The EFG London Jazz Festival is now in its 32nd year and has recently announced the first names for the 2024 edition. The festival is scheduled to take place from November 15 to November 24. For ten days and nights, some of London’s best musical institutions become a hub for music lovers from around the world. The festival offers unique, unmissable performances from both global stars and upcoming talents. The event spreads across the city’s prestigious concert halls and dimly-lit clubs, bringing together different cultures, experiences, and outlooks in a fascinating journey of discovery. With multiple shows taking place every single night, audiences have the freedom to pick and choose shows that suit their mood and taste.
On Saturday, 16 November, legendary guitarist Pat Metheny returns to the Barbican Hall to perform at the festival for the first time since his 2017 appearance. Metheny’s versatility is nearly without peer on any instrument. Over the years, he has performed with artists as diverse as Steve Reich to Ornette Coleman to Herbie Hancock to Jim Hall to Milton Nascimento to David Bowie. The show is in support of his forthcoming album, ‘MoonDial’. On Sunday, 17 November, Anouar Brahem takes to the Barbican Hall with his quartet to play music from his almost forty year career. Brahem has been constantly placing the tradition of Arab music in contrast to modern jazz and beyond. On Thursday, 21 November, the LSO is joined by the Mercury Prize-nominated ensemble seed., led by saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi, for an evening of new music and collaboration. Under the collective group name of Crosscurrents Trio, Dave Holland, Zakir Hussain, and Chris Potter join together to perform on Friday, 22 November. Three giants of American and Indian music, they have individually played vital roles in pioneering advances in jazz, developing and nurturing the cultural and musical connections between East and West.
Jazz Voice, the spectacular opening gala of the EFG London Jazz Festival, returns to the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall with an amazing lineup of soloists, accompanied by the EFG London Jazz Festival Orchestra. The event will celebrate the joy and power of song, with conductor and arranger Guy Barker and special guest conductor Peter Edwards. The show will showcase soul music, jazz-infused contemporary R&B, epic jazz songs, and funk from iconic tastemaker labels such as Motown, Concorde, Blue Note, and Impulse. The star-studded lineup of soloists will be announced very soon.
The Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall will host the 80th birthday celebrations of legendary Jazz-fusion drummer Billy Cobham in his electrifying new collaboration with Guy Barker and the full BBC Concert Orchestra on Wednesday, 20 November. British singer-songwriter Rumer has gone on to forge an acclaimed career both as a highly regarded songwriter and also a peerless interpreter of the work of others and will perform on Friday, 22 November whilst the BBC Concert Orchestra returns with a full symphonic tribute to the life, work and genius of John Coltrane – arranged and curated by Carlos Simon – to close the festival on Sunday, 24 November.
There are exciting events happening at the famous KOKO venue in Camden, London! On Friday, November 15th, Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Meshell Ndegeocello (main image) will perform her deeply jazz-influenced music from her critically acclaimed album “The Omnichord Real Book”. Robert Glasper, a musical and artistic genre pioneer, will perform on Monday, November 18th. Lastly, on Friday, November 22nd, Afro-Cuban artist Cimafunk will mix up classical Cuban rhythms with funky, afrobeat and hip hop sounds.
Visit the festival’s website for updates!
Source/Images provided courtesy of Practice Media
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