Herts Jazz Festival 2019 line-up announced (27-29 Sept, early bird tickets now on sale)

Laura Jurd’s Dinosaur Photo: Dave Stapleton

Peter Bacon reports: The line-up of this year’s Herts Jazz Festival (the ninth) at the Rhodes Arts Complex in Bishop’s Stortford on the weekend of 27-29 September shows a rich and creative mix of established players and young risers, together with a couple of tributes to classic albums and a mix of jazz and film. Here is most of the press release: The Festival will feature headliner gigs from Seamus Blake with the French Connection and Clark Tracey’s Allstars revisiting two classic albums by Charles Mingus and Art Blakey. We start on the Friday night with the Herts Jazz Film festival, showing Buster Keaton’s ‘Steamboat Bill Jr’ with live keyboard accompaniment from Gareth Williams and the premiere of the re-edited and updated ‘Spike Wells – A Love Supreme’, which Spike will personally introduce. Gareth then winds up the night playing in the bar with his Trio.

Tom Dunnett Publicity picture

Saturday’s line-up includes Tom Dunnett’s Sextet, Graham Harvey, Quentin Collins’ Sextet and Art Themen/Steve Melling Duo. These are followed by a celebration of the 60th anniversary of Ronnie Scott’s by some of the musicians who played at the Soho club and then Clark’s tributes to the two 1959 iconic albums, “Mingus Ah Um” and “Moanin’”. The jazz keeps coming with Leon Greening in the bar until midnight.

Art Themen and Xhosa Cole Sextet Photo: Mike O’Brien

Sunday is kicked off by regular Festival performers, Herts Youth Jazz Ensemble, followed by Alan Barnes Octet, Pete Oxley and Nicolas Meier in the bar and Laura Jurd’s Dinosaur. The Festival comes to a climax with the Art Themen and Xhosa Cole (billed as Zoza Kole) Sextet and finally Seamus Blake. Clark Tracey, Festival Director said, “It’s great to bring our Festival to Bishop’s Stortford and a venue steeped in jazz history. As always with Herts Jazz, the emphasis is on great jazz – past and present. We are celebrating a special year in jazz – 1959 – when Ronnie Scott’s first opened and two classic albums were released. We’ve also great young talent on show: Tom Dunnett, Laura Jurd and Zoza Kole amongst many others. A Festival for everyone!” The Festival is being supported by Arts Council England, J Samuel Pianos and Cambridge Drums.

Seamus Blake Photo: Kristin Blid

Weekend and Day tickets are now on sale at “early-bird” discounted prices until 30 June. Weekend £110/£90 Herts Jazz Club members/£70 students. Saturday £65/£55/£45 Sunday £55/£45/£35 Friday night tickets are also on sale now (limited capacity). All seats are allocated – so the sooner you book, the more choice you have! Gig tickets go on sale 1 July. Tickets can be booked online at hertsjazzfestival.co.uk and rhodesartscomplex.co.uk Telephone bookings at 01279 710200 Book in person at Rhodes Arts Complex, 1-3 South Road, Bishop’s Stortford CM23 3JG

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