Northern Line is Jazz North's live touring support programme. It awards bursaries up to £3k to northern jazz artists and provides 1:1 support.

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.

Northern Line applications close at midday on Wednesday 11th December 2024 - head to https://www.jazznorth.org/northern-line-application-page to find out more and apply.

Read on to find out more about our brilliant advisory panel…

Thomas Rees

Thomas Rees is a writer and radio producer based in Newcastle. Over the past ten years he has interviewed and recorded some of the biggest names in jazz, including Quincy Jones, Roy Hargrove and Maria Schneider. His work has appeared in Jazzwise, The Wire, Downbeat, Rough Guides, Dazed and many other publications. He was the lead producer on BBC Radio 3’s flagship jazz show, J to Z, and now produces its successor show, ‘Round Midnight with Soweto Kinch. Thomas is also an expert on Haitian music and has travelled widely in the country, hanging out with vodou drummers and carnival bands and documenting their stories.

Rivca Burns

Rivca has officially worked within the music industry as a freelance creative producer for the past 15 years. She is currently the Director of From the Other, home to Sounds From the Other City, Fat Out Fest and Samarbeta Music Residency programme. As well as Head of Music for Factory International. She is co-chair of the Greater Manchester Music Commission and was voted Manchester’s Cultural Hero by both City Life 2020 & Association for Independent Music 2021.

Previous roles have included working within venues, record labels, gig promotion, festivals and PR companies including Islington Mill, Future Everything, Manchester Pride & AND Festival as well as Festival Manager of Indy Man Beer Con, Festival Square programmer and producer for Manchester International Festival from 2019-2023 and lecturer in Events Management at BIMM.

Jez Matthews

Jez Matthews has been involved in running jazz and improvised music gigs for over 20 years, initially with Sheffield Jazz, then with the award-winning Jazz at The Lescar, and more recently as a board member at Lancaster Jazz festival. Drawn to jazz from an early age, his first three gigs were Oscar Peterson, Stéphane Grappelli and Dizzy Gillespie. He is passionate about new music and the grass roots music scene, encouraging emerging artists, developing community, and removing barriers from the music. When he isn’t promoting gigs he can be found playing piano and various electronic devices with long term musical comrade sax/clarinet player Hannah Brady in their long-standing improvising duo whale detective, and in various related musical collaborations.

Hannabiell Sanders

Dr. G. Hannabiell Sanders is a trombonist, percussionist, composer, and activist. As Artistic Director of Harambee Pasadia CIC and Musical Director of Ladies of Midnight Blue and Hannabiell & Midnight Blue, she uses music to unite communities, celebrate diversity, and inspire social change through cultural expression.

Hannabiell & the Midnight Blue was a Northern Line round 8 artist.

Rob Farhat

Rob(ert) Farhat is a former classical musician turned music programmer, manager, and artist mentor. He previously co-founded and directed Ensemble Music in Ireland, working with artists such as Loah, Ensemble Ériu, Rusangano Family, and the late Conor Walsh. He then moved to London in 2017 to work for live music producers Serious as their Talent Development Lead and Senior Programmer – programming the EFG London Jazz Festival and Between The Lines amongst other festivals/events, and working closely with groundbreaking artists like Abel Selaocoe, Angel Bat Dawid, Gaika, and Gazelle Twin. He also sits on the board of the Project Arts Centre in Dublin, and advises on arts inclusivity in Ireland more broadly. He was born and bred in Dublin, and is a proud Irishman of Iranian/Armenian heritage.

Josh Aitman

Josh Aitman is DJ, broadcaster and creative marketer who specialises in community development and brand building. 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.

Meet our Northern Line Advisory panel

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