Heat from the Whitley Bay Classic Jazz Party is Felt Worldwide

There are two rules I tell everyone when they attend the Whitley Bay International Classic Jazz Party for the first time. One: it’s a marathon, not a sprint. It can be very easy to burn out on the continued highs of set after set of your favourite records played live (especially when the alcohol flows freely at the after-hours jam sessions). Two: treat it as a social gathering as well as a jazz festival. There’s something very intimate about the way Whitley Bay is run. There are no barriers between the musicians on stage and fans in the crowd, and everyone is free to mingle and strike up new friendships or renew old ones. At home I know nobody who shares the same music tastes as me. At Whitley Bay I am surrounded by them, and it adds to the intensity of it all. Once you come for the first time, it’s a near certainty you’ll be back. This year I was delighted to see bookings roll in from so many new names—many of whom have seen the videos on YouTube, diligently filmed by a small army of enthusiasts. The music played at Whitley Bay