Mike Flynn
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Some of the biggest names in jazz are set to appear at the Barbican, Southbank Centre, Cadogan Hall, Kings Place and KOKO as part of this year’s capital-wide festival
The first names have been confirmed for this year’s EFG London Jazz Festival which runs from 15-24 November at concert halls, clubs and live performance spaces across the capital. Chief among these is global guitar star Pat Metheny who returns to the festival first time since 2017. This time he’ll be in a purely solo setting at the Barbican, in support of his new album, MoonDial (BMG), performing on the opening weekend on Saturday 16 November. Due for release on 26 July the album continues the stripped back theme of Dream Box, with the guitarist exploring songs such as ‘Here, There and Everywhere’ and ‘Everything Happens To Me/Somewhere’ alongside newly written material. Also announced for the Barbican line-up will be ECM-associated Tunisian oudist Anouar Brahem and his Quartet (17 Nov); and the high-flying Crosscurrents trio of bassist Dave Holland, saxophonist Chris Potter and tabla maestro Zakir Hussain (22 Nov).
The festival’s gala concert Jazz Voice will once again open the programme at the Royal Festival Hall (RFH), but for the first time in its history will see the 40-piece jazz orchestra conducted by both its founder Guy Barker and Peter Edwards, who’s best known for his longstanding work with the Tomorrow’s Warriors affiliated Nu Civilisation Orchestra. The names of the guest singers will be announced in the coming months. The RFH also hosts big headline shows from Brazilian vocal star Marisa Monte (16 Nov) and popular UK pianist and singer Jamie Cullum (22 Nov).
There’s something or an orchestral theme emerging which sees Tim Garland’s Lighthouse Trio (with Gwilym Simco*ck and Asaf Sirkis) joined by the Britten Sinfonia, trumpeter Yazz Ahmed and violinist Thomas Gould at Milton Court (19 Nov); drum legend Billy Cobham marks his 80th birthday year with a new large-scale collaboration with Guy Barker and the BBC Concert Orchestra (Queen Elizabeth Hall, 20 Nov), and Mercury-nominated saxophonist/composer Cassie Kinoshi’s seed. join forces with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican (21 Nov).
Camden’s venue KOKO has undergone a resurgence since its £70million renovation and reopening in 2022, and will host several headline shows at the LJF including a sizeable return to the capital for multi-Grammy winning keyboardist Robert Glasper (18 Nov); Meshell Ndegeocello’s show on 15 November, will be one of her biggest UK gigs to date, while Afro-Cuban star Cimafunk twists Cuban rhythms with funk, afrobeat and hip hop (22 November). British Blue Note-signees, Blue Lab Beats, are also confirmed and appear atSaint (aka Hackney Church, 23 Nov). Cadogan Hall continues to play a central role in the programme with its starry line up so far including preeminent guitarist Julian Lage (21 Nov); celebrated ECM pianist Tord Gustavsen (15 Nov) and Mack Avenue-signed vocalist Veronica Swift (16 Nov).
Further shows announced include a beat-fuelled meeting between Binker Golding, Moses Boyd and Simon Ratcliffe (Basem*nt Jaxx) in their new collaborative project, Village Of The Sun (Lafayette, 17 Nov); a virtuosic double piano duet between rising Greek talent Tania Giannouli and Swiss time-signature wizard Nik Bartsch (Wigmore Hall, 22 Nov); Palestinian pianist Faraj Suleiman performs thrillingly progressive tunes from his latest LP, As Much As It Takes (Kings Place Hall One, 17 Nov) and Nordic trumpeter Arve Henriksen and Dutch pianist Harmen Fraanje recreate the bewitching sounds of their new ECM release, Touch of Time (Kings Place Hall Two, 22 Nov).
Two string-laden concerts close out the festival’s second weekend with the BBC Concert Orchestra and trumpeter Giveton Gelin performing arranger Carlos Simon’s suite Coltrane: Legacy for Orchestra (Queen Elizabeth Hall, 24 Nov) and the Nu Civilisation Orchestra’s Duke Ellington’s New Orleans Suite (Kings Place Hall One, 24 Nov).
More names will be announced in the coming months. Jazzwise is festival media partner.
For full details and tickets visit www.efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk
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