EFG LONDON JAZZ FESTIVAL 2021 | 12-21 Nov

Tickets and full programme here
Stream the official Spotify playlist here

As we approach November, the excitement for the 29th EFG London Jazz Festival builds. Following 2020’s digital version, the Festival returns with a programme of live performances by an electrifying line-up of global stars, special collaborations, jazz icons and the most exciting new artists from the UK and beyond.

Back with the complete experience of living London to the fullest, with a city-wide selection of venues, clubs, partnerships as well as creative engagement projects, talks and free stages, the EFG London Jazz Festival will also be retaining its commitment to nationwide and global outreach through their digital work.

Opening the Festival on 12 November is the glittering extravaganza of Jazz Voice at the Royal Festival Hall. Guy Barker and the specially created EFG London Jazz Festival Orchestra are joined by an incredible line-up of guest singers representing the new and contemporary take on jazz, neo-soul and global music. CeeLo Green’s bassist Adeline brings a soul-pop touch with her velvety vocals. Cellist-singer Ayanna Witter-Johnson puts a stamp with her unique sound. Kurdish singer Aynur takes the orchestra to unchartered horizons with her powerful vocals. Neo-soul sensation Ego Ella May, genre-defying singer Michael Mayo, jazz vocalists Georgia Cécile and Sachal Vasandani all manifest the power and beauty of singing, while Lakecia Benjamin joins on saxophone and spoken word. The orchestra welcomes new members from the buzzing jazz scene such as Nikki Yeoh, Mark Kavuma and Chelsea Carmichael. This spectacular show will be broadcast on BBC Four.

The Festival will be hosting another major project, a Tony Allen retrospective curated by Damon Albarn, Ben Okri, Femi Koleoso and Remi Kabaka, all of whom will be performing on the night. Tony Allen’s everlasting influence on Afrobeat, jazz, techno, hip hop and rock will be celebrated by an astonishing lineup of musicians including project’s music director Tom Excell, Cassie Kinoshi, Dave Okumu, Ezra Collective, Joan as Police Woman, Lava La Rue, Nitin Sawhney and Jimi Tenor and many, many more. It promises to be unmissable.

The grandeur of the orchestras carries throughout the festival. Soweto Kinch plays his new work White Juju with London Symphony Orchestra. Yazz Ahmed joins up with BBC Concert Orchestra. London Sinfonietta performs new compositions of Elliott Galvin, Cassie Kinoshi, Laura Jurd and Shabaka Hutchings. Bill Laurance plays beautiful new music with the Untold Orchestra in the mesmerizing Union Chapel.

Elsewhere you can find global icons like Archie Shepp and Jason Moran, Dave Holland and John Scofield, Charles Lloyd (with support from UK jazz supergroup Nerija, featuring a who’s who of UK jazz Nubya Garcia, Sheila Maurice-Grey, Rosie Turton, Cassie Kinoshi, Shirley Tetteh, Rio Kai and Lizy Exell), Cecile McLorin Salvant, Avishai Cohen, Mike Westbrook, Brad Mehldau, Django Bates and Cleveland Watkiss, Julian Lage, Zakir Hussain and Shai Maestro.

The Beyond Margins strand of the Festival, presents genre-bending artists Yo La Tengo, Black Midi and Moor Mother (in collaboration with Pitchfork Festival), Woodkid, Sarathy Korwar, Jaimie Branch, Yugen Blakrok, Irreversible Entanglements, Greg Foat, Kassa Overall, Nazar, Glor1a, Damon Locks Black Monument Ensemble and Angel Bat Dawid, proving that the influences of jazz stretch well into the world of indie, rock and rap. Add in virtuoso guitarists like Kaki King and Gwenifer Raymond, and global names like Marcel and Bachar Khalifé, Aynur supported by kamancheh player Melisa Yildirim, Amadou & Mariam, Omar Sosa & Seckou Keita and Ichiko Aoba and we have all corners of jazz - and the world - covered.

The EFG Elements Series also makes a return in 2021. It's a musical snapshot of specially selected shows that reflect EFG and the Festival’s shared underlying principles to foster innovation and collaboration, to work with passion, and to be driven by quality and excellence. The EFG Elements Series also displays a commitment to supporting the next generation of emerging talent and the creation of new music. Just one highlight is the Nu Civilisation Orchestra re-imagining Marvin Gaye's What's Going On, on the album's 50th anniversary.

The Festival has also partnered with Women In Jazz to bring a show that features the best in new UK female rap, hip hop and soul - featuring JGrrey, Kay Taylor, Izzy Bossy and Rosie Lowe. Sitting alongside this is ARTicle 10: Women V Culture, a series exploring the complex relationship between women and culture that’s part of the festival’s free, engaging and interactive events across November. The community spirit continues with a programme of activities in Barking and Dagenham this autumn, in partnership with Becontree Rising and featuring MOBO-winner Zara McFarlane, jazz legend Courtney Pine, and acclaimed film-maker Ashleigh Jadee.

The Festival’s on air and digital offering will include BBC TV and Radio broadcasts as well as streams on Festival website and social media channels. While premiering a select list of performances including Jazz Voice, Take Five Presents Showcases, and Soweto Kinch and London Symphony Orchestra, the Festival introduces new partnerships in the digital realm. The full digital programme will be announced on 2nd of November.

The EFG London Jazz Festival has teamed up with global streaming platform, production company and film distributor MUBI, to offer the joy of cinema to their audiences with access to hand-picked films, including a selection of music films curated in collaboration with Festival artists. There will also be specially curated Festival mixes by Irreversible Entanglements, Sarathy Korwar, Tina Edwards, and many more on Mixcloud building up the excitement towards the Festival.

With more than 300 shows, in 75 venues spreading to 16 London boroughs and a digital programme reaching the global audiences, EFG London Jazz Festival 2021 proves that jazz and live music is truly back and going from strength to strength.

For full information on all shows on sale visit efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk