Tonight at the 606 club in Chelsea a large gathering of musicians, including Norma Winstone, Henry Lowther, Paul Clarvis and Mark Lockheart, is coming together to celebrate the life in music of Pete Saberton, the very well respected pianist and educator who died last week.
Sold out since January Kenny Garrett made a welcome return to the UK jazz club circuit at the Pizza Express Jazz Club in London with a run of three nights at the weekend following an appearance in Manchester at Band on the Wall earlier in the month.
The nominations for the 2012 Parliamentary Jazz Awards have been announced, with the winners revealed at the awards ceremony which will take place at the House of Commons, Terrace Pavilion on 16 May.
Gateshead Jazz Festival – the first major UK jazz festival of 2012 – kicks off today with an impressive and eclectic line up that includes UK sax legend Courtney Pine and his Europa band, jazz funk alto great Pee Wee Ellis with Bristol-based funk unit Pork Chop, extraordinary Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca, and elegant UK bop legend Peter King with his quartet are among a vibrant selection of headliners.
The Bobby Watson International All Stars, Jazz Jamaica, Abram Wilson’s Running the Flame septet, and Christine Tobin are among the big names on their way to Hull this summer for the Hull Jazz Festival, which is to run from 20-29 July.
Veteran broadcaster Geoffrey Smith is to step down from presenting Jazz Record Requests, the long running Radio 3 Saturday afternoon listeners’ request show, which he has presented since 1991.
Chris Potter brought the six-night Jazzwise to the Power of 15 festival at Ronnie Scott’s to a rousing close on Saturday night following support from talented newcomer singer Sara Mitra.
In an Olympic Games year crowded with all manner of cultural events in the capital the London Jazz Festival has pulled out all the stops to create what promises to be its biggest festival yet with a feast of headline names, including Sonny Rollins, John McLaughlin, Jan Garbarek, Brad Mehldau, Bill Frisell and Salif Keita.
Jazzwise to the Power of 15 continued last night with a very well received set by the accomplished jazz, soul and house music-influenced singer Zara McFarlane and her band, opening for the first of two shows by Ron Carter and his Foursight band.
Empirical and Michael Wollny’s [em] were the featured artists on day two of Jazzwise to the Power of 15 last night at Ronnie Scott’s, providing an insight into two of the sharpest improvising units to emerge over the last five years.
