AirMTM is representing some incredible artists performing at this year’s London Jazz Festival in November. The 2012 festival welcomes internationally acclaimed American stars Esperanza Spalding, Kurt Elling, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Chick Corea, alongside rising Armenian-American star Tigran Hamasyan.
This year also plays host to a series of concerts celebrating 20 years of legendary German label ACT, with star pianists Michael Wollny, Iiro Rantala, Leszek Mozdzer and last year’s Mercury nominee Gwilym Simcock performing at St James’ Piccadilly across three nights.
9th November // Tigran Hamasyan – Wigmore Hall
Pianist Tigran Hamasyan has been raising eyebrows and dropping jaws worldwide since winning the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition in 2006. His unusual marriage of jazz and Armenian folk has picked up high-profile fans including Chick Corea, Brad Mehldau and Herbie Hancock; his most recent album, A Fable, topped the jazz charts in France.
12th November // Michael Wollny, Iiro Rantala & Adam Baldych – St James Piccadilly
Two giants of contemporary piano - Germany's Michael Wollny and Finland's Iiro Rantala celebrate ACT's 20th birthday. Iiro will be performing soon after the release of his forthcoming album My History of Jazz (ACT, November 5th - TBC) and will be joined for a sensational finale by young Polish violin phenomenon Adam Baldych who debuted on ACT this year with Imaginary Room (ACT, 2012).
14th November // Kurt Elling (with Sheila Jordan) – Southbank Centre – Queen Elizabeth Hall // + Pre-concert talk (FREE)
Kurt Elling is one of the most distinctive male singers in jazz today. Following his landmark Barbican concert last year, Elling returns to London with a consummate band that features long-standing collaborator, pianist Laurence Hobgood, playing from his new Concord album, 1619 Broadway – The Brill Building Project.
15th November // Esperanza Spalding – Southbank Centre – Royal Festival Hall
Last year saw Esperanza Spalding play two sell-out concerts at the Barbican with her delicate Chamber Music Society project. This year, she brings her driving, funk-influenced alter-ego to the fore with latest release Radio Music Society, which plays the Royal Festival Hall hot-on-the-heels of packing Camden's Koko this May.
15th, 16th & 17th November // Dee Dee Bridgewater – Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club
Dee Dee Bridgewater is a fantastic live performer. One of today's leading female jazz vocal stars, she has worked with all the great instrumentalists, counting Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Max Roach and Roland Kirk among her list of collaborators. Her landmark portrayal of Billie Holiday in stage show 'Lady Day' saw her nominated for an Olivier Award. Two Grammy Awards later, she's still going strong.
16th November // Gwilym Simcock (with City of London Sinfonia)
City of London Sinfonia perform Milhaud’s La Creation du Monde, a story of creation based on African folk mythology, and two pieces by prolific jazz pianist and composer Gwilym Simcock including new pieces Simple Tales and Move, his latest orchestral work which will be recorded for ACT the following week.
17th November // Leszek Możdżer & radio.string.quartet.vienna
Double bill with extraordinary Polish film composer and piano superstar Leszek Możdżer and the maverick radio.string.quartet.vienna .
17th November // Chick Corea (with Christian McBride) – Barbican Centre // + Pre-concert talk (FREE)
Chick Corea comes to the Festival with bassist Christian McBride, a marquee name in his own right, and Brian Blade, renowned for his peerless work with everyone from Bob Dylan to Wayne Shorter. One of the most prominent jazz musicians of the last fifty years, Corea is a masterful acoustic pianist, whether at the heart of a stellar trio such as tonight's, or in collaboration with the likes of Bobby McFerrin or Bela Fleck, as well as an acknowledged pioneer of fusion stretching back to the landmark Miles Davis albums In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew. 18 Grammy awards reflect his status as one of the most prominent jazz musicians of the last half-century.
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