Brick Lane Jazz Festival 2026

Various Venues
Brick Lane Jazz Festival
London
April 24-26, 2026

2026 was the 5th edition of The Brick Lane Jazz Festival, and once again featured a variety of jazz-leaning acts from across the musical spectrum. There was a strong focus on young, mainly UK-based and often unsung artists, plus a smattering of fully qualified legends of the scene. Weekend passes had sold out, astonishing value at £150 to see over 100 acts. As always, choosing who to see, along with allowing time for serendipitous discovery, was a challenge, but all part of the experience in the vibrant multi-venue location in East London. There's no reason to complain here. I chatted to someone who came over from San Francisco especially for the festival, who told me there is nothing quite like this in his hometown. Jazz shows there were a little sedate, he said, somewhat polite in terms of audience engagement and atmosphere. The exact opposite of the spirit here, where energy levels and encouragement to revel in the joy of jazz were high.

Several acts on my hit list were essential to see, the first being Work Money Death on the Friday night. If you are a follower of the modern UK jazz scene, then you cannot have missed the rise of the Leeds-based band and their expansive take on spiritual jazz, heavily influenced by Pharoah Sanders. With Tony Burkill taking the lead role on sax, his horn adorned with fake flowers and a bicycle bell, the music was a powerful delivery of the meditative and explosive, lapped up by the crowd. Burkill shook hands with audience members close to the stage, and often played with just one hand throughout the session. The juxtaposition of the comedy flowers and bell with the intensity of the music was a cool touch, and I'm certain it helped show those new to the music that deep jazz vibrations do not have to be experienced po-faced. Burkill noted the short length of the set, just 45 minutes, as is the norm at the festival. With many of the band's album tracks clocking in at over 15 minutes, they were never going to cover a lot of material. They have not played many live shows, perhaps only a single album launch, but we are missing out if they don't hit the road and perform for longer. Given they released an album in February, and ATA Records label mates the Outer Worlds Jazz Ensemble have their project coming out in May, we can but hope.

The next must-see act was Ruby Rushton, performing on the stage set up at the Rough Trade East record shop. The store is a London institution, with branches at other locations, but this is the biggest, often used for promotional events, and the sound system is excellent. It can be cramped, so getting in early was key to securing a good spot. Ruby Rushton was led by Edward Cawthorne, a.k.a. Tenderlonius, a saxophonist and flautist whose knowledge and study of jazz runs deep, having released albums dedicated to Tubby Hayes, and in the style of the Indian and Pakistani ragas that are a key part of UK jazz history. But also someone adept at making electronic music more suited for nightclubs, for the dance floors of London and beyond. His playing of the sax was very physical, enthralling to witness as he twisted and leaned into his solos. Nick Walters on trumpet was a commanding foil to Cawthorne's vamps; you could tell they have worked together for many years, switching to percussive shakers when others were soloing. I've seen Walters play on a cover of Lee Morgan's "Search For The New Land" in another setting with Cawthorne, and here they ended on "Lighthouse" from their latest album Ruby Rushton: Legacy!, a nod perhaps to those infamous West Coast live recordings by the greats. This was music grounded in the past but enhanced by the energy that can be felt in the nightclub, to deliver something fresh. A mantra for so many of the acts across the festival.

Given the importance of the DJ to the UK scene, seeing Paul Murphy spin some jazz-dance classics was next in-store by moving on to the cocktail bar, Mad Cats. Murphy is responsible for breaking so many essential club records over the decades, feeding the insatiable thirst of jazz dancers and vinyl junkies. He's releasing records now on his excellent Jazz Rooms label, and was dropping tracks from that catalogue, including the recent Fela Kuti cover "Cumbia No Get Enemy" by Mitchum Yacoub, along with sure-fire winners like "Flying Machine" by War.

Then it was back down Brick Lane to the venue at Ninety-One to see drummer Richard Spaven and band. Compared to acts like Ruby Rushton, they were a little more contemporary in feel, driven by the rhythms of drum and bass, with improvisations from electric guitar and trumpet players. Spaven's style is loose yet tight; he's an effortless groove creator. The room was packed; Spaven has been working with the much-loved UK hip-hop star Loyle Carner. I spotted some other people I knew at the front of the stage and elbowed my way there. But I wasn't feeling the music, and was also conscious of wanting to get to the next show at Rich Mix, festival anxiety kicking in. Perhaps I should have stayed for longer, as the guitarist was outstanding.

The band performing at Rich Mix were the Dutch group Another Taste, hot off the launch of their second album. Their style is a form of disco-flavoured jazz-funk, boogie in the vein of Leroy Burgess with party-type vocals. Yet something didn't seem quite right here; the sound wasn't on point, and so it was difficult to really enjoy, despite the best efforts of the band and singers. A shame, as their releases have been huge on the more discerning dance floors around Europe. Perhaps this doesn't always translate into a great live show.

For the first time at the event this year, there was a conference track dedicated to talks, workshops, and networking. Attending these required a separate ticket, which on reflection I should have acquired, because the topics and speakers looked insightful and inspiring. For example, "Transatlantic Grooves: How the UK Jazz Scene Stacks Up Against the US" with Gary Crosby, Brian Jackson, Emma Warren, and Soweto Kinch. Along with "Money Talks: Demystifying Funding for Jazz and Arts Projects" and "Beyond the Stream: How Musicians Transform Online Buzz into Real-World Impact." Something for next year, for sure. It was hot in London on Saturday afternoon, so when these events were not running, the conference space and seating area were a good reprieve from the heat. You could drool over the latest Nord keyboards too, many on display and available for testing out. The National Jazz Archive had a stall there as well. Their vision is "to ensure that the rich cultural heritage of jazz is safeguarded for future generations of enthusiasts, professionals and researchers." They collect the written, oral, and visual history of jazz, blues, and related music in the UK, with a program to digitise the material. As part of their fundraising, they were selling records, and in the crates was a copy of "Le Dejeuner Sur L'Herbe" by The New Jazz Orchestra, for £375, which made me freeze for a second. A vinyl junkie's shudder. I was told that DJ Gilles Peterson passed by earlier and was tempted to purchase it, but this was way out of my budget. I didn't even pick up a copy of Jack DeJohnette's "Special Edition," the purple-sleeved ECM release, for £10 from Flashback Records at the top of Brick Lane. Vinyl regrets, I've had a few.

First stop for the live acts on Saturday was Juju's Bar, to see the Tanhai Collective. This young band have supported Herbie Hancock's Headhunters at Ronnie Scott's, and delivered a set of melodic jazz funk, reminding me in places of the Average White Band. Over at 93 Feet East Live, Knats provided something with far more punk attitude, with spoken word and banter from the self-proclaimed Geordie-Jazz act. Front man Stan Woodward on bass wasn't messing around, axe held chest-high and soloing with obvious glee. Noted on sax was George Johnson, a BBC Young Musician of the Year finalist. An excellent addition to an act that I think will have gained a lot of new fans, just in time for the release of their second album Knats: A Great Day In Newcastle.

Having enjoyed the Ruby Rushton set so much on Friday night, I wanted to see Tenderlonius play again in his new 22a Quartet. This was at Mad Cats, so it was back up Brick Lane, past the infamous bagel shops and to the bar. The afternoon sun was streaming in; the band were setting up at the front. There seemed to be a strict table policy running, and you needed a reservation to sit down, but I managed to squeeze in between some high stools close enough to the band. No trumpet player in this format of the group, just Cawthorne, then drums, keys, and electric bass. Some serious Strata East-style jams were provided, including a fantastic cover of "Maimoun" by Clifford Jordan, with Cawthorne really letting loose on alto sax. They were playing for two hours, and I had to drag myself away to catch some more acts, but this was an absolute highlight for me. An intimate yet explosive performance for the young, cocktail-drinking crowd.

So around the corner and to Rich Mix, for the Levitation Orchestra. The venue has a much bigger stage and capacity than many of the other venues, which suited a group that included brass, flute, Marysia Osu on harp and lead vocalist, plumm. She brought some beautiful wordless singing to some tracks, fierce scatting to others, along with meaningful lyrics across an emotionally charged set that evoked the spiritual jazz titan Alice Coltrane. There were blistering solos from James Akers on tenor sax, with the whole band held together by musical director and trumpet player Axel Kaner-Lidström. Many members of the band perform in other groups, or have solo releases, but I wondered if this was each player's favourite place to be, in the collective. It certainly felt like it, as they moved through selections from their album, "Sanctuary."

Collaboration was a theme at the festival, and the last performance I caught was the perfect example. Steam Down are an organisation from South London who run a weekly event, connecting artists for spontaneous sessions, often around themes of societal change and their lived experiences in the city. This joint performance was with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, bringing together the fresh-faced enthusiasm of the young musicians with the swagger and raw emotion of the Steam Down singers. Founder Ahnanse took up the conductor's baton, and several players got their moments in the spotlight. There was a blaring baritone sax solo, funky trombone, and a crazy keyboard section that was wild and avant-garde, in the vein of Sun Ra.

Given that everything is on social media these days, you can get a taste for what happened over the weekend on Instagram and Facebook. But nothing beats experiencing such creativity in the real world. The festival billed itself as "East London's home for forward-thinking sounds," and many of the acts were total one-offs, driven by the spirit of co-operation and exploration. What could be more jazz?

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