London jazz festival 2015
The playlist: jazz – London jazz festival, Kamasi Washington, Maria Schneider, Sheila Jordan and more
The London jazz festival- which ended on Sunday - presented some exciting acts, established and new: from Vula Viel to Julia Hülsmann, here is a selection of the best of them
John Fordham
25, Nov, 2015 @1:30 PM
Sibongile Khumalo, Gloria Bosman, Thandiswa Mazwai review – glorious divas each deserve their own show
Headliner Khumalo did not have enough time to show why she is so special, but she gave her guests the space to put in remarkable performances
Robin Denselow
24, Nov, 2015 @1:39 PM
Hülsmann/Bleckmann/ Phronesis review – the sepulchral and the serpentine
German pianist/singer duo salute Kurt Weill, as jazz supertrio join forces with the Frankfurt Radio Big Band for the festival’s final weekend
John Fordham
23, Nov, 2015 @4:15 PM
Terence Blanchard/Jacob Collier review – startling solo turn by YouTube jazz star
Collier brings his striking choral harmonies to the London jazz festival, while Spike Lee collaborator Blanchard is exhaustingly impressive
John Lewis
22, Nov, 2015 @3:59 PM
Keith Jarrett weaves an intimate show at the London jazz festival
Jazz legend’s solo performance at the Royal Festival Hall in London was what we have come to expect from him: tense but brilliant
John Fordham
22, Nov, 2015 @3:38 PM
Ice-T and Ron McCurdy review – a raging, inspired revival that would make Langston Hughes proud
The thinking man’s gangsta rapper and jazz trumpeter prove that the poet’s performance piece Ask Your Mama is as relevant today as it was in 1960
John Lewis
22, Nov, 2015 @12:51 PM
David Virelles review – crackling and throbbing jazz grooves
An engrossing mix of rhythmic ambiguity, impassioned themes and frenzied, percussive jazz, led by genius Virelles
John Fordham
20, Nov, 2015 @1:30 PM
Britten Sinfonia/ Gomez/ Osborne/ Järvi review - jazz-classical fusion that is the best of both worlds
Jazz bassist Eddie Gomez finds room to explore in Simon Bainbridge’s Counterpoints, while the classical players find satisfying textures too. Finally, a fusion that really works
Erica Jeal
19, Nov, 2015 @12:06 PM
Maria Schneider Orchestra review – music borne on air currents
From rural to ethereal, the great jazz composer and her band evoked the wide, wild landscapes of the US
John Fordham
18, Nov, 2015 @2:27 PM
Marcin Wasilewski/Helen Sung review – blistering dynamism
Wasilewski’s set showcased the shifting tide of his lyrical accompaniment, while Sung’s lyricism and light touch were complemented by hard-chord muscle
John Fordham
17, Nov, 2015 @4:40 PM
Kurt Elling review – he reinvents songs with his staggering jazz chops
Kurt Elling’s four-octave vocal range and easy-swinging style makes him a kind of Sinatra with superpowers, ably supported by the retooled Swingles
John Lewis
17, Nov, 2015 @1:17 PM
Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn review - convincing a sceptical world of the beauty of the banjo
With warmth and wit, the husband-and-wife duo reveal the extraordinary expression of a much-maligned instrument
Emma John
16, Nov, 2015 @1:02 PM
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