Summer Jazz Weekenders
Venue: Peninsula Gardens, Greenwich Peninsula
Visit this new London jazz festival and discover top UK contemporary bands to excite and challenge your musical self. Summer Jazz Weekenders supported by Jazz FM takes place in Greenwich Peninsula’s beautiful outdoor amphitheatre in Peninsula Gardens. Two bands a day for four days of music over two weekends.
Free of charge and open to all.
Summer Jazz Weekenders will also feature MI-SOUL Radio DJs, live contemporary circus performances by Upswing, Ping Pong fun with Pongathon, an area of workshops, food and relaxation for families by MOTHERBRUNCH, artist workshops with Honeyscribe and street food by Craft London.
UK jazz today experiments and takes risks, drawing on an eclectic mix of musical influences from hip-hop, folk, electronic music, rock, soul and music from all over the world. Experience the diversity of the modern UK jazz scene through a mixture of established and fresh musicians with a variety of musical and cultural influences.
The festival has been commissioned by Greenwich Peninsula with jazz impresario Harry Christelis.
12th August 1pm-3pm
African Tree
A wonderful regional Brazilian project by Marcelo Andrade, an award winning UK-based Brazilian multi-instrumentalist. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Marcelo studied violin, piano and guitar as well as singing in the well-established choir “Canarinhos de Petrópolis” before moving to London in 1989 to continue his education. Since then he has established himself as one of the most creative and influential musicians on the UK/Brazilian scene, including work with numerous international artists, from Brazilian icon Milton Nascimento to Corinne Bailey Rae.
12th August 3pm-5pm
TwoSpeak
TwoSpeak is Ronan Perrett on Saxophone, Ben Lee on Guitar, Joseph Costi on Keys and Ben Brown on Drums. They are a London based band that has grown from exploring different ways of using rhythm in writing and playing music. The band’s music draws inspiration from Cornish culture, from huge landscapes to historic events to its rich musical heritage, and the group’s sound is a groove centred blend of jazz, folk and world music.
13th August 1pm-3pm
Sam Rapley’s FABLED
Fabled formed in 2014 when saxophonist/clarinettist Sam Rapley brought together a select handful of Britain’s most exciting young musicians to play his original music. This close-knit group of friends have since found a unified and unique way of interacting with each other, born through years of collaborative music making. Taking inspiration from Debussy, Tom Jobim, Sarah Vaughan and Bon Iver, the group explores the wealth of textures, harmonies and grooves available in the traditional jazz quintet setting. Heavily influenced by music for film, and the relationship between music and storytelling, Fabled are always searching for their own new ways to tell the classic, age-old stories.
13th August 3pm-5pm
Ferg Ireland Trio
New contemporary jazz trio, featuring 3 of the most well-known and in demand UK jazz players on the scene. Although this new band is in its infancy, the players themselves (Ferg Ireland, Nathaniel Facey, & James Maddren) are very well established and have worked with many huge international artists.
Summer Jazz Weekenders will also be taking place on 19th and 20th August.