Newcastle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music 2026 | Zbigniew Chojnacki, Manon McCoy & John Pope

It’s a regular part of the programme for NFOJAiM to put together new combinations of musicians to play in purely improvised new contexts, some of which have never crossed paths or met before. Whilst Manon McCoy and John Pope have played alongside each other on a few rare occasions, the addition of Polish accordionist Zbigniew Chojnacki is new to the mix for both of the string players. Each of the players is absolutely exceptional in their own right, so this meeting of the three instruments promises to be an exhilarating ride indeed.

Zbigniew Chojnacki is an accordionist, an improviser, the creator of the modular accordion concept, and a hunter of interesting people. For nearly 15 years, he has been expanding the accordion’s capabilities and its role in genres such as jazz, experimental music, techno, metal, rock, and minimalism. Chojnacki graduated from the jazz departments of the Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz and the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. He has appeared internationally at acclaimed experimental music festivals including Radial System Berlin.

Manon McCoy is a british-french experimental harpist, improviser and researcher based in the North of England. Her work spans live performance, installation making, workshops and facilitation. She performs across the UK and EU working with organisations such as Lancaster Jazz, NFOJAiM, Listening Academy, Studio DB. McCoy recently released music under the Berlin based label Elektramusic with vocalist Alice Brookes, and she is also the creator for this years Interludes music at Newcastle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music 2026.

Her ongoing research centres around site-responsive performance installation, spatial sound and applications of sound art in public space. She is heavily involved in community organising around shared spaces for improvisatory practise as a musician, live sound engineer and facilitator. She was a part of the Brighter Sound Change, The Record residency 2026 challenging the music industry and exploring models of social change through music making. She is dedicated to creating expansive and creative spaces for people to explore sound making as a way of creating social change through culture. She works primarily in the experimental and DIY grassroots scene, challenging diversity and accessibility, resource scarcity and advocating for creative agency and sustainability in these scenes.

John Pope is a bass player and composer based in the North East of England. His main focus as a creative musician explores the boundaries and combinations of jazz, free improvisation, rock and experimental music. His primary projects include a chord-less quintet of Northern musicians John Pope Quintet. He is also a founding member of award winning garage-jazz band Archipelago, lead by Faye MacCalman.

In addition to working in jazz he is an active member of the UK improvised music scene. He has performed solo as an improviser around the country, as well as in collaboration with internationally recognised artists, including appearances at festivals across the country (London Jazz Festival, Manchester Jazz Festival, TUSK and Gateshead International Jazz Festival at the Sage) as well as internationally in prestigious venues such as Bimhuis (Holland) and Area Sismica (Italy).

In addition to his career as a performer, John is a committed practitioner of education and community outreach as a composer/arranger and facilitator.

For more information on the main festival programme  CLICK HERE

A LIVE Lit & Phil Event | £10 advance (£12 On The Door Subject To Availability)