EFG London Jazz Festival returns to the Barbican this November with a full line-up of some of the world’s most talented contemporary jazz musicians, including free public performances and film screenings – plus new support announcements
The EFG London Jazz Festival returns to the Barbican this November, with live performances from some of the world’s most talented contemporary jazz musicians, alongside screenings and free gigs for everyone to enjoy.
Presented by the Barbican’s Associate Producer Serious, the festival comprises hundreds of gigs across the city, seeing jazz popping up everywhere, from concert halls to street corners. The Barbican will host nineteen events from 10 – 19 November 2023 including FreeStage performances in the Barbican foyers, a collaboration with the Barbican’s Resident Orchestra the London Symphony Orchestra, and legends and newcomers alike in the Barbican Hall, Milton Court Concert Hall and the Barbican’s public foyers, as well as performances from Guildhall Jazz musicians.
FULL BARBICAN EFG LONDON JAZZ FESTIVAL LINE UP BELOW:
Fri 10 Nov – Sunday 19 Nov 2023
Various venues
The programme of live performances features an electrifying line-up of global stars, jazz masters, cutting edge ensembles, moving tributes, special collaborations, and the finest and freshest music from the London scene. Festival events at the Barbican include concerts in the Barbican Hall and Milton Court Concert Hall, a free-to-watch FreeStage programme as well as screenings in our cinemas. Full listings details are below and on the Barbican website here.
Musician, composer, arranger, and the ‘father of Ethio-jazz’ Mulatu Astatke takes to the Hall stage in his 80th year to open the EFG London Jazz Festival 2023 at the Barbican. (10 Nov)
Renowned American drummer and producer Makaya McCraven presents an evening of musical exploration at the Barbican, joined by the London Contemporary Orchestra, conducted by Robert Ames. This special performance will see McCraven perform his boundary-pushing album In These Times in the Barbican Hall. (11 Nov)
Contemporary classical composer and pianist Joep Beving returns to his piano solo roots with Hermetism Light Sculpture, a live audio-visual performance in collaboration with contemporary artists Boris Acket and Merijn Versnel in Milton Court Concert Hall. (12 Nov)
Following the success of MoodSwing in 2022, globally acclaimed saxophonist Joshua Redman returns to the Barbican to lead a remarkable new group in an evening of captivating jazz, performing his latest project WHERE ARE WE. The performance will feature vocalist Gabrielle Cavassa joined by Nicholas Payton (trumpet), Kurt Rosenwinkel (guitar), Peter Bernstein (guitar), and Joel Ross (vibraphone). (12 Nov)
Renowned Japanese composer and pianist Hiromi takes to the stage in the Barbican Hall with a performance promising to push the boundaries of jazz, classical, and pop. (13 Nov)
American saxophonist and music producer Sam Gendel will take to the stage at Milton Court Concert Hall, bringing his unique approach to jazz and experimental music together in a one-of-a-kind performance. For this performance Gendel will be joined by Philippe Melanson on electronic percussion. (14 Nov)
World-renowned Brazilian musician Sergio Mendes brings his iconic mix of bossa nova and samba to the Barbican Hall. (15 Nov)
One of the most important and innovative recording artists of our time, the late saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, is honoured in The Harvest Time Project at the Barbican, part of a global tribute series to his 1977 record Pharoah. Following Sanders' passing in 2022, this project reinterprets the iconic track Harvest Time. The Barbican performance features Brazilian singer Domenico Lancellotti, original Pharoah guitarist Tisziji Muñoz, musical director Joshua Abrams, and London-based progressive jazz trio Ill Considered with more special guests to be announced. (16 Nov)
In his debut performance with the London Symphony Orchestra, virtuoso cellist, singer, and percussionist Abel Selaocoe brings South African and European traditions together with his own music and jazz-flecked pieces by Gary Carpenter and Bartók. The performance will be led by dynamic composer Duncan Ward, preceded by free concert performances by Guildhall Jazz musicians in the Barbican Foyers. (16 Nov)
After an unforgettable sold-out performance in 2021, Charles Lloyd, the iconic American saxophonist, flautist, and early global-music pioneer, returns to the Barbican with his new trio of pianist Gerald Clayton and guitarist Marvin Sewell. (17 Nov).
Miles Davis’ legendary album Bitches Brew is reimagined in the first-ever performance from British jazz super group London Brew. (18 Nov)
A rising star of the jazz world, American singer Samara Joy makes her Barbican debut in an exclusive one-night-only performance. (19 Nov)
BARBICAN FREESTAGE PERFORMANCES
Visitors can enjoy free-to-watch daytime performances on our FreeStage throughout the EFG London Jazz Festival week. The FreeStage is located on Level G of the Barbican Foyers where visitors can come and go as they please.
Melbourne International Jazz Festival presents an evening of ethno-jazz and instrumental electronic jazz performances featuring the Zela Margossian Trio and Brekky Boy. (11 Nov, Midday)
BBC Radio 3's flagship jazz program, J to Z, which celebrates the finest in jazz across past, present, and future, presents a special episode from the FreeStage in the Barbican foyer. This unique show will feature some of the most thrilling jazz artists of today. (12 Nov, 1pm)
Jazz in Ireland: In partnership with Ireland's leading advocate and promoter of jazz and improvised music Improvised Music Company, experience a sampling of Ireland's finest improvised music through two distinctive interpretations of a saxophone trio without chords. (18 Nov, 2pm)
Jazz North presents a showcase featuring emerging jazz talents from Northern UK regions through Northern Line, Jazz North's acclaimed talent development programme. (19 Nov, 3pm)
JAZZ ON SCREEN
As is tradition, Jazz on Screen returns to Barbican Cinema complementing EFG London Jazz Festival with three rarely seen films that shine a cinema light on some of the modern jazz legends in an era of change and creativity, the 1950s and 60s. Screenings include Ron Mann’s Imagine the Sound (11 Nov) with a special introduction by writer, comedian and documentary filmmaker Stewart Lee about the avant-garde, free jazz movement; Sven Klang’s Combo (12 Nov) by Swedish filmmaker Stellan Olsson, about a small dance band which explores a clash between tradition and innovation, and the power of music to shape destinies, with an introduction by film curator, critic and filmmaker Ehsan Khoshbakht; and Umetsugu Inoue’s The Stormy Man (14 Nov), an atmospheric view of 50s Japan, following an angry young man aspiring to make it in the competitive and occasionally violent world Ginza’s seedy jazz nocturnal clubs, set to a lively score by the prolific composer Seitaro Omori.
FULL EFG LONDON JAZZ FESTIVAL 2023 LINE UP AT THE BARBICAN:
Mulatu Astatke (Fri 10 Nov, Barbican Hall, 7.30pm)
Makaya McCraven + LCO: In These Times (Sat 11 Nov, Barbican Hall, 7:30pm)
Melbourne International Jazz Festival Presents: Zela Margossian Trio & Brekky Boy (Sat 11 Nov 2023, Barbican, Level G, FreeStage, 12pm)
Imagine the Sound + Introduction by Stewart Lee (*12) – (Sat 11 Nov, Cinema 2, 3:45pm)
J to Z stage (Sun 12 Nov 2023, Barbican, Level G, FreeStage, 1pm)
Sven Klang’s Combo + Introduced by Ehsan Khoshbakht (*12) – (Sun 12 Nov 2023, Cinema 2, 5:45pm)
Joep Beving (Sun 12 Nov, Milton Court Concert Hall, 7.30pm)
Joshua Redman Group feat Gabrielle Cavassa (Sun 12 Nov, Barbican Hall, 7:30pm)
Hiromi’s sonicwonder (Mon 13 Nov, Barbican Hall, 7:30pm)
The Stormy Man (*12) – (Tue 14 Nov 2023, Cinema 2, 6:30pm)
Sam Gendel (Tues 14 Nov, Milton Court Concert Hall, 7:30pm)
Sergio Mendes (Wed 15 Nov, Barbican Hall, 7:30pm)
The Harvest Time Project (Thu 16 Nov, Milton Court, 7.30pm)
LSO/Duncan Ward with Abel Selaocoe (Thu 16 Nov, Barbican Hall, 8pm)
Charles Lloyd Ocean Trio (Fri 17 Nov, Barbican Hall, 7:30pm)
Jazz from Ireland (Sat 18 Nov 2023, Barbican, Level G, FreeStage, 2pm)
London Brew (Sat 18 Nov, Barbican Hall, 7.30pm)
Jazz North Presents (Sun 19 Nov 2023, Barbican, Level G, FreeStage, 3pm)
Samara Joy (Sun 19 Nov, Barbican Hall, 7:30pm)
Beyond the concerts at the Barbican, the EFG London Jazz Festival extends to many other venues in London. You can view the full festival line up here.
GUILDHALL JAZZ FESTIVAL X EFG LONDON JAZZ FESTIVAL
The creativity and originality of the Guildhall Jazz community is celebrated in the return of the School’s Jazz Festival in November, which is presented in partnership with EFG London Jazz Festival.
Three afternoons and evenings of performances in Milton Court Concert Hall will be headlined by Ari Hoenig (13 November), Nikki Yeoh (15 November) and Zara McFarlane (18 November) with a wealth of performances by Guildhall Jazz students, alumni and special guests including NYJO showcased throughout the days.
These performances, part of Milton Court’s 10th anniversary celebrations, are free of charge to attend and will be live streamed.
As part of the festival, Guildhall Jazz musicians also perform in Barbican Foyer ahead of the LSO’s Barbican Hall concert A World of Possibilities – Abel Selaocoe and Duncan Ward (16 Nov).
The Guildhall Jazz Festival line up can be viewed here.
~
NEW SUPPORT ANNOUNCEMENTS IN THE BARBICAN'S MUSIC PROGRAMME:
The Horse, Matthew Herbert x London Contemporary Orchestra + NYX (Sat 14 Oct 2023, Barbican Hall, 7.30pm)
Balimaya Project + Sophia Thakur (Tues 17 October 2023, Barbican Hall, 7.30pm)
The Horse
Matthew Herbert x London Contemporary Orchestra
+ NYX
Sat 14 Oct 2023, Barbican Hall, 7:30pm
Tickets from £20 plus booking fee
Visionary producer, composer and electronic musician Matthew Herbert returns to the Barbican with The Horse: a unique live show performed with a horse skeleton alongside the London Contemporary Orchestra and a host of special guests.
Journeying from the very beginnings of music through to modern electronics and sampling, The Horse (released as an album on Modern Recordings/BMG in June 2023) will include instruments made from the bones of a full size racehorse combined with samples of audio from various horses' lives and the traditional instruments of the LCO. The album also features performances by Shabaka Hutchings, Evan Parker, Danilo Perez, Seb Rochford, Theon Cross and others.
The show has been developed by Herbert in collaboration with Imogen Knight (Choreographer and Somatic Movement practitioner) and Kirsty Housley (Theatre-maker, Director and Dramaturg) and is as much a physical, theatrical evening as a musical one. As the rhythms rise throughout the show, Herbert and some very special collaborators will attempt to bring the horse back to life through music.
Matthew Herbert is a multi-award winning composer, producer and writer. His range of innovative works extends from numerous albums to film scores for Oscar-winning movies as well as music for nightclubs, the theatre, Broadway, TV, games, radio, opera and installations. He is most known for turning ordinary sound into electronic music.
Support comes from NYX (duo) with Sian O’Gorman on vocals & electronics joined by affected string player Alicia Jane Turner who will perform a flowing soundscape shifting between ambient drone, layered contemporary operatic, and large swells of noise.
Produced by the Barbican
Find out more
Balimaya Project: When The Dust Settles
+ Sophia Thakur
Tues 17 October 2023, Barbican Hall, 7.30pm
Tickets from £17.50 plus booking fee
Mandé Jazz sensations Balimaya Project, led by percussionist Yahael Camara Onono, return for their debut Barbican Hall performance in October 2023. Their biggest performance yet will see an expanded 18-strong group of musicians joined by strings, dancers, and a host of special guests in this one-off evening.
Blending West African folkloric music, the sounds of Black London and the London jazz scene, Balimaya Project take to the stage in the Barbican’s 1,943 seat concert hall to showcase their second album: When The Dust Settles (released on New Soil x Jazz re:freshed, 21 July 2023). For this performance Balimaya Project will be joined by a string sextet, dancers, and special guests including Nigerian music artist Obongjayar, afro-swing, jazz and future soul artist Afronaut Zu, with more to be announced.
Camara Onono comments that “In Mandé culture, the expression 'Raising the dust' refers to dancing a frenzied step at the start of an important ceremony or gathering. ‘When the dust settles’ is when the reason for the gathering in the first place can be addressed and the issues at hand fleshed out.” The album When The Dust Settles is out now.
Balimaya Project first performed at the Barbican at Milton Court Concert Hall in 2021, after which Yahael Camara Onono was appointed the Barbican’s Artist-in-Residence at Milton Court for its 2022/23 season. Led by Yahael Camara Onono, Balimaya Project use the repertoire and instrumentation of the Mandé peoples of Senegal and Mali as the bridge to bring the folkloric West African music together with jazz and the sounds of Black London.
Supporting Balimaya Project for this special evening is spoken word artist Sophia Thakur.
Produced by the Barbican
Find out more.
BARBICAN PROMOTIONS COMING UP THIS YEAR
Roomful of Teeth (Sat 7 Oct 2023, Milton Court Concert Hall, 7.30pm)
Nina Simone – Legacy with Josette Bushell-Mingo MBE (Wed 11 Oct 2023, Milton Court Concert Hall, 7.30pm)
The Horse - Matthew Herbert x London Contemporary Orchestra + NYX (Sat 14 Oct 2023, Barbican Hall, 7:30pm)
Qawwali Flamenco (Sun 15 Oct 2023, Barbican Hall, 7.30pm)
Balimaya Project: When The Dust Settles + Sophia Thakur (Tues 17 Oct 2023, Barbican Hall, 7.30pm)
Kronos Quartet: Five Decades (Sat 21 Oct 2023, Barbican Hall, 7:30pm)
Greentea Peng: Greentea Selecta (Sat 4 Nov 2023, ClubStage, 10pm)
Hauschka + Dobrawa Czocher (Mon 6 Nov 2023, Milton Court Concert Hall, 7.30pm)
Matthew and the Atlas (Thu 9 Nov 2023, Milton Court Concert Hall, 7.30pm)
Makaya McCraven + LCO: In These Times + Dawn Richard and Spencer Zahn – EFG London Jazz Festival (Sat 11 Nov 2023, Barbican Hall, 7:30pm)
Joshua Redman Group featuring Gabrielle Cavassa – EFG London Jazz Festival (Sun 12 Nov 2023, Barbican Hall, 7:30pm)
Joep Beving – EFG London Jazz Festival (Sun 12 Nov 2023, Milton Court Concert Hall, 7:30pm)
Sam Gendel – EFG London Jazz Festival (Tues 14 Nov 2023, Milton Court Concert Hall, 7;30pm)
The Harvest Time Project – EFG London Jazz Festival (Thu 16 Nov, Milton Court, 7.30pm)
Charles Lloyd Ocean Trio – EFG London Jazz Festival (Fri 17 Nov 2023, Barbican Hall, 7:30pm)
London Brew – EFG London Jazz Festival (Sat 18 Nov 2023, Barbican Hall, 7.30pm)
This is The Kit + Gina Birch (Sat 25 Nov 2023, Barbican Hall, 8pm)
David August (Sat 2 Dec 2023, Milton Court Concert Hall, 8.30pm)
