The Battersea Jazz Festival returns to London’s streets next week and opens with ‘jazz ballet’ – a brand new addition that will see the founder’s band and local dance company come together.
Founder Hugo Jennings’ Big Band and Battersea’s E33 Dance Company will open the festival with a new jazz arrangement and choreography of a Russian ballet based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in Clapham Grand.
He said: “It’s kind of a progression of all the different parts of my background coming together and now I have this opportunity to present them.
“[Music] has been around me in some capacity for as long as I can remember.”
Jennings’ mother was a professional ballet dancer and is now a ballet reviewer.
The festival runs from 3rd to 13th June and will feature national and international jazz artists of all ages and backgrounds performing in and around Battersea, making this edition its most diverse ever.
The festival is a space to embrace the best of British and international jazz, which Jennings said is experiencing a Renaissance.
He added: “We’ve got all this unbelievable talent in London but not enough spaces putting them on. I decided that I was going to rally against that no matter what.
“There is an appetite for it.”
Award-winning and young British talent Deschanel Gordon and Emily Masser & Alex Clarke Quintet are among some of the names that will be performing, alongside vocalist Gabrielle Stravelli whose performances have been praised by the New York Times.
Their launch party will take place at the Small Beer Brewery this Sunday and features a performance by saxophonist Donovan Haffner to build up excitement for the programme. A new venue, the Battersea Barge, will host the festival’s closing party on the 13 June, finishing with a show by Dave O’Higgins – a well-known figure in the jazz scene.
For the jazz uninitiated, Jennings encouraged them to join.
He said: “As well as being the utmost quality music you could ever wish to hear anywhere in the world, it’s got that spirit and feeling of community that is unbeatable.
“[Jazz] is party music. It’s dance music. It’ll make you want to move your hips and tap your feet.”
Tickets start at £20 and can be purchased from the festival’s website.
Featured image credit: Sarah Mayne
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