Julian Joseph, Mike Westbrook and Jason Rebello in for Steinway 2-Piano Festival 2020
Kevin Whitlock
Monday, February 10, 2020
There's a feast for piano jazz lovers as a record number of top pianists to participate in this year's festival
The Steinway 2-Piano Festival returns in 2020 with a record number of pianists – including Guy Chambers, Julian Joseph, Mike Westbrook, Ian Shaw, Liane Carroll, Ashley Henry, Nikki Yeoh, Zoe Rahman, Robert Mitchell, Jason Rebello and many more to be announced.
The festival – which was founded by Julian Joseph in 1995 – kicks off at Pizza Express Jazz Club (Soho) in Dean Street on 13 March with Joseph and Jason Rebello. On 14 March, there’s a lunchtime show at the same venue with Joe Webb and Jamie Safir plus Jack Stephenson-Oliver and Dominic J Marshall. Pianist-vocalists Ian Shaw and Liane Carroll perform evening sets on 15 and 16 March, while on the following night Robert Mitchell and Ashley Henry come to Soho. On 18 March Nikki Yeoh and Zoe Rahman play, and on 19 March US pianists Bruce Barth and Danny Grissett perform together for the very first time.
On Saturday 21 March legendary keyboardist-composer Mike Westbrook joins Jonathan Gee to perform music from Westbrook’s album Paris, recorded by the late Jon Hiseman.
On Mother’s Day (22 March) there’s a special lunchtime concert in which four of the UK’s finest pianists, Liam Noble, Kit Downes, Maria Chiara Argiro and Bruno Heinen, collaborate in a double bill. The festival closes that evening with a concert celebrating piano from New Orleans – from Professor Longhair to Dr John – by Crescent City experts Dom Pipkin and Joe Mac.
For more details, visit www.pizzaexpresslive.com/steinway-festival