With three weeks to kick-off the final line-up of the 2011 Mostly Jazz Festival has been revealed.
Booker T
Headliners are Booker T, Matthew Herbert Big Band and the Cinematic Orchestra who will all due to perform in Birmingham’s Moseley Park on the weekend of 1st-3rd July 2011.
Friday sees The Cinematic Orchestra topping the bill with their only UK performance. Live jazz improvisation and electronic sound has been the hallmark of the band since their formation and as well as a string of successful albums, their music has been widely used for TV credits and adverts.
On Saturday the Matthew Herbert Big Band top the bill. A consummate experimenter and a man of endless talents, Matthew brings big band jazz up to date utilising electronic equipment and sampling everyday objects.
Finally, Sunday will see Grammy Award winning, Booker T closing the festival. Listening to Green Onions and Soul Limbo out in the open air will surely be the highlight of this or any other year.
BBC Radio DJs Craig Charles and Gilles Peterson will also be performing. On Friday, Gilles will be introducing some of his favourite contemporary acts including soulful songstress Alice Russell, German minimalist electronic jazz trio Brandt Brauer Frick and the instrumentals of Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra. Sunday will be transformed into the Craig Charles Funk & Soul Club. Craig will be bringing along Smoove & Turrell for their first live band performance in Birmingham and the modern Afrobeat of the Ariya Astrobeat Arkestra.
There will also be Main Stage performances from Pigbag, Dele Sosimi, Brassroots, Milestones playing Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue in full, Hidden Orchestra, Manouche, Andy Hamilton & the Bluenotes, Matthew Halsall and Beats & Pieces Big Band. Elsewhere at the festival the likes of Oya Batucada, Atlantic Players, Sara Colman Quintet, Lluis Mather & Noose, Levi French Trio and Steve Tromans Debop Band will be pleasing the crowds.
Once again there will be two stages side by side at the festival, the second of which will feature up and coming talent. As in 2010, Birmingham Jazz and city centre bar the Yardbird will be helping to curate the second stage. Taking the reins on Friday will be Gilles Peterson’s favourite Birmingham promoters Leftfoot, who have curated both stages.
There will also be after-show parties hosted by Gilles Peterson (Friday), Matthew Herbert (Saturday) & Craig Charles (Sunday). Tickets for these are exclusively available to festival ticket holders online at www.mostlyjazz.co.uk or at the festival itself!