Unknown Public editor John L. Walters previews the London Jazz Festival (published in The Guardian, 9 November 2007)
The composers
There may still be a few jazz purists to whom composers are anathema, but the rest of us thank the creative individuals who provide such great springboards for improvisers to jump off. And give us a few tunes to whistle, too. John Dankworth (LSO St Luke's, Nov 18) has been a key player for more than half a century, not just for his own back catalogue, but for his encouragement of fellow composers such as Kenny Wheeler, Mike Gibbs and Daryl Runswick. Plenty of young composers make contributions to this year's festival, including the guys in Empirical and the Portico Quartet, but one of the more unusual projects is Siobhan Lamb's Meditations - Love, Loss, Hope, Peace, written for a large, eclectic ensemble led by Gerard Presencer (St Cyprian's, Marylebone, Nov 17).
If you have six hours to spare, you can hear the complete works of Thelonious Monk, one of the greatest composers ever, courtesy of Tony Kofi and Jonathan Gee's Monk Liberation Front (Queen Elizabeth Hall, Nov 25). The Britten Sinfonia celebrate Monk's near-contemporaries at the same venue with In the Spirit of Gil and Miles (Nov 24) and 1960s Blue Note survivor Charles Tolliver is one of the festival's great coups (QEH, November 19). There's also contemporary banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck paired with pianist Chick Corea, composer of some of the most enchanting tunes in the jazz catalogue. The saddest event, but possibly the most exhilarating, too, will be the final night's Joe Zawinul - A Tribute With the BBC Big Band, planned as a collaboration until the great man's unexpected demise in September (Barbican, Nov 25). The BBC band will play Vince Mendoza's arrangements of Zawinul's Weather Report compositions, with longtime Zawinul associate Victor Bailey on bass and Django Bates in the hot seat vacated by Joe.
The outsiders
The festival has always had a deft touch when it comes to programming artists who are not strictly jazz. Trumpeter Jon Hassell emerged from the cradle of minimalism (Terry Riley's In C) and ambient music (alongside Brian Eno) to develop what he calls "fourth world music".
On Nov 17, Jon Hassell and Maarifa Street bring their dense yet finely nuanced sound textures to the QEH. Brazilian singer-songwriter Joyce (pictured) is another non-jazz musician with a fanatical following among both jazz and world music fans (Jazz Cafe, Nov 17). The most out-and-out feelgood gig is likely to be that of Orchestra Baobab, the Senegalese band who reformed after a lengthy layoff. Veteran drummer Steve Reid continues to be a bit of an outsider, collaborating with electronica whizz Kieran Hebden (aka Four Tet) for a gig opposite the massive Heritage Orchestra (Barbican, Nov 20). Peter Vermeersch's wild and crazy Flat Earth Society rip up the Southbank Centre that same night at the Purcell Room. Other less predictable events include the decidedly unjazzy Tuxedo Moon, brilliant improv bassist-composer Simon H Fell with the Offshoot (Vortex, Nov 22), and Hih, the new project from Monica Vasconcelos (Vortex, Nov 23), which includes a few songs co-written with Robert Wyatt. Barry Adamson (QEH, Nov 20-21), the ex-Magazine/Bad Seeds bassist known for his atmospheric album projects, is a provocative choice for Artist in Residence - his trademark fake jazz, imaginary soundtracks and low-rent mood music, stylishly presented, will make a refreshing change from all that authenticity. ?>The London jazz festival runs between November 16 and 25.
Details: londonjazzfestival.org.uk
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