Festival season is upon us…well at least the London one.
November is indeed one of the liveliest months for the music enthusiasts living in the U.K. capital.
In fact throughout the month, the city hosts dozens of events and welcomes hundreds of musicians from all over the world.

As it’s happening since 1992, the EFG London Jazz Festival plays the lion’s share. Despite its ‘jazz’ denomination, LJF is an all-inclusive music event covering a wide range of styles from world to electronic.

Produced by Serious and organised with the support of the Arts Council England, PRS and EFG, the 23^rd edition of the Festival will be, once again, a celebration of global sounds, remarkable talents and unconditional love for music.
For ten day (from the 13^th to 22^nd of November) more than twenty venues spread all around London will host something like 150 performances during which more than two hundreds musician coming from the four corners of the world will give new meanings to the word jazz.

If on one hand we will have the most “orthodox” interpreters of the genre (which is unorthodox by definition) like outstanding pianist Keith Jarrett, soul-jazz and funk institution Maceo Paker, New Orléans eminence Allen Touissant, Cassandra Wilson striking vocal expressivity and trumpet master Terence Blanchard…
On the other, some offbeat and nonconformist talents will also show their qualities.
Among them there will be the unpredictable artistry of Sons of Kemet, Japanese pianist Hiromi (Uheara) and her unrestrained post-bop, present and future of sax represented by Kamasi Washington and the unique and peculiar project realised by Ice-T and Ron McCurdy to celebrate the memory of Louis Armstrong and reviving Langston Hughes’ work “Ask Your Mama”.

Next to these great characters of the contemporary jazz scene, there’ll also be musicians who have looked outside the indefinable borders of the style to delineate their music.
For example, the Swiss pianist Nik Bärtsch (also member of Mobile and Ronin) will introduce the audience to his ethno-jazz, which draws elements from the some great jazz and avant-garde composers like Chick Corea and John Cage but also from the most folkloric expressions of the Far-East, Balkans and Scandinavia.
Then, the Brazilian visionary percussive talent of Adriano Adewale, who has become a well known figure in the London music scenario thanks to his creative drive, will surely get you feet move and mind blow thanks to its tropical rhythmic eloquentness.
Or again two of the most appealing world-jazz exponents like Manu Katché & Ibrahim Maalouf will give life to a stimulating double-bill concert with Middle-Eastern and Western African scents.

Finally, on the last day of the Festival, the Palestinian singer, musicologist and broadcaster Reem Kelani will close the curtain on the event in an inspiring and though-provoking way, thanks to her social consciousness and Arabic harmonies.

It goes without saying that for ten exciting days there’ll be something to suit everybody’s fancy…
So be ready to forget about your home, because throughout the London Jazz Festival you will return sporadically.