Tag: Harkirit Boparai

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Trinacria restaurateur Beppe Lombardo cooks up first YorkJazzFest from October 1 to 4. UPDATED 1/10/2026

Trinacria restaurateur and YorkJazzFest promoter Beppe Lombardo

BEPPE Lombardo, soprano saxophone player in his Italian teenage days and supremo of Trinacria Sicilian Ristorante in Bishopthorpe Road for 15 years, is running the inaugural YorkJazzFest from Thursday to Sunday.

No fewer than 28 acts will celebrate jazz in all its forms in a festival that vows to  “bring together classic sounds, contemporary sounds, great venues and live music lovers across York”.

YorkJazzFest adds up to Four Days, Six Venues, One City. “Jazz is not one sound, one age, one room or one crowd,” says Beppe, who has put together a diverse programme with funding from York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority Mayor David Skaith.

Angel On The Green, York Arts Barge, Young Thugs Studio, the Phoenix Inn and The Winning Post play host to concerts on the first three days, culminating in the Bishopthorpe Road Car Park Finale on Sunday, topped off by sets by the Fergus Quill Quintet and Dennis Rollins’ Funky-Funk, followed by Ian Chalk at the Phoenix.

Dennis Rollins: Promising Funky-Funk! at the Bishopthorpe Road Car Park Finale to YorkJazzFest on Sunday

In part inspired by his father-in-law, Jim Morgan, who runs Catwick Live folk music nights at Catwick Village Hall, near Beverley, Beppe decided to launch YorkJazzFest, noting how his adopted home city had never previously held a city-wide dedicated jazz festival.

“Jim went to Celtic Connections in Glasgow and told me about how impressed he was by this multi-venue festival,” he says. “I thought it was a brilliant idea, so that’s where I started getting inspiration for a festival with lots of venues and a big finale at the Bishy Road car park.”

Beppe already had received more than £4,000 funding for an open-sided marquee – now to be used in the Bishopthorpe Road Christmas Bazaar on November 28 – when he decided on staging the YorkJazzFest finale on a 42 square ft trailer, again open-sided, framed in decorative lighting too, supplied by Event Equipment Hire. “I’ll be co-ordinating the bar on the last day,” he adds.

“The first idea for running a festival came just after Covid, when the council put up some funds to refresh the high street, providing Christmas lights and summer bunting for Bishopthorpe Road.

Lo Vu: Playing YorkJazzFest at Young Thugs Studio at 9.15pm on Thursday

“Then David Skaith came along as the Mayor [of the York & North Yorkshire Combined Authority] and created the [Sustainable] High Street Fund. His office has provided £11,600 funding to enable this festival to go ahead.”

Flamboyant  chef  and restaurateur he may be, but music has always played a part in Beppe’s life too. “I used to play saxophone in a brass band in Sicily, the Vittoria Youth Brass Band, which was set up to get kids off the streets, with the local council providing funds for free music lessons in schools, studying theory first  from [age] nine or ten and paying 75 per cent towards the cost of an instrument,” he says.

“I wanted a tenor sax, but I was told ‘for my height, you should have a soprano saxophone’ as I was 11. It was a bit harder to play, because it has a higher pitch, and it’s easier to get wrong, but I played for seven or eight years, at festivals and funerals, and I loved it.”

Beppe continues: “My father loved reggae, blues and soul, not really jazz, but because I had a sax, I started listening to Charlie Parker and John Coltrane, and I really got into jazz, Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Sonny Rollins, Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker  – and I did like Kenny G too.

Olivia Cuttill: Leading her quintet at York Arts Barge on Saturday at 8.30pm

“But then I went into the Italian army and let the music go, and afterwards I started working on the family farm, in my father’s greenhouses.. He was a strict dad, teaching me a lot – and growing up in Sicily in the 1980s, with the Mafia bosses there, you learn to look after yourself and stay on the straight path.”

Beppe did not want to be a farmer – “I thought it was too risky” – and instead took on a job as a waiter in a Vittoria, learning the skills of making customers comfortable and relaxed, telling jokes: social skills that still apply in running Trinicria and promoting a jazz festival.

Drawing on his mother’s cookery prowess, he became a chef, picked for one of 30 jobs from 1,000 applicants by ClubMed  to work in France and Sardinia. York beckoned. “I knew I wanted to learn English, and a friend had done the Erasmus course in York and said it was the Florence of England,” Beppe recalls.

“I arrived on 21st October 2001 at five minutes to midnight and didn’t have anywhere to sleep. My first experience was these four English guys helping me to find a hostel.”

SwanNek: Booked into Young Thugs Studios for 7pm on Saturday

Looking out over Lendal Bridge the following morning, Beppe thought, “Oh my God, this is a beautiful city. It took me only a few days to fall in love with it.”

He has never left, working at Bari, in Shambles, Silvano’s, where he met his wife, and The Dormouse, in Clifton Park Avenue. “That’s where I really learnt English, covering every role, and became ‘the star’ of the place!”

Emboldened, he opened Trinacria in 2012, its name taken from the ancient name of the island of Sicily (whose roughly triangular shape is defined by three headlands). His restaurant runs on a triple bill of “best ice cream, best pizza, best ingredients). “I will not save on ingredients,” says. “I only use ingredients that I would eat.” 

As a Sicilian, by the way, he prefers to use semolina as 33 per cent of the pizza base to complement the flour, referring to the softer Neapolitan version as “wet paper”!

After watching gigs at The Crescent and the Phoenix Inn and running a regular Thursday  jazz night at his restaurant – now discontinued – he is staging his first jazz festival.

Alina Bzhezhinska: Whispers Of Rain concert at York Arts Barge on Friday at 8.30pm

From Jonny Hooker at Young Thugs Studio to Christian Topman, who runs the York Bargestra Big Band, New York Brass Band trombonist Will Osborne to spreadsheet maestro Philip Thornhill and Miles Lindley, with his contact book of York acts, Beppe has received support for his venture.

Ouroboros promoter Harkirit Boparai helped him to set up the festival website and secured Dennis Rollins and Ukrainian-born harpist and composer Alina Bzhezhinska for the event, while graphic designer Roham Bayat designed the neo-vintage festival poster. Beppe himself signed up Newcastle jazz collective SwanNek and up-and-coming cabaret-style act Rivkala after spotting their talent at Manchester Jazz Festival in May.

Already Beppe has plans for expansion next year, when he may look to switch the festival to early September. “The vision is to make this a legacy event, thinking ‘why have Scarborough, Leeds, Manchester run jazz festivals for so long, but not York?’. York has never had a proper jazz festival. I want to change that,”  he says.

“This year we wanted to focus on the South Bank and Bishopthorpe Road area, but my vision is to expand over the city, maybe to church halls, venues that already do jazz concerts, like the National Centre for Early Music, and The Crescent definitely wants to be involved next year.

“This is just a vision, though we don’t know what path we will take yet, but maybe one day we could have a two-day finale with a big headliner at the racecourse? This is only the beginning, but slowly, slowly, we will get bigger and stronger, watering the seeds we’ve sown, and hopefully attracting Arts Council England support.” Watch this space, but watch this week’s festival acts first.

 For full listings and tickets, go to: yorkjazzfestival.com.

Roham Bayat’s poster design for the inaugural YorkJazzFest

YorkJazzFest programme, October 1 to 4

Venues: Angel On The Green, Bishopthorpe Road; York Arts Barge, Foss Basin Moorings, Tower Street; Young Thugs Studios, South Bank Social Club, Ovington Terrace; The Phoenix Inn, George Street; The Winning Post, Bishopthorpe Road, and Bishopthorpe Road Car Park for Sunday finale.

Thursday

6pm, Balanco Malandra, Young Thugs Studios

7pm to 8.15pm, Harrison & Morrison Duet, Angel On The Green. Admission free

8pm to 10pm, Brendan Duffy Band, The Phoenix Inn. Admission free

8.30pm, Alligator Gumbo, York Arts Barge

9pm to 10.15pm, The Shandog Swingers, Angel On The Green. Admission free

9.15pm, Lo Vu, Young Thugs Studios

Rivkala: Performing at Young Thugs Studios on Friday at 7pm

Friday

6pm, DB Trio, Angel On The Green. CANCELLED

6pm, York Bargestra Big Band, The Winning Post

6.30pm, Danny Lowndes Hot Club, York Arts Barge

7pm, Rivkala, Young Thugs Studios

8pm, Stephen Swing Wilson, The Winning Post

8pm, Karl Mullen & Friends, The Phoenix Inn. Admission free

8.30pm, Alina Bzhezhinska: Whispers Of Rain, York Arts Barge

9pm, Mike Conliffe Trio, Angel On The Green. Admission free

9.15pm, Afrodesia, Young Thugs Studio

Saturday

6pm, Flowerden, The Winning Post

6pm, Mutant DJ Jazz, Angel On The Green. Admission free

6.30pm, Emma Foulds Quintet, York Arts Barge

7pm, SwanNek, Young Thugs Studios

8.30pm, Al Morrison Quartet, The Winning Post

8.30pm, Olivia Cuttill Quintet, York Arts Barge

9pm, Borgia, Angel On The Green. Admission free

9pm, Lovedancin’ DJ, Young Thugs Studio

Sunday

Bishopthorpe Road Car Park Finale. FREE ENTRY, no ticket required.

12 noon, YorkJazzFest Orchestra

1pm, Vipertime

2.15pm, Big Bamboo

4.15pm, Fergus Quill Sextet

6pm, Dennis Rollins’ Funky-Funk!

8pm to 10.30pm, Ian Chalk, The Phoenix Inn. Admission free.

Ian Chalk: Closing YorkJazzFest at The Phoenix Inn on Sunday at 8pm

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Let’s talk about gigs, music culture and stories, mental health and The Twenty Seven Club at York Literature Festival

Harkirit Boparai: Taking part in tomorrow’s panel discussion

GIG-GOING: Live Music and Literature Stories will be the focus of a York Literature Festival panel discussion at the Fulford Arms, Fulford Road, York, tomorrow (24/3/2022).

This discussion and celebration of music culture explores how we document live music and the power of stories and publishing to unite music scenes.

Billed as “a must for musicians, reviewers, bloggers, promoters, photographers or anyone who understands the importance of music culture”, this 7.30pm event features a panel of Harkirit Boparai, Sarah Williams and Amy McCarthy.

Harkirit is the venue manager and concert promoter (for Ouroboros) at The Crescent community venue and a vital cog in the Music Venue Trust; Sarah edits Shout Louder, a webzine dedicated to the modern punk scene, and Papercuts, an independently published series of anecdotes about DIY culture; Amy is a PhD student researching music memoirs as part of the York Music Stories project.

The book cover artwork for Lucy Nichol’s The Twenty Seven Club

The panel discussion will be followed by a reading and interview with Newcastle author Lucy Nichol, whose debut novel, The Twenty Seven Club, explores mental health and the media through the 1990s’ music scene in Hull.

Lucy’s story begins with Emma hearing of the tragic death of Kurt Cobain, prompting her to ask why so many musicians died aged 27 [bluesman Robert Johnson, Rolling Stone Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Amy Winehouse among them].

Lucy, author, freelance writer, PR and marketing consultant, mental health campaigner, flunked punk and addiction stigma buster, will be discussing her novel’s darkly comic journey of self-discovery, friendship, fandom and hope in conversation with Amy McCarthy.

On the bill too will be spoken-word contributions from Hannah Davies and live music from Jack Woods. Tickets are on sale at yorkliteraturefestival.co.uk or at thefulfordarms.com.

Hannah Davies: Pearls of spoken-word wisdom
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NCEM gardens to stage second set of Songs Under Skies acoustic double bills with The Crescent and Fulford Arms

Joshua Burnell: Sharing a Song Under Skies double bill with Katie Spencer on June 14. Picture: Elly Lucas

SONGS Under Skies will return to the glorious gardens of the National Centre for Early Music, at St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York, in June.

Five outdoor acoustic double bills will comprise Wounded Bear and Rachel Croft on June 1; Kell Chambers and Nadedja, June 2; Katie Spencer and Joshua Burnell, June 14; Zak Ford and Alice Simmons, June 15, and Epilogues and Sunflower Thieves, June 16.

Wounded Bear and Rachel Croft: First Songs Under Skies double bill on June 1

As with last September’s debut series, season two of the open-air, Covid-safe Songs Under Skies will be presented by the National Centre for Early Music (NCEM), working in association with The Crescent community venue, The Fulford Arms and the Music Venues Alliance.

Gates will open at 6.30pm for the acoustic double bills from 7pm to 8.30pm with a 30-minute interval between sets. Each concert costs £8 and tickets must be bought in advance, either in “pods” for family groups or as individuals at tickets.ncem.co.uk.  

Kell Chambers and Nadedja: Double bill in the NCEM churchyard gardens on June 2

Social distancing will be strictly observed and masks must be worn inside the NCEM but will not be required in the gardens.

NCEM director Delma Tomlin says: “We’re very excited to be bringing you the second Songs Under Skies: a feast of acoustic music taking place in our beautiful gardens, the perfect spot for a June evening in the sunshine.

Katie Spencer: Yorkshire singer-songwriter to play NCEM gardens on June 14, as well as a second Yorkshire open-air gig at Primrose Wood Acoustics, Pocklington, supporting Martin Simpson on July 1 at 7pm

“We’re also glad to be working once again with our partners The Fulford Arms, The Crescent and York Music Venues Network to begin the long-awaited revival of live music in our city. Last year Songs Under Skies was a complete sell-out and we’re looking forward to welcoming back audiences for these summer nights of music by these talented musicians.”

Harkirit Boparai, from The Crescent and the York Music Venues Network and North East regional coordinator for the Music Venues Alliance, says: “We’re delighted to be collaborating with the NCEM for another short run of outdoor concerts to take place in their beautiful gardens, with a stellar line-up of musicians from York and beyond heralding the return of live gigs to York.

Zak Ford and Alice Simmons: Playing acoustic sets at Songs Under Skies on June 15

“One of the silver linings of the pandemic has been that cultural organisations in the city have been able to collaborate in ways that they didn’t before, and after the success of our last series in the autumn, it’s been great to work with the NCEM team once again.”

Among the first arts organisations to stream online concerts, the NCEM has been keeping music alive since the beginning of lockdown, attracting a worldwide audience of more than 70,000. 

Epilogues and Sunflower Thieves: Songs Under Skies’ closing concert coupling on June 16

Over the past year, the NCEM staged socially distant events when possible and streamed concerts and festivals from St Margaret’s Church.

In June, this will continue with the streaming of the very first Beverley & East Riding Early Music Festival Online with concerts, walks and talks from the Yorkshire market town where the first festival was staged 35 years ago. This summer’s York Early Music Festival will run from July 12 to 16; a full line-up announcement is expected today (17/5/2021).

Kitty VR: Playing her first gig for seven months at the NCEM churchyard at last September’s first Songs Under Skies concert series. Picture: Neil Chapman/Unholy Racket

Last year’s inaugural Songs Under Skies presented Amy May Ellis and Luke Saxton on September 2; Dan Webster and Bella Gaffney, September 3; Kitty VR and Boss Caine, September 9; Wolf Solent and Rosalind, September 10; Polly Bolton and Henry Parker, September 16, and Elkyn and Fawn, September 17.

Full details of this summer’s Songs Under Skies can be found at: ncem.co.uk/songs-under-skies/.

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Michael Chapman’s concert at Merchant Adventurers’ Hall to be streamed on Sunday

Michael Chapman recording Ancient & Modern at the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, York, for streaming on Sunday

VETERAN troubadour Michael Chapman has recorded a special concert during Lockdown 2 at the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, York, to be streamed online on Sunday (29/11/2020) at 7pm.

Filmed on November 12, the Ancient & Modern recording represents a look-back over the long and illustrious career of the 79-year-old Leeds singer, songwriter and guitarist, who combines classics and newer compositions in a concert also featuring a support slot and interview by close friend and mentee Katie Spencer. 

Sunday’s event marks a first venture into streamed concerts by the York community venue The Crescent and promoters Please Please You and Ouroboros, alias Joe Coates and Harkirit Boparai.

“This is new terrain for us, but we are big believers in Michael and his music, and it’s an honour to present him during these times and at this point in his career” says Boparai. “Michael is a unique musician with more than 50 years of experience, floating between Americana, blues and psychedelic folk.”

Boparai was delighted the recording could go ahead despite Lockdown 2 being imposed from November 5. “We were lucky, the lockdown nearly threw everything, but then it emerged under the Government guidance that streaming and rehearsal were permitted as long as everyone involved were ‘professionals’,” he says. 

“They still want us to work! I also think, to be fair, they saw the value in allowing culture to continue in an online form. 

Chapman by candlelight: The poster for Sunday’s streamed concert from the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall by Michael Chapman

“Merchant Adventurers’ Hall had a new clerk starting in the week of lockdown, and I remember anxiously waiting for their decision and interpretation of guidance…”.

Good news was forthcoming, whereupon Chapman could head to the hall. Explaining his choice of concert title, he says: “I wanted to call it Ancient & Modern in reference to the hymn books of days gone by and because it reflects the songs I selected to play for this show.” 

The title also acknowledges Chapman’s approach and sound. While firmly rooted in traditional folk, blues and Americana, his constant pushing of the envelope has inspired a new generation of artists, such as instrumentalist-turned-singer Steve Gunn, who produced his last two albums for the Paradise Of Bachelors label, 50 and True North, featuring pedal-steel guitarist BJ Cole and singer-songwriter and guitarist Bridget St John.

Gunn says: ‘It’s been an honour to share a stage with Michael, or even just to be in the room when he’s playing. I know so many of his stories and songs by heart now. I cherish them.”’

This continuous evolution of style has garnered a cult following for Chapman, also making him virtually impossible to categorise. While this may sometimes infuriate reviewers and concert bookers alike, it is exactly what keeps his fervent supporters on board and has brought a whole raft of younger appreciators to his music over the past decade. 

Chapman’s journey has taken him from the acoustic virtuoso of the early Cornish folk days, typified by his Fully Qualified Survivor album, through to Memphis Soul, courtesy of Stax producer Don Nix, and the album Savage Amusement, dipping into New Age music via Heartbeat, and onwards even to full-on improv for Thurston Moore’s label, Ecstatic Peace.

Moore says: “Michael Chapman, beyond the machinations of the record industry, became the great teacher for all of us guitar playing songwriters coming up in the late-20th century. With an organic mix of passion and remove, he showed that getting lost in the music was a way to find the truth of the heart. No better lesson learned, I’d say.” 

After making the acoustic guitar his own, Chapman has been exploring the electric guitar in these latter, mellower years, while still retaining the intensity of his playing and song-writing.

Chapman may be approaching 80 – that landmark will fall on January 24 2021 – but it will not diminish his need to move the music forward, dip into the past and embrace the present with as much enthusiasm and fervour as a man at his stage in life can muster. 

“Michael’s online concert will be available for ticket holders to watch as many times as they like for up to three days from the time of broadcast, and you can watch on computers, phones or through smart TVs and Chromecasts,” says Boparai.

For more information and tickets, head to: www.thecrescentyork.com. For a downloadable video teaser, go to: https://vimeo.com/481206388. 

Tickets cost £10 or you can choose to pay £15 to further support Michael Chapman and the freelance production crew during these difficult times.

For the last word on Chapman’s lasting impact, here is Rockford, Illinois guitarist, singer and songwriter Ryley Walker: “One of my greatest influences in life. Taught me to play guitar better, act like a professional, and always demand the cash at the end of the night. 80 years and just getting started. A true honour and privilege to call Michael a friend and mentor. MC shows love and truth in every tune. Guitar king and living legend Michael Chapman!”

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