The 10th annual Imperial Wharf Jazz Festival returns to Fulham in South West London on Friday 12 and Saturday 13 September, hosted by the property development firm St George. The free event boasts popular jazz-reggae big band Jazz Jamaica as Friday’s headline act, featuring special guest vocalist Myrna Hague, lovingly known as ‘Jamaica’s First Lady of Jazz’, while Roberto Pla’s 20-piece Latin Ensemble will headline a salsa-infused Saturday night.
The weekend also features rising stars of London’s afrobeat-jazz scene Ezra Collective (Fri 7pm), prohibition era-inspired Sara Spade & The Noisy Boys (Sat 1pm) and exciting Manchester-based trio GoGo Penguin (Sat 2.15pm). Award-winning singer and pianist Liane Carroll will perform with her trio (Sat 3.45pm), followed by celebrated guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Antonio Forcione (Sat 5pm) and double MOBO award winning saxophonist YolanDa Brown (Sat 6:45pm). The is held at Imperial Wharf Boulevard, Townmead Road, London SW6 2UB, and there will be a range of international cuisine available to festivalgoers.
– Bethany Roberts
For more information visit www.imperialwharf.com
Highly respected guitarist Nigel Price will embark on a nationwide UK tour with his trio this autumn that runs through to mid-December. His most recent album Hit the Road was released in August on 33 Records, and features Matt Home on drums and Pete Whittaker on organ. Home and Whittaker will perform with Price throughout the upcoming tour and they will be joined on a number of dates by guest saxophonist Vasilis Xenopoulos, who also featured on the new album.
The tour dates are: Ronnie Scott’s, London (29 Sept); Grimsby Jazz, Grimsby (1st Oct); Wakefield Jazz, Wakefield (3 Oct); Guitar Festival, Sandwich (4 Oct); Chelmsford Jazz Club, Chelmsford (5 October); Milestones, Lowestoft (5 Oct); The Big Band, Oxford (7 Oct); Swansea Jazzland, Swansea (8 Oct); Black Mountain Jazz, Abergavenny (9 Oct); Bebop Club, Bristol (10 Oct); Dexter’s Jazz Club, Nottingham (14 Oct); Scarborough Jazz Club, Scarborough (15 Oct); The Crypt, Camberwell (17 Oct); Fleet Jazz Club, Fleet (21 Oct); Swing Unlimited, Bournemouth (22 Oct); Folkestone Jazz Club, Folkestone (23 Oct); The Verdict, Brighton (24 Oct); Gumbles Jazz, Stafford (27 Oct); North Wales Jazz Club, Denbigh (28 Oct); Glasgow Art Club, Glasgow (29 Oct); Jazz Bar, Edinburgh (20 Oct); Ushaw College, Durham (31 Oct); The Eagle, Rochester (2 Nov); The Fludyers, Felixstowe (2 Nov); Watermill Jazz Club, Dorking (6 Nov); Lauderdale House, London (13 Nov); Norwich Jazz Club, Norwich (18 Nov); Dereham Jazz Society, Dereham (19 Nov); Billingshurst Centre, Billingshurst (21 Nov); Bexley Jazz Club, Bexley Village (27 Nov); Jags, Ascot (7 Dec); Marlow Jazz Club, Marlow (16 Dec); and The Woodman, Sevenoaks (17 Dec).
For more information visit www.nigelprice.biz
- Bethany Roberts
Norwich-based trio Mammal Hands will release their debut album Animalia on 15 September on the independent label Gondwana Records. The trio features Nick Smart on keyboards, his brother Jordan Smart on saxophones and Jesse Barrett on drums and tabla. Gondwana’s Matthew Halsall produced the album which shares similar influences to Halsall’s own material such as the spiritual jazz of Pharoah Sanders, Cinematic Orchestra and Portico Quartet, as well as distinct traces of traditional North Indian and African music. To launch the new album, Mammal Hands will perform at Norwich Arts Centre on 15 September where they will be joined by forward-thinking jazz/electronica trio Gogo Penguin, also signed by Gondwana Records, who released their debut album Fanfares in 2012.
For more information and to book tickets visit https://norwichartscentre.co.uk/events/gogo-penguin-mammal-hands/
Renowned London jazz venue the Vortex will host its annual music festival, Vortex Outdoors, in Gillett Square, Dalston on 16 August from 2pm-11pm. The line up is a colourful feast of jazz and world music artists, representing a broad array of global cultures that reflect the unique diversity of modern London.
The afternoon kicks off with performances from the participants of the inaugural Vortex Summer School (2pm), followed by Krar Collective (3:15pm), a vibrant trio who create contemporary grooves on traditional Ethiopian instruments, originally hailing from Ethiopia but now residing in London. The programme then explores music influenced by gypsy and Balkan rhythms with the 30-strong London Gypsy Orchestra (4:30pm), Tatcho Drom (5:45pm) and Dunajska Kapelye (7pm), the latter including the brilliant violinists Piotr Jordan & Flora Curzon. Also featured are the popular Hackney Colliery Band (8:15pm) and nine-piece reggae collective The Big Steal (9:15pm). Hackney Globetrotter (aka DJ Russ Jones) will round off the festivities with a fittingly diverse set of beats and dance music from around the world.
For more information visit www.vortexjazz.co.uk/event/vortex-outdoors
Bethany Roberts
A benefit concert for the legendary trumpeter and flugelhorn player Kenny Wheeler will be held at Epic, 13-15 Stoke Newington Road, London, N16 on 15 August, 7pm. The veteran composer, bandleader and sideman, who is now 84, has not been able to work for most of this year due to ill health. The upcoming benefit concert will be a celebration of his invaluable contribution to the jazz scene over the last sixty years and will feature saxophonist Evan Parker, a long-time friend and collaborator, who will perform with Steve Beresford, Olie Brice and Mark Sanders. Also appearing is upcoming trumpeter and bandleader Reuben Fowler, recipient of the 2012 Kenny Wheeler Music Prize, whose big band will play a collection of rare Wheeler material, as well as some of Fowler’s own compositions. Other guests include the Ray Warleigh Quartet, and innovative and exploratory violinist Alison Blunt with her 12-piece ensemble, including pianist Neil Metcalfe and bassist David Leahy. Tickets will be available on the door priced at £12 and £10.
- Bethany Roberts
