U3AC JAZZ ON A MONDAY AFTERNOON
JAZZ EVENTS IN CAMBRIDGE CITY FROM 4th October 2025
Can be accessed via the class website: http://jazzoama.blogspot.co.uk
Things can change rapidly, so check before you go. The class website also has an Information Note and a list of 100 recommended jazz players and recordings.
Regular Sessions:
Thursdays once a month: Cambridge
Modern Jazz are
now back at the Hidden Rooms, Jesus Lane, Cambridge. Music starts at 7:30pm.
Currently £22.
Check
their website: www.cambridgejazz.org to book tickets.
Listen put on jazz gigs at the Unitarian Church, 5 Emmanuel Road next to Christ Pieces in Cambridge. They concentrate on the free improvisation end of the jazz spectrum. Don’t expect easy listening but to see musicians interacting with each other can be fascinating. They have a special set of four gigs in October 2025. Check out their programme online:
www.listencambridge.com
The Cambridge Jazz Speakeasy has well-run live gigs on the first Wednesday of the month at the Tram Depot (set back from East Road opposite Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge) and on the third Wednesday of the month at Newnham Croft Social Club, Cambridge. Free entry except for one-off special events. You do not have to be a member to get into the social club.
Friday and Saturday evenings Live Jazz with Robin Phillips at the Gonville Hotel overlooking Parker’s Piece. Friday 7pm to 9pm, Saturday 6:30pm to 9pm. Free entry, you just have to buy a drink.
Friday Live Jazz with Tim Boniface, Sam Miles and friends at Parker’s Tavern, University Arms Hotel, Regent Street, Cambridge. 9pm to 11pm, Free entry, you just have to buy a drink.
Sundays 7:30pm Tram Depot, East Road (Opposite Anglia Ruskin), Andy Bowie Quartet. Plays mainly 1950-1970s style numbers. Free entry with a collection for the band.
Tuesdays 7:30pm CamJam, The Tram Depot off East Road. Relatively informal jazz jam session now run by the same people as the Jazz Speakeasy. For both players and spectators. Free entry.
First Thursday of the month, Jazz Funk at La Raza, Rose Crescent, Cambridge.
Occasional Sundays from 4pm, Live Jazz at The Lab Cocktail Bar, Regent Street, Cambridge.
Hot Numbers Cafe on Gwydir Street , Cambridge, monthly on the first Friday. The move to Fridays with a food truck means that these sell out early. You need to book at least two weeks in advance.
Tuesdays and Sundays, Live Jazz at The Geldart, Ainsworth Street, Cambridge.
Occasional jazz gigs open to general public at Girton College run by James Pearson.
Keep an eye on the web for live gigs by the Cambridge University Jazz Orchestra.
Also check out Cambridge 105 radio on line. Pete Butchers does a great job presenting a jazz programme every Sunday 4pm to 5pm and reviews the next few weeks live jazz scene in the city.
Cambridge Arts Theatre, Cambridge Junction, Cambridge Corn Exchange, Stapleford Grannary, Saffron Hall at Saffron Walden and The Apex at Bury St Edmunds also have jazz events.
The Cambridge Jazz Festival have a website which lists local live gigs. The 2025 Cambridge Jazz Festival is scheduled for 5th to 23rd November 2025. Details are on their website: www.cambridgejazzfestival.info There are so called fringe events that are normally free entry. The big names can be expensive but still sell out fast.
CAMBRIDGE CITY JAZZ WHAT’S ON CALENDAR AS AT 30th SEPTEMBER 2025
-Saturday 4th October 2025, Tram Depot, East Road, Cambridge, Tribute to Martin Kemp, 7:30pm, £7 book on the Tram Depot website
-Saturday 11th October 2025, Listen present Kelvin (a tribute to Antony Braxton), Unitarian Church, overlooking Christ’s Pieces, Cambridge, 8pm, £18, book via the Listen Cambridge website.
-Sunday 12th October 2025, Inscape Quartet with Nathan Hayward at The Lab cocktail bar, Regent Street, Cambridge, 4pm, £15, book online via The Lab website.
-Sunday 12th October 2025, Ted Morcaldi (guitar) trio, The Geldart, Ainsworth, Street, Cambridge, 8pm, £7 on the door or online via the Geldart website.
-Tuesday 14th October 2025, Flying Hammond Trio, The Geldart, Ainsworth Street, Cambridge, 8:30pm, £5 on the door.
-Wednesday 15th October 2025, Newnham Jazz Speakeasy, Newnham Sports and Social Club, Newnham, Cambridge, 7:30pm, free entry.
-Thursday 16th October 2025, CMJ present the Henry Spencer Quartet, Hidden Rooms, Jesus Lane, Cambridge, 7:30, £22 book online via the Cambridge Modern Jazz website.
-Saturday 18th October 2025, Listen present Living Floors, cello and double bass duo, Unitarian Church, overlooking Christs Pieces, Cambridge, 8pm, £18.
-Sunday 19th October 2025, The Pit Band, The Geldart, Ainsworth Street, Cambridge, 8pm.
-Saturday 25th October 2025, Listen present The James Allsopp Group, Unitarian Church, Christ’s Pieces, Cambridge, 8pm, £18.
-Sunday 26th October 2025, Chris Diamand presents, Geldart, Ainsworth Street, Cambridge, 7:30pm, £6.
-Tuesday 28th October 2025, Impossible Conversations, Geldart, Ainsworth Street, Cambridge, 8pm, £7.
-Thursday 30th October 2025, Downpipe Trio (see what a Bass Saxophone looks like!), Six Bells, Covent Garden, Cambridge, 8pm, free with a collection for the band.
-Saturday 1st November 2025, Listen present Laura Jurd (trumpet) Quartet, Unitarian Church opposite Christs Pieces, Cambridge, two performances at 6pm and 8:30pm, £18.
-Tuesday 4th November 2025, Sean O’Hanrahan’s Flying Hammond Trio, Geldart, Ainsworth Street, Cambridge, 8:30pm, £5 on the door.
-Friday 7th November 2025, Girton Jazz presents Polly Gibbons and Band, Girton College, 7:30pm, £20. Very few tickets available to the general public and they seem to sell out way in advance.
-CAMBRIDGE JAZZ FESTIVAL 5TH TO 23RD NOVEMBER 2025
SOME EVENTS ARE ALREADY SELLING VERY FAST YOU NEED TO BOOK NOW!
Selected Gigs of the day listed below:
-Sunday 9th November 2025, Members of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra with Theon Cross (Tuba), The Arts Club, Bridge Street, (I will let you try and find this new venue in Cambridge), 7:30pm, £15.
-Wednesday 12th November 2025, Heart of Noise, Junction 3, Cambridge, 8pm, £18:50
-Thursday 13th November 2025, John Etheridge Trio, Hidden Rooms, Jesus Lane, Cambridge, 7:30, £22.
-Friday 14th November 2025, Shirley Smart and Robert Mitchell, St Catherine’s College Chapel, Cambridge, 7pm, £15.
-Saturday 15th November 2025, Evan Parker, Queens College Chapel, Cambridge, 7:30pm, £15.
-Sunday 16th November 2025, Orphy Robinson with CUJO, West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge, 7:30pm, £18 maximum.
-Tuesday 18th November 2025, Ted Morcaldi Celestial Stranger Trio, The Geldart, Ainsworth Street, Cambridge, 8pm, £10.
-Wednesday 19th November 2025, Tim Boniface & James Pearson, Oscar Peterson tribute, Old Hall, Girton College, Girton Road, Cambridge, 7:30pm, £20.
-Thursday 20th November 2025, Alexandra Ridout Quartet, Hidden Rooms, Jesus Lane, Cambridge, 7:30pm, £22.
-Friday 21st November 2025, Flanagan/Creese/Brown, Hot Numbers, Gwydir Street, Cambridge, 7:30, £13.
-Saturday 22nd November 2025, Big Band Bonanza, Storey’s Field Centre, 4pm, £5.
-Sunday 23rd November 2025, Fergus McCreadie, Churchill College Chapel, Cambridge, 8pm, £20.
-Tuesday 2nd December 2025, Downpipe Trio, Geldart, Ainsworth Street, Cambridge, 8:30pm, £5.
-Friday 5th December 2025, Chris Allard Dreamweavers Trio, Hot Numbers, Gwydir Street, Cambridge, 7:30pm, £13.
-Saturday 6th December 2025, Robin Phillips, Gonville Hotel, overlooking Parkers Piece, Cambridge, 7:30pm, £19:50 for just the music.
-Thursday 11th December 2025, CMJ present Liane Carroll (voice and piano), Hidden Rooms, Jesus Lane, Cambridge, 7:30pm, £22.
-Saturday 13th December 2025, Robin Phillips with Ruth Applin, Gonville Hotel, Cambridge, 7:30pm, £19:50.
