David Murray Cuban ensemble plays Nat King Cole on July 15, 2011
David Murray was introduced to music by his mother, a member of a church choir in Oakland and not at all keen on the jazz idiom which her son found so appealing. One of the most important figures in the jazz world, Murray collaborated with prominent musicians from all over the world over the course of his long career, recording more than 250 albums, more than half of them in his own name. He has also written music for film and theatre, as well as two operas, and is much admired for his orchestration, demonstrating a remarkable talent in combining jazz with symphonic and choral music
Renaud Garcia-Fons on July 17, 2011
The music of Parisian Renaud Garcia-Fons is an extraordinary blend of classical, jazz and ethnic music. His ambition is always to open up new horizons, to preserve his freedom of expression, even when this means breaking technical rules to create something different. In a musical environment that tends to see the double bass as an accompanying instrument, Garcia-Fons has added a fifth string to the bass and elevated it to equal ranking with other instruments. Improvisation and composition are both equally important in his search for musical expression, allowing him a forum for creativity and spiritual enrichment. As a member of the Orchestre
Hindi Zahra on July 22, 2011
Somewhere between her Moroccan roots and her life in Paris, singer-songwriter Hindi Zahra lost track of her many musical influences: the result is a mesmerizing elemental folk, a desert blues with african/american music.
"Hindi remains a vibrant proposition" — The Observer
"...music that reels you in with an irresistibly languid groove. Comparisons to Madeleine Peyroux don't quite do justice to the exotic panorama of her influences" Sunday Express
Manos Hatzidakis meet the world of jazz - Dimitris Kalantzis Quintet and Camerata friends of music Orchestra on July 30, 2011
In a tribute to Manos Hatzidakis, the Camerata Orchestra and the Dimitris Kalantzis Quintet will perform some of the composer’s best-loved compositions in a new jazz idiom. ‘The project developed quite naturally out of our need to perform music which we had loved since we were young, in our own ordinary language: jazz. The essence of Manos’ music is always there, and we always delight in discovering it’, says the outstanding musical talent Dimitris Kalantzis. The original idea is implemented with the aesthetic quality appropriate to an artist of the standing of Manos Hatzidakis, and has the added advantage of opening up to a Greek audience a combination of jazz and classical sounds, through a repertory of music familiar to Greek audiences. At the same time, the international idiom of jazz is the perfect vehicle for bringing the music of great Greek composers to global audiences.