Factory International

mjf closing shows

manchester jazz festival – International Triple Bill

Free to attend – no booking required
Sanem Kalfa stood in front of a turquoise wall, with a black transparent piece of material covering her face
Date
25 May 2025
Venue
The Social, Aviva Studios
Tickets

12.30–1.45 pm: N∆bou

3–4.20pm: Sanem Kalfa's Miraculous Layers

5.30–6.45pm: Sylvain Rifflet: We Want Stars

Free to attend – no booking required

Accessibility features available for this event: Wheelchair Access

manchester jazz festival presents an international triple bill in the Social as part of their closing shows

manchester jazz festival (mjf) brings a triple bill of some of the most genre-pushing international jazz artists from across Europe to Aviva Studios.

Enjoy a wide variety of music from Belgium, the Netherlands and France here in Manchester for free – all in celebration of mjf's 30th anniversary edition.

Headlining in the Social is French saxophonist, clarinetist and composer Sylvain Rifflet. Plus, Belgian jazz band N∆BOU and Turkish vocalist Sanem Kalfa make their UK debuts.

Explore the line-up outside in the Undercroft here.

Schedule

12.30–1.45 pm: N∆bou

3–4.20pm: Sanem Kalfa's Miraculous Layers

5.30–6.45pm: Sylvain Rifflet: We Want Stars

Four members of Nabou wearing clothes with muted colours stood in front of a cream wall. They are all looking in different directions.

N∆BOU

Nabou Claerhout trombone / Roeland Celis electric guitar / Trui Amerlinck double bass / Mathias Vercammen drums

N∆BOU is a breath of fresh air on the Belgian jazz scene. Band leader and composer Nabou Claerhout is looking for a sound all her own: by means of all sorts of effects, she creates a dreamy musical framework with a strong atmospheric and melancholic resonance.

After their debut EP Hubert – for which Claerhout was nominated for Jazz Composer 2019 at the Sabam for Culture Award – the band refined their special sound further on their album You Know.

Lush and intimate sounds alternate with strongly rhythmic compositions, whilst groovy bass riffs, elaborate drum patterns and virtuosic guitar all add to the musical adventure.  Claerhout’s distinctive trombone playing “sings, cries, pulsates, tells and knows how to make many hearts weak, through well-constructed contemporary pieces.”

The total musical picture is endlessly intriguing and truly kaleidoscopic from the very first listen.

Sanem Kalfa stood in front of a turquoise wall, with a black transparent piece of material covering her face

Sanem Kalfa

Sanem Kalfa voice, cello, electronics / Marc Alberto saxophone, electronics / Chearin Im piano / Sun-Mi Hong drums

Sanem is a Turkish vocalist living in Amsterdam, and if you caught her mjf 2019 duo set with violist George Dumitriu, you’ll recall her virtuosity, effortlessly blending technical ability with free, raw passion. Her performances always touch on the primal grounds of the human soul.

Originally commissioned by Amsterdam’s pioneering jazz club, the Bimhuis, to explore the conflicting emotional shifts encountered during lockdown, Miraculous Layers has evolved - with contributions from artists each born in different countries - to explore the spectrum of human feelings, yearnings, fears and delights contained in and expressed by the human voice. Delicate, intimate and powerful, the results are spellbinding. 

The ensemble’s sound and concept are compelling enough, but Miraculous Layers also boasts enthralling performances from some of the strongest international voices on the Dutch contemporary music scene. Sun-Mi Hong and Chearin Im – both South Koreans resident in The Netherlands – lead their own projects and are fast becoming the most in-demand players across Europe; the uncategorisable Euro-Caribbean sound artist and musician Marc Alberto adds drama and texture through impassioned saxophone and spoken word, bringing a highly personal searching stamp into any setting. 

Sylvain Rifflet wearing round glasses stood on a deep blue background. The top of his saxophone reed is visible in the bottom right hand corner.

Sylvain Rifflet

Sylvain Rifflet tenor saxophone, clarinet / Bettina Kee keyboards, synths / Vincent Taeger drums, percussion

Rounding off our international debut triple-bill, French saxophonist, clarinetist and composer Sylvain Rifflet is a remarkable musician on the European jazz scene – one who likes to explore unchartered territories and side roads. Building an unlikely bridge between his hero Stan Getz and the minimalist influences of Philip Glass and Steve Reich, his music is always daring, conceptual, and entirely rewarding. 

For this new sax-synths-drums trio, Rifflet joins forces with two indie pop figures trained in jazz, to create fantastical, energetic landscapes of high-octane saxophone and clarinet, swirling synths, and poly-rhythmic grooves. Jazz with pop energy – for the body and the mind!

Since graduating from the Conservatoire de Paris, Rifflet has won several prestigious awards, including the Victoire du Jazz and a Django d'or, and has performed and recorded with some of the most famous performers on the European scene, including Henri Texier, Paolo Fresu and Louis Sclavis, as well as American musicians Joey Baron, Jon Hollenbeck and Jim Black.

Access information

Our full address is Aviva Studios, Water Street, Manchester M3 4JQ and the what3words is chop.feeds.chase.

You can approach Aviva Studios along Water Street (coming from Quay Street) or along Liverpool Road (coming from Deansgate or Castlefield). Both entrances to the building have double sets of glass doors.

Once inside Aviva Studios, there is step-free access to all areas of the venue. The flooring throughout the building is smooth concrete.

The entrance to the Warehouse is by lift or stairs from the Social. Two lifts and a staircase to the Warehouse are located in the Social opposite the bar.

The entrance to the Law Family Hall is by lift, escalator or stairs from one side of the Social beside the brick arches. There is only one escalator, and this will take you up to the Law Family Hall before the show, and will be reversed so that you can travel down at the end of the performance.

The Social has a range of seating, including those with arms and backs.

The bars in the Social and Hall Foyer have lowered accessible service points.

Our building is large. We have portable stools available to borrow if you would benefit from resting along the way during your visit.

We have wheelchair spaces and seats at standing events for all events.

There are accessible toilets on all public levels of our building.

Accessible toilets are located inside the main toilets space in the brick arches of the Social.

Here you’ll find a mixture of accessible cubicles with left- or right-hand transfer, towards the back of the space, as well as ambulant accessible cubicles with grab rails, as well as a Changing Places facility.

The toilets in the brick arches of the Social are split into male, female and gender neutral – all of which contain accessible cubicles. There are shared handwashing facilities in each arch – they have soap dispensers under the mirrors to your left and dryers to the right. There are separate handwashing facilities inside the accessible cubicles.

There are additional single-room accessible toilets located in both Hall Foyers, at stalls and circle level.

There are additional single-room accessible toilets located in the Warehouse Foyer.

You do not need a key to use the accessible toilets at Aviva Studios.

Assistance dogs are welcome in our building, and we can provide mats and water bowls on request, just ask a host when you arrive. We can also take care of your assistance dog if you do not want to take your dog into the performance space. Please also refer to our assistance dogs policy.

If you are bringing an assistance dog to a ticketed event, please let us know in advance by contacting access@factoryinternational.org or calling our access phone number: 0161 817 4531 (phone lines are open 10am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday).

There is step-free access to all areas of the venue, including the Social.

There will be unallocated seating available for this event. If you have specific access requirements and require reserved seating, please call 0161 817 4531 (Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm) or email access@factoryinternational.org.

Travel information

There are a number of rail and tram stations within the city centre which are just a short distance from Aviva Studios. The closest stations are:

By Bike

There are 40 bike parking spaces at Aviva Studios including space for two accessible bikes.

National Cycling Route 6 passes close to the venue and this TfGM webpage can help with route planning.

You can also hire bikes from on-street docking stations across the city centre. The closest docking stations to our venue are currently on Deansgate by Liverpool Road and (400m from the building) and by King Street (500m from the building). Take a look at Transport for Greater Manchester’s webpage for advice on cycle hire.

By Walking and Other Active Means

Aviva Studios can be approached along Water Street via Liverpool Road (coming from Deansgate or Castlefield).

If you're coming from Quay Street, the safest route to avoid construction works is via the cut-through opposite Gartside Street and past Booking.com.

All footways in the surrounding area are well lit and there are appropriate crossings across all main roads.

Pedestrians with visual impairment are recommended to approach the building via Water Street, from Liverpool Road. This route has traditional carriageway and footway design with fixed street furniture which should help with navigation to the entrance.

A footbridge at Left Bank in Spinningfields provides an accessible link across the River Irwell to Salford Central station, and a further footbridge also links Aviva Studios with the Salford area of Middlewood Locks.

Free bus

The free bus 1 service connects Piccadilly Station, Oxford Road and Deansgate rail stations, as well as other areas of the city centre to Aviva Studios.

The service stops on both Liverpool Road and Quay Street, close to the venue. Buses operate every 10 minutes during the day from Monday to Sunday and they are wheelchair accessible. For full details of the free bus 1 route and timetable, please visit the Bee Network website.

Bee Network services

Piccadilly Gardens is situated in the heart of Manchester and there are a number of bus services that will take you on to Aviva Studios. The 33 bus which starts at Shudehill, calls at Piccadilly Gardens and will take you straight to Liverpool Road. Services operate every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday and every hour on Sunday.

Alternatively, you can board either a 35, 36 or 38 bus to Bridge Street bus stop which is a seven-minute walk via Left Bank and Water Street to the venue.

Coming into Manchester Victoria rail station? Head on over to Shudehill Interchange (which is a seven-minute walk via Hanover Street) where you can catch the 33 bus to Liverpool Road.

Alternatively, you can board either an 8, 67 or 100 bus from Manchester Victoria to Bridge Street bus stop, which is a seven-minute walk via Left Bank and Water Street to the venue.

There is a car park approximately 0.2 miles (350m) from Aviva Studios at Water Street Car Park, New Elm Rd, Manchester, M3 4JH.

There is also a NCP car park (Manchester Spinningfields) approximately 0.25 miles (400m) away from Aviva Studios at Spinningfields, New Quay Street, Manchester, M3 3BE. It has 35 accessible bays.

There are a small number of Blue Badge spaces along Water St and Quay St. Otherwise head towards Liverpool Road, Great John St and Lower Byrom St – close to our neighbours, the Science and Industry Museum where there are a small number of additional Blue Badge spaces.

For a list of other parking bays available in the area, visit Manchester City Council website.

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