The prrogramme for the week-long Guilhall Jazz Festival (formerly The Guildhall Jazz Festival & Improvisation Fringe) has been announced. The two ticketed events featuring Scott Stroman, an evening with the Guildhall Jazz Singers performing Ellington’s second Sacred Concert, and a Kenny Wheeler tribute with the Big Band look particularly interesting.  Our pick of the free events is the E17 night on the Monday. The following is the full programme and blurb as announced:


FULL PROGRAMME

Saturday 21 March, 4pm, Lecture Recital Room

Junior Guildhall Jazz Band
Directed by Oliver Weston and Jonathan Taylor.

Small group and Big Band jazz from the Guildhall School’s thriving Junior department. Includes music by Marty Paich, Tim Garland, Thelonious Monk, Count Basie and Kenny Wheeler. Admission free

Saturday 21 March, 7.30pm, Milton Court Concert Hall
OPENING NIGHT | Ellington’s Second Sacred Concert

Guildhall Jazz Choir and Ensemble
Guildhall Jazz Singers
Directed by Scott Stroman

Ellington’s Second Sacred Concert, premiered in 1968, contains some of the jazz legend’s best music. Guildhall professor Scott Stroman has streamlined and rearranged it into a new 40-minute Suite from the Second Sacred Concert, vastly increasing the contribution from the singers.

The Guildhall Jazz Singers, the School’s select close-harmony singing group, presents its unique take on jazz standards in the first half.

Tickets: £15 (£10 concessions, free for Guildhall staff and students), available from the Barbican Box Office: 020 7638 8891 barbican.org.uk

Sunday 22 March, 7.30pm, Silk Street Music Hall

Tribute to Billie Holiday – Guildhall Jazz Ensemble directed by Ed Puddick

Ed Puddick directs a 12-piece ensemble celebrating Billie Holiday’s continuing influence on the world of jazz, 100 years after her birth. This unique performance will feature brand new versions of melodies associated with Lady Day, arranged by third-year undergraduate students and Puddick himself. Admission free

Monday 23 March, 7.30pm, Silk Street Music Hall
Guildhall Jazz Ensemble directed by Carlos Lopez-Real

Carlos Lopez-Real directs the Guildhall Jazz Ensemble, playing music by members of the E17 Jazz Collective, which he founded in 2007. The flagship band of the collective is the 13-piece ‘large ensemble’, which features John Turville, Dave Manington, Jez Franks, Tori Freestone and other great musicians including Guildhall jazz faculty members Brigitte Beraha and Robbie Robson. Tonight the ensemble recreates that band, playing music by Carlos as well as John Turville, Dave Manington, Robbie Robson and others. Admission free

Tuesday 24 March, 7.30pm, Silk Street Music Hall
Guildhall Alumni Jazz Ensemble
Featuring The Tommy Andrews Quintet

Former student Tommy Andrews leads this group of eminent Guildhall School alumni, performing a set of expanded arrangements from his debut album, The Crux. The second set will feature the celebrated Tommy Andrews Quintet, performing the through-composed Galilean Suite. Admission free

Wednesday 25 March, 7.30pm, Silk Street Music Hall
Vintage Jazz Night
Directed by Martin Hathaway

This year, the much-loved Vintage Jazz Night focusses on the Swing Era, featuring music by Count Basie and Duke Ellington, and a special tribute to the Stephane Grappelli / Django Reinhardt ‘Quintette du Hot Club de France’. Admission free

Thursday 26 March, 7.30pm, Silk Street Music Hall
Guildhall Improvised Music Ensemble directed by Sarah Gail Brand with special guest Mark Sanders percussion – Tribute to John Stevens / Spontaneous Music Ensemble

Expect the unexpected at the festival’s Improvised Music Night, which this year pays tribute to visionary British drummer John Stevens and the free improvisation group he co-founded in the mid-60s, the Spontaneous Music Ensemble. Admission free

Friday 27 March, 7.30pm, Milton Court Concert Hall
Tribute to Kenny Wheeler

Guildhall Jazz Band & Singers
Directed by Scott Stroman

The festival finale pays tribute to the late, great Kenny Wheeler – trumpeter, composer and innovator – with a special programme that includes a performance of his landmark Sweet Time Suite.

Tickets: £15 (£10 concessions, free for Guildhall staff and students), available from the Barbican Box Office: 020 7638 8891 barbican.org.uk

Throughout the Festival (afternoons)
Jazz Small Bands (free admission)

Sunday 22 March, 3pm & 4pm, Silk Street Music Hall
Monday 23 March, 3pm & 4pm, Silk Street Music Hall
Tuesday 24 March, 3pm & 4pm, Silk Street Music Hall
Wednesday 25 March, 3pm & 4pm, Silk Street Music Hall
Thursday 26 March, 4.30pm & 5.30pm, Silk Street Music Hall