This year’s London Jazz Festival, which runs from 9-18 November, has added yet more top names in addition to the host of major artists already announced, confirming it’s the biggest LJF to date and a grand way to mark its 20th anniversary.

The Queen Elizabeth Hall hosts the hot Californian trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and his Quintet on 9 November; Kurt Elling accompanied by his long standing pianist Laurence Hobgood comes in on 14 November; and a rare London date by one of the great jazz guitarists, Jim Hall, features him with the Kenny Wheeler Big Band at the same venue on 18 November. Esperanza Spalding brings music from her acclaimed Radio Music Society album to the Royal Festival Hall on 15 November and the Purcell Room has the Michael Janisch & Greg Osby band on 10 November; a contemporary big band special on 11 November with Beats & Pieces and Norway’s Ensemble Denada and on 18 November the American-Armenian oud virtuoso Ara Dinkjian who mixes jazz and Armenian music. Dee Dee Bridgewater will also be in town for the festival and appears at Ronnie Scott's from 15-17 November.

Tickets are on sale for the above dates from this coming Tuesday, adding to the festival names already announced in Jazzwise, including Sonny Rollins, John McLaughlin, Jan Garbarek, Chick Corea/Christian McBride/Brian Blade trio, Brad Mehldau Trio, John Surman and Bill Frisell. The London Jazz Festival is held in association with BBC Radio 3 and sponsored by Jazzwise.

- Jon Newey

Ambrose Akinmusire (pictured, top) and Kurt Elling 

For all ticket and venue details go to www.londonjazzfestival.org.uk

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More details have been confirmed for Live Vortex at The Space. Filming of the three concerts involved will be completed later this month and in June to go live on thespace.org, the Arts Council/BBC-backed website. Accessible on the site from 2 July the project, a first of its kind for the Vortex, rolls out over 15 weekly episodes, which feature extracts from the gigs along with musician interviews and archival delvings, exploring the featured musicians and bands' influences, musical and otherwise.

The gigs are: Sol6 (23 May) – improv pioneer pianist Veryan Weston and Dutch bassist Luc Ex’s band also numbering cutting edge saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, cellist Hannah Marshall, viola player Mandy Drummond and Necks drummer Tony Buck. Sons of Kemet follow on 9 June, reedsman Shabaka Hutchings’ extraordinary two drummer/one tuba band with ex-Tomorrow’s Warriors player Hutchings joined by Tom Skinner, Seb Rochford and Oren Marshall. Township Comets on 18 June complete the series, led by vocalist Pinise Saul, playing the music of South African Blue Notes legend saxophonist Dudu Pukwana, where the singer is joined by trumpeter Chris Batchelor, trombonist Harry Brown, Jason Yarde on saxophone, Adam Glasser piano, Dudley Phillips bass, and Frank Tontoh on drums.

– Stephen Graham

For more go to www.thespace.org

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The 2012 Parliamentary Jazz Awards were held last night, with the winners announced at the awards ceremony that took place in the House of Commons’ Terrace Pavilion.

Now in their eighth year the awards, hosted by broadcaster Paul Gambaccini, were organised by the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group and presenters included Moira Stuart, culture minister Ed Vaizey, Lord Prescott, and Jamie Cullum. 

The winners were Jazz Musician of the Year: Bobby Wellins; Jazz Album of the Year Up and Down by Liane Carroll; Jazz Ensemble of the Year Scottish National Jazz Orchestra; Live Jazz Award of the Year The Spin, Oxford; Jazz Journalist of the Year Jazzwise editor Jon Newey; Jazz Broadcaster of the Year Jamie Cullum; Jazz Publication of the Year Jazz UK; Jazz Education Award Gary Crosby OBE; Services to Jazz Award John Cumming; and a special lifetime achievement award was presented to Acker Bilk.

The awards were sponsored by music licensing company PPL and Jazz Services. The winners were chosen by judging members of the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group in Parliament.

– Stephen Graham

Liane Carroll (above) and Jon Newey

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The Robert Glasper Experiment played a pop-up gig, which attracted a big crowd to Shoreditch’s Village Underground late last night for a gig that 24 hours earlier had not even been thought about, let alone arranged.

Following Monday’s Barbican Hall appearance, when the influential New York-based jazz pianist and keyboardist had convened the Experiment for his biggest London show to date joined by singers Bilal and guest Lalah Hathaway, promoter John Cumming got on the phone to ex-Meltdown programming dude Glenn Max now booking at the Shoreditch warehouse venue space and put the word out. By 10pm last night some 200 early arrivals were snaking along Holywell Lane to get in for the show in the old converted industrial building/eco-friendly artist studio complex near railway lines, which began with alto sax man Casey Benjamin delivering a long scalding high register solo as Glasper got comfortable at the keys and got happy with the sound. Derrick Hodge got the crowd, easily now double its size from the earlier queue, warming to his suddenly revealing version of Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Crazy’ with loads of people spontaneously singing the chorus back to him prompting big smiles from the electric bassist who has just been signed by Don Was to Blue Note records. Drummer Marc Colenburg and the band then prepared the way to hit the Herbster’s ‘Butterfly’ with Benjamin fiddling with his keytar and powering in on vocodered vocals. Talk about spontaneous.

– Stephen Graham

Robert Glasper (above). Photo: Tim Dickeson

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Beaming out of a soggy Camden the newly reactivated Lighthouse trio, now re-invigorated as a co-operative trio that has shed a little of its ‘chamber’ trappings, performed songs from new album Lighthouse at the Forge in London last night. While Gwilym Simcock did most of the talking between songs referencing among other links to tunes the Italian wine Barolo, a favourite apparently of Malcom Creese’s, his erstwhile colleague in Acoustic Triangle, and inspiration of album tune ‘King Barolo’, it was the bass clarinet of Tim Garland that set the predominant feel of the first set. Forget the “gloom tube” image of this beast of a horn capable of producing some of the lowest notes in an orchestral or small band setting as Garland, last heard on a big London stage guesting with Chick Corea at the Barbican when he was produced by the great man like a prized rabbit out of a crystal hat to join him on ‘La Fiesta’, added light, shade and syncopated attitude to the trio sound completing run after run of warm but complex ideas emoting on tenor sax and reserving the detailed textural work for soprano sax.

Asaf Sirkis took a solo spot on hang, playing it the orthodox way with hands not mallets as Portico Quartet do but came off best on the ghatam clay plot and on the episodes with his swishing crisp attacking strokes. ‘The Wind on the Water’ was the pick of the first set in terms of narrative and compositional depth but the performance was stocked full of good material with Simcock coming into his own on the ‘groovy’ (his choice of word prompting titters) ‘Barber Blues’, which was pretty jaunty and showed how the pianist can improvise independent contrapuntal lines without choking the spirit of what he wants to do with the tune. Lighthouse might have been together for some eight years but this excellent showing made it all seem brand new. No one’s going to crash on any rocks with these three around.

– Stephen Graham

Lighthouse (above). Photo: ACT

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Tickets have just been released for the Americas stage of BT River of Music to take place at the Tower of London on Saturday 21-Sunday 22 July, mere days before the London Olympics begin. Brazilian candomble superstar Carlinhos Brown was the last big addition to the already high powered line-up now confirmed for the Sunday show joining Ondatrópica and star of the garifuna diaspora, Aurelio Martinez.

Saturday’s show includes appearances by Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra featuring Wynton Marsalis, Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca – recently on tour to acclaim in the UK – and Soul Caribbean led by Jazz Jamaica trumpeter Kevin Robinson, along with popular  NYC R&B/beat box close harmony vocal group Naturally 7, and pop stars Scissor Sisters. The action begins each day at midday and continues until dusk. – Stephen Graham

Wynton Marsalis (pictured) Sign up for free tickets at www.btriverofmusic.com

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With Copenhagen Street just around the corner from Kings Place, the venue seemed just the spot, if street name coincidence is your thing that is, for the London debut of Danish five-piece Girls In Airports on Saturday night. Hall two of the plush venue filled rapidly for the band, which has now released a pair of albums, the first of which gave the band its name, and the second Migration – with its melody-laden elegiac hooks, Ethio-jazz, and you’d swear there was the sound of a cowbell there somewhere – its growing reputation. Big saxman Martin Stender dressed in white dismissing by his sartorial code at least the ongoing and ineffably ‘curious’ fascination over here with Nordic noir by dressing doggedly against type as if he were some sort of out-of-place New Romantic, was pleased even his aunt had made it to Kings Cross to be in the audience, and professed himself so much a fan of British comedy he refrained from telling jokes.

Arriving with the arch imprimatur of Britain’s own purveyor of sonic wisecracks Django Bates, formerly a professor at the Rhythmic Conservatory in Copenhagen, the Danes returned his thumbs up with this knowingly short set that ably demonstrated the wisdom that technique does not override in the least bit strong ideas, improvising intent, and good tunes as here. Mathias Holm on Rhodes and Roland Juno 60 keys was the main driving force behind the band, smilingly silent but deadly at the back crouched at his instrument as if knitting, with the band in a sewing circle around him, an orchestra himself with his effects and sonic twists, bass one minute, conjuring authentic guitar sounds the next against the chilly clank of Rhodes now de rigueur in any self respecting hipster’s arsenal. Girls in Airports are a bit like Polar Bear with a two-sax attack; for Mark Lockheart read the other saxophonist, Lars Greve, who also played suitably sheepish clarinet and floated in and out on tenor, or sometimes alto sax to finish Stender’s phrases, or chime in unison with him riffing against Holm. The band had a breathlessness and natural instinct that makes a refreshing change from the earnest approach of some bands setting out, populated with young blokes not yet able to shave properly who wouldn’t recognise a girl in an airport unless she had a name badge on her coat with the word ‘girl’ written on it in felt tip, sadly.

The tunes are GIA’s strength and ‘Pirates and Tankers’ was the standout, deep in Mulatu Astatke territory, dance friendly and good for the jazz boffins as well who could slum it by enjoying the band's great timing, although second song in ‘Myanmar’ showed how the band has built and developed a song that on record is quite skeletal and a little bit wet. Girls In Airports keep it simple although deceptively so, and with percussionist Victor Dybbroe the rakishly moustachioed equivalent of the Happy Mondays' Bez albeit with only a bit of swaying about adding great touches on tiny bells and what sounded like a sawn-off balofon, and the Tom Skinner-like drumming of Mads Forsby a definite plus. Let's hope they come back to play the jazz club circuit soon.  

– Stephen Graham

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Adding to the previously announced line-up for the Glasgow Jazz Festival the organisers have added Pharoah Sanders (left) and JTQ to the main line-up unveiled in April.

The spiritual jazz saxophonist and acid jazz stalwarts join the Robert Glasper Experiment, Ginger Baker’s Jazz Confusion, George Benson, Ryan Quigley Big Band Beatles, Neil Cowley Trio, Soweto Kinch Trio, Joe Stilgoe, Das Kapital plays Hanns Eisler and Craig Charles at what is Scotland’s leading jazz festival.

Running from 27 June-2 July the Glasgow Jazz Festival is based around the city’s City Halls/Old Fruitmarket venues with late-night jam sessions at the Glasgow Thistle, as well as the Clyde Auditorium and other venues including indie shrine King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut and award winning west end venue Òran Mór.

Other notable additions include Robert Cray Band, Yolanda Brown, the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra and Tommy Smith Youth Jazz Orchestra double bill on 1 July, Nova Scotia Jazz Band with special guest Brian Kellock, Simon Thacker’s Svara-Kanti, and singer Niki King at Òran Mór.

– Stephen Graham

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As it approaches its first anniversary the Boisdale Canary Wharf restaurant and music venue is hosting a dedicated series of jazz guitar concerts which began with the TG Collective yesterday.

Running until 26 May the series features the Fapy Lafertin/Lollo Meier Quartet, the Howard Alden Quintet (tonight), the Nigel Price Trio, Lee Jones, and the Jim Mullen Trio among the highlights, building on the Cabot Place venue’s burgeoning reputation as a busy metropolitan jazz venue, the only significant club-type venue providing jazz in the heart of the capital’s financial district.

BCW’s music room is housed within a very large upscale Scottish restaurant on one of its floors, featuring a long bar stocked with a huge number of expensive bottles of rare whisky on the right hand side, and plenty of space for diners. Boisdale, founded by entrepreneur Ranald Macdonald, also operates smaller long-standing jazz-friendly restaurants in Belgravia and Bishopsgate. – Stephen Graham

For tickets go to www.boisdale.co.uk/canary-wharf

Howard Alden (pictured, above)

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The Olympics, the Poetry Olympics that is, are centre-stage next month at the Southbank Centre with poet Michael Horovitz convening his stellar performing troupe of artists for the Poetry Olympics Enlightenment Marathon on 14 June at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. Damon Albarn, John Hegley, Ayanna Witter-Johnson, Brian Patten, Annie Whitehead, Stan Tracey, Michael Horovitz, and Eleanor Bron among others are performing on the night.

It’s a celebration of the multicultural, multimedia melting pot that is contemporary UK-based internationalist culture, as well as the close relationships between poetry, music and song, ahead of the London Olympics. Private Eye’s own poet-in-residence EJ Thribb is also putting in an appearance. So. Farewell then/Olympic blues. – Stephen Graham

Michael Horovitz (pictured, top) and Ayanna

For tickets go to www.southbankcentre.co.uk

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