Gent Jazz Festival announces new names today. Gregory Porter, Snarky Puppy and GoGo Penguin are on the programme for 18 July. The Garden Stage, the festival's second stage, is that day being taken over by BRRZVLL feat. Anthony Joseph and STUFF.
Gregory Porter is one of the world's greatest contemporary vocalists, having mastered songsmanship like no other. Porter unmistakably creates jazz, yet his music just as much exudes the accomplished gospel and soul of legends such as Marvin Gaye and Bill Withers. His performance at the Ghent Jazz Festival is the ideal run-up to the long-awaited release of his new album later this year.
Snarky Puppy has garnered a cast-iron reputation worldwide. Through clinics, workshops and masterclasses, the group members retain the underground feel, intensely spread their love for music, and inspire a young generation. With a multi-faceted blend of raw funk, soul, jazz and R&B, in many respects Snarky Puppy has found the ideal balance, which the Brooklyn band itself calls 'music for the brain and booty'.
The Brits of GoGoPenguin are known as rising stars in the international jazz scene, and their future jazz proves the genre always manages to reinvent itself. The trio eagerly draws inspiration from both electronica and minimalistic and classical compositions.
There are two Belgian bands scheduled for the Garden Stage. BRZZVLL, one-time winner of the Gent Jazz Festival youth competition, is performing an infectious mix of grooves, jazz, fusion and afrobeat with British poet/musician Anthony Joseph. STUFF., the young instrumental improvisation collective around drummer Lander Gyselinck, is unleashing its long-awaited début onto the world in March, and is already tipped as the revelation of 2015. Their enthralling funk jazz with a wealth of electronica and hip-hop references should conclude the festival day on 18 July in style.
Gent Jazz Festival previously announced the arrival of Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga. They are performing on 12 July, with Stéphane Belmondo Trio and Bill Charlap Trio also appearing that day. More names for the Gent Jazz Festival will be made known later.
Tickets & info: www.gentjazz.com
