John Pope Quintet + Urvashi (NFOJAiM 2026)

John Pope Quintet + Urvashi

The Cumberland Arms (Upstairs Gig Room) - Newcastle

Saturday 26th September 2026

Seetickets: £14.00 + Booking and Processing Fee = £15.40

(£16.00 On The Door Subject To Capacity)

Doors: 7.30pm (Music Starts 8.00pm)

Newcastle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music 2026

John Pope Quintet

John Pope (Double Bass)

Jamie Stockbridge (Alto and Baritone Saxophone)

Faye MacCalman (Tenor Sax and Clarinet)

Graham Hardy (Trumpets)

Johnny Hunter (Drums and Percussion)

Acclaimed UK bass player John Pope pilots this outstanding band of improvisers through explosive, anything-goes energy music; open-hearted, joyous and fearlessly intuitive. Drawing on 60s free jazz and hard bop with a modern, 'vibe-hopping' sensibility, this ensemble of Northern improvisers revel in spontaneous celebration of in-the-moment creativity. 

Exploring Pope's off-kilter musical territory with deep trust, humour and 'irresistible joie de vivre', they hop from powerful swing to melodic mystery to out-there skronk at will, always searching, always generous.

Featuring Jamie Stockbridge (Taupe, Agbeko) on alto and baritone saxophone, Faye MacCalman (Archipelago, Anenome Quartet) on tenor sax and clarinet, Graham Hardy (Northern Monkey Brass Band, Ushaw Ensemble) on trumpet and Johnny Hunter (Sloth Racket, MoonMot) on drums, this acoustic powerhouse have brought their merry clamour to audiences all over the nation, from legendary jazz venues to prestigious festivals to DIY art spaces.

"...an outstanding example of contemporary modern British jazz"

- Bebop Spoken Here

"Pope has a knack from crafting memorable tunes that assidously avoid jazz cliché"

• Daniel Spicer (Jazzwise)

www.johnpope.bandcamp.com/album/citrinitas

https://johnpope.bandcamp.com/album/mixed-with-glass

Urvashi

Anna Chai (Saxophone)

Rishi Pelham (Drums) 

Theo Malka-Wishart (Bass) 

Joe Armer (Guitar)

Unabashed, unrelenting, and refusing categorisation, to witness an Urvashi performance is

to experience a spiritual invocation. Rooted in their diasporic experiences in the UK, Urvashi

draws on the devotional traditions of Indian Qawwali and Arabic Tarab, and channels these

practices through experimental jazz, dnb, UK rave music and hard rock.

In the comic book series that inspired them, Urvashi, a celestial dancer in Hindu mythology,

grows up with dance as her only form of expression, eventually discovering her talent has

dual power: to bring peace and to create bloodshed. The band's music carries the same

electrifying duality. Urvashi's extended improvisations build trance-like states through rhythm

and collective energy, music that can deliver transcendence but also hold audiences in

tension, uneasiness, and discomfort. Like the goddess, the band wields the power of sound

to transport and to unsettle, refusing to resolve into easy beauty.

Urvashi have graced many a stages in the London Jazz scene as well as around the UK,

including: headlining the Jazz in the Round stage at the EFG London Jazz Festival 2023 and

2026, the Ealing Jazz Festival 2024, Jazz Live at The Crypt, Good Evening Arts, The Jazz

Sanctuary, a monthly residency at the Folklore Hoxton, The Old Church and the Cluny.

www.urvashi.bandcamp.com

An absolutely incredible double bill making up the fourth concert for this years NFOJAiM!***

www.newcastlefestivalofjazzandimprovisedmusic.co.uk

Presented by Newcastle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music alongside Jazz North East and GemArts

Performance Schedule

Doors: 7.30pm

Urvashi: 8.00pm - 8.45pm 

Interval

John Pope Quintet: 9.15pm - 10.15pm

Venue Details

The Cumberland Arms

James Place Street, Ouseburn, Off Byker Bank, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 1LD

0191 265 6151

www.thecumberlandarms.co.uk

Age Restrictions | Accessibility and Travel

Please contact the venue for accessibility and age restrictions

Age Restrictions: Please contact the venue for age restrictions.

Accessibility: The Cumberland Arms has a ramp at the rear of the venue space for wheelchair users to access the building, no wheelchair accessible toilets are available in the building.

The front entrance to the venue space is preceded by a number of stairs.

Travel: Any Bus and Metro to Shields Road Morrisons which is located less than 1500 ft from the venue (approximately 5 minutes walk). Byker Metro is located a half mile away from the venue (approximately 15 minutes walk)

There is parking available on a grassy space next to the building.

***GET DOWN EARLY!!!

Be sure to get down early if you want to catch the free entry 'Adam and Johnny play Mary Lou Williams' in the Cumberland Arms Downstairs Back Bar starting at 6.00pm!!!