A ROYAL Jamie CELEBRATION! Cullum
May Day Bank y Holida d Weeken
Guest Director
as Editor -at-large
27 April - 2 May 2011
Eat, drink, relax and watch the wedding live in Cheltenham’s Imperial Gardens on Friday 29th April
A strong contender for the title first lady of jazz, Cleo Laine is a singer who has played everywhere, including London’s Royal Albert Hall. With a charismatic stage presence and an astonishing vocal range Cleo plays on Wednesday,
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Pick up a Jazz Festival programme in town or visit cheltenhamfestivals.com
JAZZ BUGLE
Jazz Royalty in the Regency If William and Kate’s wedding isn’t reason enough to celebrate, Cheltenham Jazz Festival welcomes jazz royalty to town for its week long jamboree this weekend.
MAY 2011 27 APRIL – 2
April 27, accompanied by band which includes her son, bassist Alec Dankworth. Sir Michael Parkinson leads a jazz royalty themed broadcast of Friday Night is Music Night on Friday, April 29. He’ll be joined by the BBC Concert Orchestra and the Guy Barker Big Band, playing music by ‘Duke’ Ellington, ‘Count’ Basie, Benny Goodman (the King of Swing) and many more.
Leading UK saxophonist Andy Sheppard plays on Saturday, April 30 with his new group Trio Libero. Also on Saturday is Pharoah Sanders who was once described as ‘probably the best tenor player in the world’ by Ornette Coleman.
First lady of jazz Cleo Laine
Possessing one of the most distinctive, harmonically rich tenor saxophone sounds in jazz, Pharoah emerged playing expressionistic free jazz in John Coltrane’s late
ensembles. His later music is guided by more graceful concerns, with a characteristic hard edged lyricism. The final jazz Monarch gracing this year’s festival is Django Bates who celebrates his own jubilee (his 50th birthday) this year. Django plays on Sunday, May 1 and his show, Belovèd Bird, pays tribute to the pioneer of be-bop Charlie Parker, whose music first inspired the pianist as a teenager.
For more details on these artists or to read the full jazz line up, visit cheltenhamfestivals.com
TV STAR BRINGS NEW ORLEANS BLUES TO CHELTENHAM In a major musical coup for the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Hugh Laurie is confirmed to play in the festival finale on 2nd May. Passionate about blues and piano from an early age, Hugh has recently fulfilled a lifelong ambition by recording his debut album ‘Let Them Talk’. It’s due for release on 9 May and he’s supporting it with live shows in just a handful of locations – including London, Paris, Berlin…and Cheltenham. Hugh admits that New Orleans blues might seem a strange genre for someone with his background, but his passion and love for the music is clear… ‘I love this music, as authentically as I know how, and I want you to love it too. And if you get a thousandth of the pleasure from it that I’ve had, we’re all ahead of the game.’ In this week’s sell out show Hugh and his band will be celebrating New Orleans Blues by playing a selection of tunes originally recorded by some of the greats, including Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, Ray Charles and Dr. John.
Hugh Laurie and his blues band are playing in Cheltenham on 2nd May.
It’s sold out but listen to it live on BBC Radio 2 on Monday 2nd May.
Jazz’s new wave Portico Quartet
Creating jazz like you’ve never heard before, some real rising stars are appearing at this year’s Cheltenham Jazz Festival. Nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2008, Portico Quartet have been compared to Radiohead, E.S.T and The Cinematic Orchestra. Their sound is hookladen and atmospheric, mixing electronica and 21st century jazz
to create melodic, rhythmic music that’s completely their own. London based band Phronesis have also had their fair share of positive press. The Daily Telegraph described them as ‘the most electrifying experience to be had in British Jazz’, they were nominated for the ‘Best Jazz Act’ award in the 2010 MOBO awards, and their recent live album Alive was chosen as Jazz album of the year by Mojo magazine. Other exciting acts performing 1
this year include Lucinda Belle, whose harp led performances are not at all what you’d expect and Norwegian artist Tord Gustavsen who mixes folk music, gospel and cool jazz to create some very beautiful sounds. Portico Quartet, Phronesis, Lucinda Belle and Tord Gustavsen play the Cheltenham Jazz Festival this week. Visit cheltenhamfestivals.com for more information and to listen to sample tracks.
COMPETITION
WIN FESTIVAL TICKETS See page 7 for competition details