Last week, the EFG London Jazz Festival announced the first wave of artists in this year’s line-up and we caught up with Festival Director, Pelin Opcin, who gave us an insight into what makes a great Festival.
How do you select the artists?
“It’s quite often influenced by what’s currently happening globally. We want the Festival to represent the very best of jazz and are fortunate that London is such an important hub on the international music scene, so we are privileged to be able to invite the artists at the right time in their project cycles and can premiere new work within our programme. It’s important the artists have broad appeal and the overall range to reflect our philosophy of promoting cultural diversity and the global music panorama. We actively seek out the next generation of talent and are delighted to see so many young artists go on to build successful careers after having appeared as part of the Festival line-up.”
How do you keep the line-up fresh?
“We aim to celebrate both the legacy and the future of jazz. Quite a lot of international artists return multiple times to perform but the beauty of jazz as a genre is that no single show is the same. The Festival is also a direct reflection of the UK’s musical landscape and we are lucky in that currently, it is a very vibrant one. We like to blend established artists and rising stars, sometimes in collaborations, like we did in 2023 with jazz icon Marcus Miller and young saxophonist Camilla George; and that innovative mix means we can continue to push the boundaries and grow our community.”
What makes each edition of the Festival unique?
“For 10 days in November, we take over some of London’s most famous clubs and concert halls with hundreds of shows and free events and that in itself creates a real buzz across the city. Live performance sits at the heart of the Festival, but there is a broader culture that makes it so distinctive. For example, artists go to see one another’s shows and younger artists are inspired to follow in the footsteps of the jazz greats that have gone before them and take their music into the future.”
What are you excited about in this year’s line up?
“This is only the first of three announcements, so there is plenty more to come but we are thrilled by what’s in store. There are lots of new collaborations and commissions planned and we are consciously dialing up the scale and impact of some of the performances. The full BBC Concert Orchestra are paying a tribute to the life, work and genius of John Coltrane and the London Symphony Orchestra will perform with the contemporary Mercury Prize-nominated ensemble seed., led by jazz saxophonist, Cassie Kinoshi. As always, some legends of jazz feature, such as Jamie Cullum, who is renowned for his incredible live shows, and this year Pat Metheny will perform a very interesting solo show. Ones to watch include Dawn Richards and Spencer Zahn, as they combine for a show of immersive electronic, avant-garde jazz and neo classical music at the beautiful Union Chapel.”
What message do you have for those people thinking about attending the Festival?
“Experiencing jazz live is like nothing else. Even if you are familiar with the music and the artists, you should expect the unexpected! The powerful mix of performers, venues, audiences all come together to produce something quite magical and memorable, it’s like a special kind of alchemy. Our long term partnership with EFG also helps to make this possible and for that we are deeply grateful.”
This year’s EFG London Jazz Festival runs from Friday, 15 to Sunday, 24 November. You can see the full list of artists announced in the first wave here.