Three Jazz holidays include the celebrated Copenhagen Jazz Festival in summer 2027 and two carefully-curated Jazz Festivals in East Sussex (this September and next February), featuring with very different styles of jazz: the irresistible cabaret style of the Joe Stilgoe Trio, and the Mercury-nominated pianist Gwilym Simcock with special guests.
Jazz Festival with Joe Stilgoe
3 nights | Departs 7 September 2026
Price from £1,985 per person (based on two sharing)
Singer, pianist and songwriter Joe Stilgoe and his band will host their next Jazz Festival at the recently reopened hotel The Alfriston. Formerly known as Deans Place, The Alfriston overlooks the River Cuckmere, and now offers a spa, sauna and an outdoor heated pool – perfect for a late summer escape. In his private recitals at the Hope Chapel down the road from the hotel, Joe will perform deft and witty takes on the works of the great American songwriters, ranging from Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Lerner & Lowe and Rodgers & Hammerstein to Billy Joel, Joni Mitchell and Burt Bacharach.
WHAT’S INCLUDED
• Three nights’ accommodation with breakfast
• Three concerts
• Three dinners with the musicians
• The services of a Tour Leader
• Morning excursion to Lewes
• Tour and Tasting at Rathfinny’s Wine Estate
Jazz Festival in Alfriston with Gwylim Simcock & Friends
United Kingdom
Departs: 22 Feb 2027 /3 nights
Price from £1,869 per person (based on two sharing)
This Winter Jazz Festival will be held at Alex Polizzi’s stylish hotel in the picturesque and historic village of Alfriston, and stars the multi award-winning pianist and composer Gwilym Simcock, who returns after a wonderful debut in 2024. Gwilym will be hosting our exclusive and intimate jazz festival with concerts in the beautiful Old Chapel Centre in Alfriston, in the company of three of modern jazz’s brightest stars: saxophonist, Emma Rawicz, drummer James Maddren and double bass player Conor Chaplin. The festival begins with a solo piano concert performed by our host, followed by a piano and saxophone duo on the second evening, and to finish, The Gwilym Simcock Trio.
Jazz Artist
Gwylim Simcock
One of the finest and most respected jazz artists performing today, Gwilym was hailed by the late, great jazz pianist Chick Corea as a “creative genius” and is currently pianist for the US jazz guitarist Pat Metheny.
We stay at The Star (4*), located on Alfriston’s famously picturesque high street with its selection of galleries and shops. Olga and Alex Polizzi unveiled their latest venture to enormous critical acclaim in the summer of 2021. Dating back to 1345, this was a historic hostelry on the route between Battle Abbey and Chichester, and its 15th-century façade remains unchanged, as does the extravagantly beamed bar. Behind this, a charming, leafy courtyard now leads to 30 comfortable and stylish bedrooms, each combining new and antique furniture alongside works by local artists. We will dine each evening in the hotel’s elegant restaurant. There is no lift at The Star but staff are available to help you with your luggage. There is a gated private car park right behind the hotel.
Music Programme
Concert 1:
The Jazz Festival kicks off with a special solo set by Gwilym, showcasing many of his original compositions. Gwilym’s influences are wide ranging, from jazz legends including Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Jaco Pastorius and Pat Metheny, to classical composers including Maurice Ravel, Henri Dutilleux, Béla Bartók and Mark-Anthony Turnage.
Concert 2:
For the second concert, Gwilym will be joined by Saxophonist and composer Emma Rawicz. Despite her young age, she has achieved a huge amount including winning the Parliamentary Jazz Award and reaching the final of the prestigious Jazz FM Awards and the BBC Young Jazz Musician Competition. In March 2025, the duo released an album together Big Visit, which features original compositions by both musicians, as well as inventive arrangements of several jazz standards.
Concert 3:
Our final concert will feature The Gwilym Simcock Trio, with James Maddren on drums and Conor Chaplin playing the double bass. Since graduating from the Royal Academy of Music, James has built an international performing career, playing at some of the most prestigious venues including Montreux, Ronnie Scott’s and Cologne Philharmonie. Conor is currently best known as part of Mercury Prize-nominated group Dinosaur and has collaborated with many world class musicians, including Kit Downes, Jacob Collier and Billy Cobham.
What’s included
Three nights’ accommodation with breakfast
Three concerts as described
Three dinners at the hotel
The services of a Tour Leader
The Copenhagen Jazz Festival
Copenhagen, Denmark
Departs: 6 Jul 2027 / 4 nights
Price from £2,675 per person (based on two sharing)
This tour to Copenhagen’s celebrated Jazz Festival has been designed to take in the highlights of this world-class event. The full line-up for 2027 will be announced closer to the time, but we will curate a selection of concerts in the best venues across the city; this includes a visit to Sir Niels Lan Doky’s new jazz club, Epicurus. We will also visit Jazzhus Montmartre, an intimate and historic venue that has hosted world-class blues and jazz musicians since 1959, including Miles Davis and Oscar Peterson.
Summer is the perfect time to enjoy the Danish capital, and in addition to the concerts held in a wide variety of venues, we will spend some time visiting the key art collections, cruising the city’s canals and enjoying delicious Nordic cuisine.
Copenhagen Jazz Festival
Although the Festival has existed in its present form since 1979, the city’s status as one of the jazz capitals of Europe emerged in the 1950s and 1960s, when leading American jazz artists such as Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz and Chet Baker moved here. Lasting ten days, the festival tends to feature 1,200 concerts in over 100 different venues, ranging from intimate jazz clubs and charming squares to historic churches and elegant concert halls. The unique atmosphere that is ever present throughout the city during the Festival is one not to be missed.
Sir Niels Dans Loky
Born in Copenhagen in 1963, Sir Niels Lan Doky has released 43 albums since 1986, with his piano playing described in The New York Times as “fresh and provocative”. He co-founded the reopening of Jazzhus Montmartre in 2010, a venue that first put Copenhagen on the world jazz map in 1959, with the likes of Stan Getz, Oscar Peterson and Miles Davis all playing there. Sir Niels’s most recent jazz club, Epicurus, opened its doors in May 2025.
Please ask us for more details on these and many other Jazz Experiences.
