Monday, 30 October 2017

Hull Jazz Festival programme 11-18 November

Andy Sheppard Quartet 12 November 

Hull Jazz Festival is celebrating its 25th anniversary in style this November with a special 9-day festival packed with the best in US and UK jazz talent 11th-18th November 

20-time Grammy winner and the man who re-invented the jazz guitar sound for a new generation of players, Pat Metheny headlines on Saturday 11 November at Hull City Hall. Joined by a new quartet featuring UK pianist Gwilym Simcock, exceptional bassist Linda Oh and long-time collaborator Antonio Sanchez on drums, Metheny will perform a brand new set of music from his eagerly awaited new album, to be released soon on Nonesuch records.

Closing the festival on Saturday 18 November, Manchester-based jazz electronica trio GoGo Penguin perform their stunning new live score to Goddfrey Reggio’s cult cinema classic Koyaanisqatsi in the grand surroundings of Hull City Hall. Moving from fragile beauty to powerful frenzy, their rich new score reflects the original themes of the film, creating an intense audio-visual experience.

On Wednesday 15 November at Früit, Brooklyn-based urban power jazz trio Moon Hooch bring their pulsating, sax-driven live show to Hull for the first time. Banned from the New York subway by the NYPD when their impromptu busking shows became a public order hazard, they call their sound acoustic techno – combining years of staging underground dance parties with incredible musicianship and phenomenal crowd engagement.

The festival opens at Hull Truck Theatre on the afternoon of Saturday 11 November with A Brief History of the Coolest Instrument of the World. Created and performed by Chris Montague of Troyka, the show celebrates the milestones of 80s years of the electric guitar in popular culture, paying tribute to Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix and more guitar greats. The show also offers the chance to amateur players to join Chris on stage in a guitar ensemble brought together specially for this one-off performance.

On Sunday 12 November at the Royal Hotel, saxophonist Andy Sheppard Quartet perform tracks from their much-anticipated forthcoming album Beyond the Dancing Sun. Led by Sheppard, the quartet also features the other-worldly guitar and electronic sounds of Eivind Aarset and ace rhythm team Michel Benita on bass and Sebastian Rochford on drums.

Hull Truck Theatre plays host to clarinettist Arun Ghosh and his new quintet on Thursday 16 November. They’ll be performing tracks from Arun’s new album but where are you really from? Influenced by his Indie-kid upbringing in Manchester, the new album sees him move away from his trademark Indo-jazz sound towards more song-like structures and psychedelic textures.

A double bill in the Studio at Hull Truck Theatre on Friday 17 November kicks off with the world premiere of two new pieces, commissioned as part of the festival’s 25th anniversary celebrations. Guitarist Stuart McCallum has created a surround-sound love song to the guitar and Hull's own Revenu, featuring Liam van Rijn and Joseph Bird, present a haunting and vivid audio-visual piece inspired by the sights and sounds of Hull.

Wrapping up the Friday Studio programme, Snarky Puppy founder, composer, producer and jazz maestro Bill Laurance performs a rare intimate solo show. He'll be exploring his first love - the piano - enhanced with the addition of subtle electronics. An alumni of the University of Leeds, Laurance heads back to the region for the only Northern show in his European tour.

There’s fun for all the family at Hull Truck Theatre on the afternoon of Saturday 18 November, with vocalist Zoe Gilby and her Family Jazz All Stars. A fun-packed, whistle-stop tour of jazz favourites from through the ages.

And carrying on Hull Jazz Festival’s tradition of supporting emerging talent, Saturday 18 November sees a special performance featuring young players from Hull and East Riding.  A Journey with the Giants of Jazz, a new piece by Peter Edwards celebrating six giants of the jazz world born in 1917, will be performed by the Nu Civilisation Orchestra, directed by Peter Edwards. The show will start with performances of works by the six jazz giants, performed by young people from local schools.

David Porter, Director of J-Night, says: “2017’s a big year for Hull Jazz Festival, with the year-long celebrations for Hull UK City of Culture 2017 and our 25th birthday. After a string of sold out shows in July, we’re back in November with another line-up that showcases the broad range of styles that make up contemporary jazz. The jazz scene’s buzzing just now, and so’s Hull – come see for yourself!”

Full programme details are available online at www.jnight.org. 


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