reviews, news & interviews

Headline acts announced for 2010 London Jazz Festival

Sonny Rollins, Esperanza Spalding, Martial Solal and Paco de Lucia set to play at this year's edition

by peter.quinnThursday, 20 May 2010

Two in a row for Sonny Rollins at the 2010 London Jazz Festival

An unprecedented second consecutive year for saxophone colossus Sonny Rollins, celebrating his 80th birthday, is one of the many highlights of the 2010 London Jazz Festival announced yesterday. One question immediately springs to mind: which Noël Coward classic will he dust down this year?

Other mouth-watering treats include the European premiere of Brad Mehldau and Joshua Redman’s new project Highway Rider with Britten Sinfonia, the remarkable bassist-vocalist Esperanza Spalding, and the nimble-fingered octogenarian French pianist Martial Solal (composer of the film score for Godard’s À Bout de Souffle).

All this plus a three-day residency from the genre-shredding The Bad Plus - the last of their three concerts, in which they're joined by Django Bates, promises to be a barnstorming epic - iconic flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía and Italian singing legend Paolo Conte.

The annual 10-day celebration of jazz, which runs from Friday 12 to Sunday 21 November, kicks off once again with Jazz Voice: Celebrating a Century of Song, with Guy Barker valiantly taking on both conducting and arranging duties (no summer hols for him then). The full line-up will be announced over the coming months.

For further details visit the London Jazz Festival website

Support the future of arts journalism

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thanks so much for choosing genuinely independent arts journalism theartsdesk’s mission has never been more important – in an age of relentless algorithmic recommendation, sponsored content and unreliable AI, the expertise and discernment of individual critics deeply embedded in their specialist areas is absolutely vital.

If you want more of that in your life, why not subscribe now?

If you do this before the 31st August, you’ll be able to keep at this “founders rate” for life: your subs will never increase! You can choose to subscribe annually for just £40 simply click here
or monthly for £5 per month simply click here.

Not ready to subscribe?

If you want to support with a little extra or aren’t ready to subscribe just yet, there’s also the option to give direct to our crowdfunder to support our imminent redesign and exciting expansion with new features and collaborations Simply contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d.

However you choose to be involved, you can proudly say that you are picking the right side in the battle for truth and humanity in the modern information landscape. And we will be very glad to have you on board!