Wigan Jazz And Soul

29/05/2026

29/05/2026

The Carlton Club Jazz Club has quickly become a staple, among others, in the Manchester Jazz scene, offering a lovely Sunday evening showcasing some of the best Jazz artists from the city and sometimes further afield.

Giorgos Kontrafouris was born in Athens, Greece, in 1967. He studied classical piano at the National Conservatory in Athens. At the age of 16, he turned his interest to jazz music, and he followed up jazz improvised lessons with Markos Alexiou. He also studied with Jim Beard and Jarmo Savolainen.

He has performed as piano or organ player with many famous and outstanding musicians such as Andy Sheppard, Ralph Peterson Jr., Bob Brozman, Carla Cook, Alvester Garnett, Stepko Gut, Olivier Gatto, David Liebman, Houston Pearson, Bobby Broom, Peter Bernstein, Eric Alexander, David Sills, Lou Donaldson, Sam Newsome, Jamie Hadad, Deborah Davies, Benny Golson, Tim Hagans, Bob Shepard, Carmen Lundy, Sheila Jordan, Jukkis Uotila, Wade Mikkola, Takis Paterelis, Stratos Vougas, Dimos Dimitriadis, Lydia Fylipovic, T. Spasov, A. Pacatius.

Joining him on the 31st are rising stars of the UK jazz scene: Billy Pod on drums (Dave O Higgins, Tivon Pennicott, Mornington Lockett, Gilad Atzmon) and Tom Remon on guitar (Jean Toussaint, Soweto Kinch, Jim Mullen, Neil Yates).

29/05/2026

Join our June Educators’ Forum to meet like-minded music educators and continue exploring the importance of improvisation in the classroom. As always, our forums are a safe space to reflect, share ideas and ask questions.

The forum topic will be: Improvisation pedagogy in the music curriculum with guest Michael Wright

Date: Tuesday 16th June 4:30-5:30pm on Zoom

Book your free ticket via Try Booking: https://www.trybooking.com/uk/GGNJ

Blog post: https://www.jazznorth.org/news/educators-forum-june-2026

“Mike’s work is of vital importance, informed by educational research that sets it apart in jazz education and beyond.”

Simon Purcell, Jazz in Education UK