Gent Jazz Festival (11-21 July) announces new names today. Against the backdrop of music centre De Bijloke in Ghent, the summer festival will feature among others Diana Krall, Kurt Elling, Phronesis and Trixie Whitley (high res visuals of artists disposable).
Central guest on Saturday 13 July will be none other than Diana Krall. Not only gifted with a sensual and heartwarming voice, Krall is also widely recognised as one of the leading pianists in contemporary jazz. In 2012 the release of ‘Glad Rag Doll’, one of her best albums so far, was followed by a series of world-class concerts.
A second unique voice on this Special Night: Kurt Elling. This new-generation vocal virtuoso will be introducing his ‘1619 Broadway - The Brill Building Project’; standards with their own identity, original compositions and exceptional improvisations. After 6 albums on the Blue Note label and a live album, Kurt Elling seems to have found the perfect balance between his extraordinary talent and technique on the one hand and the tradition of songbooks and standards on the other. This concert will undoubtedly be a memorable one.
That same night, Phronesis will also take the stage, as part of the Jazz_21 project. Jazz_21 is an initiative of the IJFO (International Jazz Festivals Organization) that offers young and talented musicians the chance to perform at the participating festivals. Jazz_21 provides the perfect opportunity to get a glimpse of the greatest jazz talents of the 21st century, a look into the future if you will, but set in the here and now. The 2013 edition of the Gent Jazz Festival will be all eyes and ears for Phronesis, an exciting piano trio with Scandinavian/British roots, widely acclaimed by the press, inventive in every respect, but at the same characterised by a warm and accessible sound.
On Saturday 20 July we welcome Trixie Whitley. After a few side projects, including the Black Dub project led by Daniel Lanois, the Belgian-American singer is releasing her first solo album ‘Fourth Corner’ on 11 February. Her upcoming club tour was sold out in no time, proving that there is definitely some electricity in the air. Given Whitley’s remarkable previous performances at Gent Jazz with Black Dub and in 2010 with her ‘Special Project’, and her outstanding live reputation, 20 July will most definitely be a night to remember.
As announced earlier, 14 July will be completely dedicated to the sixtieth birthday of John Zorn. Under the title ‘Zorn at 60’, New York jazz scene’s alchemist gathers a host of talented musicians including Mike Patton, Jesse Harris, John Medeski, Marc Ribot, Trevor Dunn, Kenny Wollesen, Joey Baron, Cyro Baptista, Steve Gosling, Jamie Saft and Ikue Mori. We have many more interesting events planned for this day, the details of which will be announced soon.
Tickets are available as of today via www.gentjazz.com and at Fnac stores. Tickets for the 13 July Special Night with Diana Krall and Kurt Elling are available for € 47. A standard day ticket costs € 37. Three-day passes are € 92, full-festival passes € 240. This year we are also introducing gift vouchers, which can be redeemed online for day tickets.
Up until the summer, the Gent Jazz Festival is also putting on a concert once a month at the Gent Jazz Club, a makeshift club at the Belfort City Café (Stadscafé) and Restaurant at the Emile Braunplein in Ghent. On Monday 25 February we present Bugge Wesseltoft Solo.
Programme:
· 25 February: Bugge Wesseltoft Solo
· 18 March: Nasheet Waits ‘Equality’
· 15 April: Bojan Z (solo)
· 6 May: Eric Harland Quintet
Gent Jazz Club:
Belfort City Café (Stadscafé) and Restaurant, Emile Braunplein, Ghent
Tickets: € 12 per concert or € 20 for the next four concerts.
Available via www.gentjazz.com or at Fnac.
