Yasuaki Shimizu, Maarja Nuut, Soweto Kinch and a cast of leading Japanese ensembles feature in a newly announced second wave of Barbican shows for this year’s EFG London Jazz Festival.
At the centre is Jazz at Peter Cat (21 November), an evening loosely modelled on Haruki Murakami’s Tokyo club of the same name. With Junko Onishi Trio, Sachi Hayasaka/TReS and Yoshio Suzuki’s The Blend among those involved, the concert revisits American jazz through a distinctly Japanese lens, alongside original work. Murakami himself will not appear, but has given his blessing.
Elsewhere, saxophonist Yasuaki Shimizu figures in a rare UK appearance (15 November), performing with Mieko Shimizu in a programme spanning a near 50-year career that has moved easily between pop, film and the avant-garde.
A new large-scale work from Estonian singer and violinist Maarja Nuut (17 November), created with Shards and percussionist Nicolas Stocker, explores text, memory and texture across voice, electronics and ensemble writing.
The announcement also confirms Soweto Kinch’s return to the Barbican Hall (19 November), revisiting his trilogy with the London Symphony Orchestra, drawing together The Black Peril, White Juju [reviewed above] and Soundtrack to the Apocalypse.
Now in its 34th year, the festival runs from 13-22 November across more than 60 London venues.
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