Ribble Valley Jazz and Blues are delighted to welcome Emma Johnson’s Gravy Boat to the St Mary’s Centre for a magical opening headline concert.

Emma Johnson’s Gravy Boat are a cinematic, melodic instrumental group based in Leeds, led by saxophonist and composer Emma Johnson. Emma grew up near Accrington, where she was introduced to the saxophone at high school before studying at Leeds Conservatoire.

Since augmenting into a quintet in 2019, the band have gone from strength to strength – moving from touring as part of Jazz North’s Northern Line Scheme that year, to being awarded the Peter Whittingham Development Award to record their first album, Worry Not in 2021. In 2022, Johnson was commissioned by Lancaster Jazz Festival to write new work to be performed that year, and out of this, the group developed the music into Northern Flame, their second album release which ‘confirms Johnson as a singular and exciting talent’ according to All About Jazz. 

As with most jazz acts, Gravy Boat really come to life in the live setting, with freedom and interplay at the heart of their performances, punctuated by stories and inspirations behind the music from bandleader Johnson, creating performances full of magic, joy, and warmth.

Last year with a 4* Jazzwise Review under their belt, Gravy Boat set off on a national tour including stand out performances at London Jazz Festival, NQ Jazz and Howard Assembly Room in a double bill with Gondwana’s Jasmine Myra. Featured on BBC Radio 6, Jazz FM and Worldwide FM, as well as Fresh on The Net’s Fresh Favs and Bandcamp’s Best Jazz Releases November 2023, this release marks a step up for Johnson and Gravy Boat, who have been hailed by Trust The Doc as ‘one of the most refreshingly imaginative and perfectly configured acts in contemporary jazz’.

Supported using public funding by Arts Council England.
This event is supported by patron funding.

Festival Freedom Passes

If you are considering buying tickets for this event you might want to consider purchasing a Festival Freedom Pass which gives you VIP access to all the Headline and ticketed events across the four festival days.

Pay what you can

We recognise that money can be a barrier to access quality live music.
Thanks to the support of the Arts Council England there is a limited supply of advance tickets available on a “pay what you can” basis.
Please send an email to [email protected] for further information.

Tickets will be made available on a first come first served basis.

Tenor Saxophone – Emma Johnson
Electric Guitar – Fergus Vickers
Piano – Richard Jones
Double Bass – Angus Milne
Drums – Steve Hanley

Watch Sun Stones – Emma Johnson’s Gravy Boat

Watch Hold Me Tight – Emma Johnson’s Gravy Boat with video animation by Jolin Matraku.

Check out their music
https://emmajohnsonsgravyboat.bandcamp.com/album/northern-flame