Saxophonist Courtney Pine, CBE, singer Tanita Tikaram and a group called The Brass Funkeys are among the famed stars at this year’s Cambridge Jazz Festival.
The venues include the international concert hall, Saffron Hall in Saffron Walden, pubs, hotels and cafes across Cambridge and several Cambridge University Colleges. The festival runs from November 9 to 23. With over 40 events, it’s a cornucopia of musical riches.
The festival was launched on Wednesday, November 5 at The Lab Cocktail Bar in Cambridge’s Regent Street. The Phil Stevenson Trio delighted their packed audience with their own funk infused versions of New Orleans music, blues, and African guitar styles.
The Lab will host Tim Boniface and Sam Miles Hard Bop Hang on Thursday, November 20.
This is the 11th year of the festival which is now big enough to include fringe events and free entry jam sessions.
Cambridge Funk Jam will be at La Raza in Rose Crescent on Thursdays, November 13, and November 20. All instruments and singers are welcome from 8.30pm until midnight.
Cambridge Jazz Festival (9-23 Nov) is returning for its 11th edition – with 40 events, 15 venues, and, say organisers, “a lineup that blends legends, future stars, and global talent.” PHOTO: Courtney Pine by Roger KingFamily events include a session called Offbeat Science at Cambridge Junction on Sunday, November 16.
In a collaboration between Cambridge Science Centre and Upbeat Big Band, we are promised a big band sound, explosive science, and general mayhem to create an uproarious show.
The “line-up” includes jazz, soul, funk and blues, exploring sound using fire, a test of the periodic table’s explosive predictions, a look at how bowling balls may affect a trumpet player’s pitch and the link between metal and pyrotechnics. This could be, literally, a most illuminating experience. It’s designed for people aged seven and upwards and begins at 1pm.
Multi award winner, Orphy Robinson MBE, one of the few UK musicians to record for the legendary Blue Note jazz label and now a Visiting Fellow at Jesus College and the festival’s Artist in Residence will be with Cambridge University Jazz Orchestra at West Road Concert Hall on Sunday, November 16.
If you like Latin, on the same day, Chora Cambridge, which blends Afro-Brazilian rhythms with European music, will be at the Devonshire Arms at 3pm.
Evan Parker, the saxophonist who can be heard on the soundtrack of the film The Brutalist, will play in Queens’ College Chapel on Saturday, November 15.
Described as a true pioneer of freely improvised music, the comedian and social commentator, Stewart Lee said of him: “If you’ve ever been tempted by free improvisation, Parker is your gateway drug.”
The Saffron Hall events are singer Stella Cole (singing from the Great American Song Book) on Saturday, November 15, Tanita Tikaram on Sunday, November 16 and Courtney Pine on Friday, November 21.
This festival looks set to rival Edinburgh if we just give it time. For the full programme see: www.cambridgejazzfestival.info
