A decent chunk of the world's best jazz musicians will be converging on London on 12th November for 10 days of performances in the 18th
London Jazz Festival.
More than 50
venues across the capital will be hosting events, including pubs, clubs, restaurants, concert halls and theatres. The National Maritime Museum is even getting a look in, hosting
Brass Jaw (Saturday 20th November), a lively and highly entertaining jazz quartet.
Jazz greats such as master trumpeter Hugh Masekela (Royal Festival Hall; Friday 12th November), singer Dame Cleo Laine (Barbican; Tuesday 16th November), Herbie Hancock (Royal Festival Hall; Saturday 13th November and Sunday 14th November), and saxophonist Sonny Rollins (Barbican; Saturday 20th November) will be in attendance, not forgetting singer Jon Hendricks, who at the ripe young age of 89 is doing not one but
three nights at Ronnie Scott's, starting on Thursday 18th November.
The mix of musicians is vast; established and up-and-coming, young and not so, band players and soloists - this is one of the world's great jazz festivals, a gathering of the genre's top artists putting on more than 250 shows between them. Click
here for full listings. As you'd expect with an event of this kind, ticket prices vary.
If you're stony broke, all is not lost - there are a few
free events that might be of interest.
The festival is also running the
Beyond Concerts programme offering a unique chance to learn more about jazz by getting hands-on. Activities include improvisation workshops, Q&A sessions, opportunities for budding music journalists, and lots more. Beyond Concerts is aimed at the whole family and is a popular part of the ten day event – there are even jazz workshops for infants!
