Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2016, Cheltenham Jazz Festival has released details of the full line-up for this year’s event.
Taking place across six days from April 27th – May 2nd, the festival will once again deliver a hugely diverse programme that combines established stars with up and coming talent from across the worlds of jazz, blues, pop and soul.
In what is arguably its most star-studded line-up to date, this year’s festival will feature performances from Grammy nominated singer, songwriter and multi instrumentalist Lianne La Havas, the queen of UK soul Beverley Knight, Elbow frontman Guy Garvey performing tracks from his 2015 album Courting The Squall, a show by popular UK songstress Corinne Bailey Rae ahead of the release of her hotly-tipped third album, a special Quincy Jones-themed concert featuring the BBC Concert Orchestra & Guy Barker Big Band with guest appearances from Liv Warfield and Madeline Bell, and a closing night concert from the festival’s Artistic Curator Jamie Cullum.
The festival continues its long-standing partnership with BBC Radio 2 and the station will once again broadcast live on-site throughout the week. Coverage will include Lianne La Havas ‘Live In Concert’ with Jo Whiley on Thursday April 28th, a Quincy Jones-themed Friday Night is Music Night on April 29th, and both Clare Teal and Jamie Cullum presenting shows live from the festival.
Other notable additions to the line up include Jazz Jamaica, who performed at the very first festival in 1996, one of the UK’s most respected vocalists Ian Shaw, iconic British saxophonist Courtney Pine in duet with pianist Zoe Rahman, the father of Ethio-jazz Mulatu Astatke, acid jazz pioneers The Brand New Heavies, blues legend Taj Mahal, boundary-pushing saxophonist Marcus Strickland, and US vocalist Lizz Wright & Frankfurt Radio Big Band in the UK premiere of their new project performing the songs of Gershwin with arrangements and conducting by Grammy award winning composer Jim McNeely. The Musical Encounters series also returns in 2016 with an innovative ‘live remixed’ performance from Soweto Kinch and his trio feat. Gregory Hutchinson, a new project from pianists Sarah Nicolls and Kit Downes entitled ‘Dinner Games’, which will see the audience creating the music as they trigger samples whilst sat at a long dinner table in the Parabola Arts Centre, and the world premiere of a Cheltenham Jazz Festival commission from pianist Alexander Hawkins featuring pop-up indoor and outdoor performances.
These names join the long list of previously confirmed artists that includes US vocalist José James, Grammy-winning saxophonist David Sanborn, visionary US trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Meadow performing a tribute to pianist John Taylor, prodigious multi-instrumentalist Jacob Collier, Australian future-soul band Hiatus Kaiyote, Tim Berne’s Snakeoil, the Becca Stevens Band, the UK premiere of saxophonist Julian Argüelles’ Let It Be Told project, Giovanni Guidi Trio, Omar Sosa’s Quarteto AfroCubano and Rom Schaerer Eberle.
The 2016 Cheltenham Jazz Festival takes place from April 27th – May 2nd and is hosted in a tented festival village in Cheltenham’s Montpellier Gardens, featuring a Big Top stage, the Jazz Arena, a new Family Tent featuring workshops, performances and sing-alongs and a food and drink area. The festival will continue to use nearby venues the Parabola Arts Centre, Cheltenham Town Hall, Hotel Du Vin and Subtone. This year will also see an expanded ‘…around town’ programme featuring pop up gigs and performances including at the town’s Brewery Quarter.
Published on 12 February 2016 by Ben Robinson
