Roy AyersNot wanting to be typecast...(sorry)...the Wellington City Council and peeps behind the International Art Festival will follow TypeSHED11 with The Wellington Jazz Festival. The inaugural festival runs from 5- 8 March 2009 and the stage 1 announcement suggests it will sensationally snazzy. Among the artists confirmed to play at the Pacific Blue Note, a purpose-built jazz club in the Wellington Town Hall are thought-provoking bluesman Otis Taylor; legendary vibraphonist/vocalist and pioneer of jazz/funk Roy Ayers (wahoo!); the adventurous jazz, classical and rock pianist Brad Mehldau; blues troubadour Eric Bibb; and the ‘Polish Miles Davis’ – classic and cool trumpeter Tomasz Stanko. It is the first of the confirmed headline acts though that suggests this will be a special festival - the Mingus Big Band, direct from New York will perform at the Michael Fowler Headliner Series. The knockout 14-piece band is devoted to continuing the legacy of Charlie Mingus, the late great jazz composer and virtuoso bass player.
Eric BibbSpeaking ahead of a full programme announcement on 21 January 2009, Wellington Jazz Festival Artistic Director, Lissa Twomey, said “our inaugural Jazz Festival is for everyone, from the passers-by to the dedicated hard-core jazz enthusiasts. Over four days, we’re offering a wide musical palette of traditional and contemporary jazz, Latin, rhythm ’n’ blues, gospel, soul and more. The programme is designed so that audiences can discover how far the roots of jazz stretch into so many of the musical styles and genres we enjoy.”
Brilliant! We can hear it now...everybody loves the sunshine..the sunshine...
