19th September, 2018

EFG renews London Jazz Festival title sponsorship to 2023

The EFG London Jazz Festival has announced that their title sponsor, EFG Private Bank, has extended its partnership with the festival for another five years to 2023.

The full programme was announced at the EFG London Jazz Festival launch party held at the Mayfair Hotel last night and the 2018 edition promises a rich wealth of international legends, a chance to discover new music and features some outstanding collaborations.

John Williamson, Chair of EFG International announced the sponsorship renewal at the launch party, adding: "2018 also marks the tenth anniversary of our partnership with the EFG London Jazz Festival, during which time we have seen the festival go from strength to strength.

"As an organisation, we aspire to share and celebrate the distinctive qualities which make jazz such an exceptional art form, embracing creativity and innovation, freedom of individual and collective expression, diversity and collaboration. Through our sponsorship programmes we also strive to help up and coming talent establish their voice on a global stage". Claire Whitake, Director of Serious, said: "We are delighted that EFG Private Bank has renewed their partnership with the festival. EFG and Serious share a passion for jazz, the excellence of the music and the diversity of the audiences it attracts. We are thrilled that their commitment to the music we love ensures that the reach and scale of the festival can be sustained and supports the next generation of talent".

The EFG London Jazz Festival opens on 16th November with its signature glittering gala performance, Jazz Voice, where Guy Barker's 42-piece orchestra teams up with some of today's most individual vocalists in a spectacular celebration of song, hosted by Jumoké Fashola. This year's line-up includes Laila Biali, Allan Harris, Deva Mahal, Anthony Strong, Zara McFarlane and Lisa Stansfield, with further names to be announced.

Jazz giants this year include Archie Shepp and Abdullah Ibrahim and Ekaya and there is a special concert, The Boy’s Doin' It, in celebration of the life and music of Hugh Masekela. The list of international stars continues with Bill Frisell, Lea DeLaria, Madeleine Peyroux, Dave Douglas, Avishai Cohen, Myra Melford, Bugge Wesseltoft,Kandace Springs, Ethan Iverson, Melody Gardot, Tord Gustavse, Youn Sun Nah and a rare opportunity to see Hollywood star Jeff Goldblum on piano, with his band, The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra.

Concerts created for the festival include Windrush: A Celebration, presented by poet/musicianAnthony Joseph, featuring Mighty Sparrow, Calypso Rose and Brother Resistance and Orphy Robinson's Astral Weeks, featuring Zara McFarlane and Sarah Jane Morris, a reinterpretation of Van Morrison's seminal album of fifty years ago.

There is much within the festival that reflects the global language of jazz and music that reacts to our changing world: Iraqi/American trumpeter Amir ElSaffar's Rivers of Sound Orchestra comes to the UK for the first time, exploring the juncture between jazz and the Middle East; Ian Shaw's concert with the Citizens of the World Choir brings together a group of refugees, asylum seekers and campaigners.

British talent is celebrated: saxophonist and leading force in the new wave of UK jazz, Nubya Garcia, performs a double headliner with drummer Makaya McCraven, a key new figure in the Chicago jazz scene and rising stars, Camilla George and Sarah Tandy, perform together and, for a perfect showcase of the next generation of British jazz, the festival will host the BBC Young Jazz Musician 2018 Final.

The EFG London Jazz Festival brings together musicians from across the planet, aiming to promote the love of jazz and reach as wide an audience as possible. This inclusivity is reflected in the festival's digital marketing with #WeAreJazz, which allows festival-goers to follow news and share memories, promoting diversity and the engagement with jazz by the broadest of audiences.

Now in its twenty-sixth year, it remains the capital's largest city-wide festival, with over 2,000 artists in more than 325 performances in concert halls, clubs, at family events, free concerts, films and talks, in over seventy venues across London.

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