Liverpool International Jazz Festival, founded in 2013 by Liverpool Hope University, and run by the university’s Creative Campus, returns 26 February – 1 March with a programme mixing straightahead jazz, intense jazz fusion and world-flavoured variations. The headliners include Geoffrey Keezer, Martin Taylor, Zoe Rahman and Marius Neset. There will also be a fringe festival running at various venues across the city, focusing on grassroots artists and bands and including after-events running late into the evening. More details and tickets are at capstone.hope.ac.uk/jazzfestival.
The headline events for 2026 are:
Tim Garland and Geoffrey Keezer – Thursday 26 February 2026, 7.30pm
In New York in spring 2025, Tim Garland (saxophone) and Geoffrey Keezer (piano) recorded the album Mezzo. Their lyrical playing and incendiary virtuosity should be apparent in a set that will feature a new and rare instrument after which the album is named. Hear Tim Garland and Geoffrey Keezer.
David Helbock & Julia Hofer – Friday 27 February 2026, 7.30pm
The duo’s recent ACT album, Faces Of Night, was a blend of lyrical originals and pulsing jazz pieces. The audience for this gig can expect a combination of percussive playing across the range of the piano and dynamic changes between cello and electric bass. See David Helbock & Julia Hofer in concert.
Zoe Rahman and Arun Ghosh – Saturday 28 February 2026, 1pm
Milap and Liverpool International Jazz Festival present a collaboration between pianist and composer Rahman, whose style, while deeply rooted in jazz, is said to reflect her British-Bengali heritage, and clarinetist Arun Ghosh, whose style draws together jazz, folk and South Asian influences.
Robert Mitchell’s Little Black Book – Saturday 28 February 2026, 7.30pm
Drawing inspiration from the jazz-fusion of Chick Corea and Allan Holdsworth, the psychedelic blues-rock of Jimi Hendrix and the avant-garde excursions of Cecil Taylor, Little Black Book brings together Robert Mitchell on piano and keyboards, Laurie Lowe on drums and Zayn Mohammed on guitar for a dynamic jazz-rock show. Hear Little Black Book.
Martin Taylor – Sunday 1 March 2026, 1pm
Guitarist Taylor has come to be recognised as one of the foremost exponents of solo jazz guitar playing, his solo shows combining virtuosity, emotion and humour with a strong stage presence. See Martin Taylor in solo performance.
Marius Neset Quartet – Sunday 1 March 2026, 7.30pm
Norwegian saxophonist was noted last year for bucking the reflective Nordic stereotype and audiences for this concert can expect a modern jazz set with plenty of energy and virtuosity. See Marius Neset in Finland last year.
