B:Music announces full B:JazzFest line-up

B:Music, the music charity responsible for Town Hall and Symphony Hall is delighted to announce the full line-up for B:JazzFest, which will take place from Monday 7 to Friday 11 August. Following on from the success of the festival over the last two years, the week of music will showcase an array of genres and includes performances from international touring artists to rising stars.

With a range of guest tutors in the city for this year's B:Music Summer School, B:JazzFest will allow audiences to enjoy free and low-cost performances on stage at Symphony Hall and in Symphony Hall’s Jennifer Blackwell Performance Space and B:Eats. Alongside B:JazzFest, the B:Music Summer School returns in August, as Symphony Hall opens its doors once again to young musicians from Birmingham and the surrounding areas.

This year’s free, non-residential course will run from Monday 7 to Friday 11 August for young people aged between 11 and 19. Combining the Summer School with the Festival means that B:Music can offer the chance for the young musicians to see and hear some of the best jazz talent in action, as well as learning alongside them.

B:JazzFest will present a series of live concerts at Symphony Hall over five days in August. The artists announced for this year’s festival include headline shows from multi award-winning composer, conductor and improvisor Olivia Murphy with her jazz orchestra- an ensemble of twenty of the most exciting emerging improvisers and musicians from both the London and Birmingham creative music scenes (Wednesday 9 August), and Birmingham’s very own drummer, composer and producer Romarna Campbell with her trio CHAOS (Thursday 10 August).

The week-long celebration of jazz reflects the breadth that B:Music offers, giving a platform to early-career jazz musicians alongside international stars. This third annual festival will bring an array of exciting talent from the local, national and international jazz scenes to audiences in Birmingham with an exciting programme of live music.

The Festival will not only to support the rich and diverse jazz ecosystem in the city but will also to work with a range of industry professionals that help to create exceptional opportunities to experience live music. This year’s programme will take the audience through a diverse spectrum of jazz.

In the spirit of community and opportunity, the festival opens with a free concert from Juliane Deil, an artist who applied to perform at B:JazzFest through the open call for artists. Juliane is a Birmingham-based jazz pianist who recently took part in B:Music’s all-female talent development programme RISE UP.

International jazz artists such as Zambian-Scottish singer Gabriella Liandu and Australian-born singer Nishla Smith will be performing at B:JazzFest for the first time, and there is a welcome return of local superstar drummer Romarna Campbell in a concert which sees Romarna join forces with Mutale Chashi on electric bass and Cenk Essen on keys and piano to form their trio CHAOS.

The concert on the final evening of the Festival by K.O.G Sound System will provide something entirely different for B:JazzFest audiences. K.O.G is a multi-dimensional creative force, combining exquisite writing skills with shamanistic live performance, fierce raps, perfectly on pitch singing across a massive vocal range and some memorable dance moves.

Additional acts lined up for the August programme include British musician, trumpeter, and flugelhorn player Charlotte Keeffe with her Right Here, Right Now Quartet. Also performing will be Shanty Town: A tribute to Ruth Kokumo Noah, David Ijaduola's Lucumi Project, alto and tenor saxophone player Claudia Canessa, and renowned innovator of modern IndoJazz Arun Ghosh.

Full B:JazzFest programme: