Laura Mvula, Jamie Cullum, Chick Corea, Ben Folds, Gregory Porter, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Snarky Puppy, Rick Wakeman, Will Young, Lionel Loueke, Steve Gadd, Mica Paris, Jack Savoretti, The Necks, Booker T. Jones, Chris Potter and many more for Cheltenham 2017.
The Cheltenham Jazz Festival return in April, with a bold, multifarious programme featuring a range of world premieres, festival commissions, unique collaborations and rare shows from an eclectic mix of established stars and emerging talent.
Running across six days from April 26th – May 1st against the stylish backdrop of Regency Cheltenham, this year’s festival presents a clever balance of classic and contemporary jazz, blues, soul and pop from a variety of pioneering acts including star vocalists Gregory Porter (pictured), Laura Mvula (pictured), Jack Savoretti, Will Young and Paul Carrack, and a solo set from cult alt-rock pianist and singer Ben Folds that will include a special, one-off collaboration with the festival’s Artistic Curator Jamie Cullum.
Multi-million-selling keyboard icon Rick Wakeman with his specially reunited Green Dolphin Trio, will showcase material from his solo piano album Piano Portraits, which made history when it charted in the top 10 last month.
Other high profile acts lined up are Mica Paris, who will perform the Ella Fitzgerald songbook with an eight-piece ensemble to celebrate what would have been her 100th birthday, Booker T. Jones, Grammy-Award-winning drummer Steve Gadd, a rare UK show from Latin music matriarch Toto la Momposina, Benin-born guitarist Lionel Loueke and the debut of a new project from Mercury-nominated Polar Bear drummer Seb Rochford
Iconic Afro-Cuban outfit Orchestra Baobab, an exclusive preview of Kit Downes’ forthcoming solo album, Marius Neset with a specially curated UK line-up for the festival, and the world premiere of a Cheltenham Jazz Festival co-commission ‘Decade Zero’ from composer Dave Maric for Phronesis with the Engines Orchestra, interwoven with a full set from the internationally acclaimed European trio.
Blues fans will be treated to shows from the Robert Cray Band, The Marcus King Band, and an anticipated return to the festival from singer-songwriter Eric Bibb for the first time since his sell-out appearance in 2010.
These top names join those already announced, including 22-time Grammy-winning pianist and composer Chick Corea, the genre-transcending Meshell Ngedegeocello, Snarky Puppy, a 30th anniversary performance from Australian cult improvisers The Necks, formidable saxophonist and band leader Chris Potter, The Hot 8 Brass Band, and the revered, multi-award-winning vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater (pictured), who will perform the UK premiere of her forthcoming album Memphis.
BBC Radio 2 continues its long-term association with the festival, who will broadcast live onsite festival-themed shows recorded by Jamie Cullum and Clare Teal, as well as a soul-themed ‘Friday Night Is Music Night’, and Jo Whiley ‘Live In Concert’ featuring Jack Savoretti.
Validating its reputation as a leading force in nurturing the younger generation of talent on both sides of the Atlantic, this year’s festival will welcome the likes of Tennessee-born folk, blues and soul sensation Valerie June, a double bill featuring BBC Introducing’s Earl with South London vocalist Jodie Abacus, European quartet on the rise Amok Amor, Kandace Springs, who returns to the festival for a main-stage show at the PizzaExpress Live Arena, British-Bahraini trumpeter Yazz Ahmed, and Swiss experimental trio Schnellertollermeier, with their visionary avant-garde rock/jazz sound.
Returning this year is the ‘Recomposed: Live Remix’ series, where electronic musicians Ian Chambers and Pascal Wyse will remix five sets from Sunday’s Cheltenham Ladies’ College Parabola Arts Centre into one 60-minute set. The Family Tent will also return in 2017, which will host a range of engaging shows for all ages including a high-energy, Indo Jazz performance from acclaimed clarinetist Arun Ghosh.
The 2017 Cheltenham Jazz Festival takes place from April 26th – May 1st and is hosted in a tented festival village in Cheltenham’s Montpellier Gardens, featuring a Big Top stage, Pizza Express Live Arena, food stalls, an on-site record shop, and the Family Tent with Town Hall, Cheltenham Ladies’ College Parabola Arts Centre, Hotel du Vin and Daffodil venues all within short walking distance of the stylish spa town’s centre.
Tickets on sale to members from February 22nd and on general sale from March 1st.
http://www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/jazz
Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2017:
Wednesday 26 April
Laura Mvula
THE BIG TOP
Thursday 27 April
Marcus King Band
PIZZAEXPRESS LIVE ARENA
Dee Dee Bridgewater
CHELTENHAM TOWN HALL
Jack Savoretti
THE BIG TOP
Camilla George
DAFFODIL
Late night residency: Kansas Smitty’s House Band
DAFFODIL
Friday 28 April
Valerie June
PIZZAEXPRESS LIVE ARENA
Marius Neset
CHELTENHAM LADIES’ COLLEGE PARABOLA ARTS CENTRE
Friday Night is Music Night: Rhythm & Blues + Jazz = Soul
THE BIG TOP
Will Young
CHELTENHAM TOWN HALL
Peter Horsfall
DAFFODIL
Seb Rochford, Nicole Mitchell & Neil Charles
CHELTENHAM LADIES’ COLLEGE PARABOLA ARTS CENTRE
Late night residency: Kansas Smitty’s House Band
DAFFODIL
Saturday 29 April
Musical Adventures for Kids
FAMILY TENT
Jazz Exchange: Birmingham Conservatoire & NTNU Trondheim Exchange
CHELTENHAM LADIES’ COLLEGE PARABOLA ARTS CENTRE
Decade Zero: Dave Maric, Phronesis & Engines Orchestra
CHELTENHAM TOWN HALL
Mica Paris sings the Ella Fitzgerald Songbook
PIZZA EXPRESS LIVE ARENA
Lilli Unwin
HOTEL DU VIN
Orchestra Baobab
THE BIG TOP
Elliot Galvin
CHELTENHAM LADIES’ COLLEGE PARABOLA ARTS CENTRE
Lionel Loueke
PIZZAEXPRESS LIVE ARENA
The Necks
CHELTENHAM TOWN HALL
Logan Richardson
CHELTENHAM LADIES’ COLLEGE PARABOLA ARTS CENTRE
Vyamanikal
DEAN CLOSE CHAPEL
Rick Wakeman’s Green Dolphin Trio
CHELTENHAM TOWN HALL
Steve Gadd Band
PIZZAEXPRESS LIVE ARENA
Gabrielle Ducomble
DAFFODIL
Hans Koller
CHELTENHAM LADIES’ COLLEGE PARABOLA ARTS CENTRE
The Robert Cray Band
THE BIG TOP
Booker T. Jones
THE BIG TOP
Late night residency: Kansas Smitty’s House Band
DAFFODIL
Sunday 30 April
Musical Adventures for Kids
FAMILY TENT
Monocled Man
CHELTENHAM LADIES’ COLLEGE PARABOLA ARTS CENTRE
Schnellertollermeier
CHELTENHAM LADIES’ COLLEGE PARABOLA ARTS CENTRE
Totó la Momposina
CHELTENHAM TOWN HALL
Kandace Springs
PIZZAEXPRESS LIVE ARENA
Double Bill: Jodie Abacus & Earl
THE BIG TOP
Meshell Ndegeocello
PIZZAEXPRESS LIVE ARENA
Eric Bibb
CHELTENHAM TOWN HALL
Amok Amor
CHELTENHAM LADIES’ COLLEGE PARABOLA ARTS CENTRE
Chick Corea Trio featuring Eddie Gomez and Brian Blade
THE BIG TOP
Double Bill: Julian Sartorius Solo plus Mark Sanders & John Butcher Duo
CHELTENHAM LADIES’ COLLEGE PARABOLA ARTS CENTRE
Chris Potter
PIZZAEXPRESS LIVE ARENA
Sunday Recomposed: Live Remix featuring Ian Chambers and Pascal Wyse
CHELTENHAM LADIES’ COLLEGE PARABOLA ARTS CENTRE
Snarky Puppy
CHELTENHAM TOWN HALL
Ben Folds & Jamie Cullum
THE BIG TOP
Yazz Ahmed Hafla Band
CHELTENHAM LADIES’ COLLEGE PARABOLA ARTS CENTRE
Late night residency: Kansas Smitty’s House Band
DAFFODIL
Monday 1 May
Musical Adventures for Kids
FAMILY TENT
Snarky Puppy Masterclass
PIZZAEXPRESS LIVE ARENA
Hot 8 Brass Band
THE BIG TOP
Showcase: Sarah Munro & Mode9
PIZZAEXPRESS LIVE ARENA
Paul Carrack
THE BIG TOP
Denys Baptiste presents Late Trane
PIZZAEXPRESS LIVE ARENA
Gregory Porter
THE BIG TOP
