GATESHEAD International Jazz Festival has announced an exciting international line-up for next year, with its trademark mix of UK, European and international jazz icons, hot new talent and some of the best of the thriving Northern jazz scene. Renowned for being the UK’s biggest jazz festival held under one roof, the festival is programmed by Sage Gateshead in collaboration with London-based music producers Serious, and runs from Friday, April 10 to Sunday, April 12, forming part of the year-long Sage Gateshead tenth birthday celebrations.

Headlines include: American saxophonist David Sanborn’s whose career has taken in stints with James Brown and David Bowie and over four decades his soulful style has become a signature sound in contemporary jazz. Fellow American guitar legend John Scofield and British born/New Orleans based vocalist/pianist Jon Cleary showcase a unique mix of jazz, gospel and deep South blues.

Topping the bill on its Saturday night are jazz funk lynchpins and acid jazz originators the James Taylor Quartet in a double bill with one of the UK’s favourite soul, gospel and R&B divas Ruby Turner. Davina and The Vagabonds following their stand out set at the 2014 SummerTyne Americana Festival, and a real festival coup, the first chance in the North-East to hear the sensational young US "soul jazz" singer Jarrod Lawson, who is rapidly heading for star status.

Headlining the Sunday night, the iconic Loose Tubes will be showcasing their anarchic, uniquely exhilarating music which, 30 years on, and following a much anticipated reunion last year, still reverberates through the UK music scene. Maverick keyboards player and composer Django Bates, saxophonists Mark Lockheart and Food’s Iain Ballamy, and Freak Power’s Ashley Slater are among a 21 piece line-up that includes much-loved original Tubes hits alongside specially written new music.

The festival features a strong line-up of British jazz stars. With a new album hitting the streets, Beats and Pieces follows in the Loose Tubes footsteps, a big band that’s very much of the 21st Century. Looking further back, the late Stan Tracey’s landmark recording of Under Milk Wood was released in 1964 – Stan’s son Clark Tracey joins forces with Bobby Wellins, saxophonist on the original album, in a unique opportunity to hear a seminal piece of British jazz history and to celebrate a much missed figure in British jazz who himself performed at several past festivals here in Gateshead.

Saxophonist/composer Andy Sheppard makes a welcome return to the festival, with a rare set from his playfully melodic duo with Italian pianist Rita Marcotulli.

The festival will be working with Jazz North-East to bring more female talent to the programme with two Women in Jazz performances featuring North-East singer Zoe Gilby’s take on US singer Carmen McRae’s vocalizations of Thelonius Monk tunes, alongside vocalist/violinist Alice Zawadski with music from her debut album China Lane.