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| Mayor backs the London Jazz Festival Roof-raising rhythms and laid-back melodies will have toes tapping right across the capital, as the London Jazz Festival kicks off this Friday ( 13th November ). Backed by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, this year's extravaganza travels to more boroughs than ever before and includes a musical mix of concerts, free performances, workshops, premieres and unique collaborations. Mayor Boris Johnson said: "The Jazz Festival is reaching music lovers in every corner of the city and proves that London is indeed the jazz capital of Europe. There are over 250 events, a feast of commissions, collaborations and premieres, and plenty of free performances. I hope music fans are inspired by this exceptional festival, which adds to the capital's status as one of the great world cities for culture and creativity. " The London Jazz Festival in association with BBC Radio 3 is the biggest pan-London music festival of its kind. Every November for 10 days it makes its mark on the capital, giving audiences the chance to experience jazz in a huge variety of settings. Moving from clubs and concert halls in the heart of the city right out to edges of London, from Blackheath to Barnet, Kingston to Walthamstow and lots of stops in between, the music spreads far and wide. The Mayor is funding the festival to widen the reach to outer boroughs as part of his long term strategy to promote the cultural offer in outer London. As part of this offering an array of talent, including jazz legend Sheila Jordan, piano virtuoso Zoe Rahman, the brilliantly innovative Naturally 7 and feisty four-piece Brass Jaw will play their way around the city as part of the 'Festival on the Move'. This sees musicians criss-crossing London, taking the music from venues such as Southbank Centre and the Royal Opera House to Stratford East's Theatre Royal, artsdepot in Barnet and Fairfield Croydon. Greenwich forms a core hub of activity including performances from Zoe Rahman, trumpeter and leading exponent of African jazz Claude Deppa, exciting young piano trio Phronesis plus the inspired pairing of award-winning Liane Carroll and Scottish pianist Brian Kellock – Carroll and Kellock will be preceded by The Trinity Quintet, featuring some of the freshest talent around. Music lovers in Barnet will be spoilt for choice with local venues boasting performances from Brass Jaw, vocal power house Clare Teal, the band behind the title music for Oscar-winning film Vicky Cristina Barcelona and boundary crossing hip-hop and jazz star Napoleon Maddox. There will also be a week of music workshops for young people in Barnet designed to engage them in music-making, which is part of the Festival's extensive Learning and Participation programme. The Festival has teamed up with Trinity College to create two special projects focused around the music of jazz icon Benny Goodman, who would have turned 100 this year: Trinity Jazz Ensemble will perform a special concert of Goodman's big band music at Southbank Centre's Front Room as the culmination of an intensive workshop programme led by Alan Barnes; and Trinity College of Music Chamber Orchestra will perform as part of a special edition of BBC Radio 3's Discovering Music in an exploration of Goodman's music through discussion and performance. The range and diversity of the music is vast with over 250 events to choose from, many of which are free to attend. write your comments about the article :: © 2009 Jazz News :: home page |