, Carnivores, OUT NOW via BridgeTheGap, has been featured widely on radio, with support from Craig Charles, Jamz Supernova, and Sian Eleri on stations like BBC 6Music, Selector Radio, and WWFM. The album even earned “Track of the Week” on BBC Introducing. Carnivores envisions an apocalyptic future where plants rise to power, taking over and consuming everything around them, portrayed through a heavy and cataclysmic sound palette.
Last year at Glastonbury Festival, Plantfood headlined the Croissant Neuf stage on Saturday night and were credited as Gabriel Francis aka Papaoul’s “favourite discovery of Glastonbury 2023.” With festival appearances including We Out Here, Beat-Herder, Shambala, and Wilderness, Plantfood have toured extensively across the UK, supporting renowned artists such as Dele Sosimi, BCUC, and TC and the Groove Family, and selling out headline shows in London, Leeds, York, Falmouth, Todmorden, and Hebden Bridge. Support for Plantfood extends beyond live shows, as they are successful Help Musicians applicants and winners of the 2023 Drake Yolanda Award.
Joshua Horsley and Carl Brown form Powders, an experimental project comprising semi-improvised interplay between cello (Horsley) and electronics (Brown).
Powders move through concrète and classical modes to shimmering noise and textured Fourthworld ambient, always treated with an experimental spirit, minimalist sleight and a distinctly Northern context.
After a day in the beautiful park, those with stamina and a thirst to “drop some foot” will be treated to both Knats and Plantfood heading over to The Ferret for some rhythmic pressure. Turning up the heat, first in The Ferret beer garden with DJ’s Chris Holt and Bolts, and then moving the party inside for two heavyweight dancefloor performances from Knats and Plantfood with the DJ’s bringing more fire for the feet shuffling massive.
As always, this is a hot ticket. Space is limited so get your tickets early. This event is always FIRE!!!
