With 11 years in the game, the JZ Festival has consistently been one of the city’s top music events. Sprawling over several stages at picturesque Expo Park, it’s a celebration of jazz in all its different forms. We break down all the highlights from the headliners to a few ascending acts to keep an eye out for. Full schedule is below and for more, check out our interview with JZ Founder Ren Yuqing and our feature on how JZ is leading Shanghai's second jazz age.
Headliners
Joss Stone
The powerhouse British singer rocketed to fame as a teenager with her bluesy debut album, The Soul Sessions. The Grammy Award winner remains popular and released her seventh album, Water For Your Soul this year. Inspired by her time in the sugergroup SuperHeavy with Mick Jagger, Damian Marley and Dave Stewart, the album incorporates a variety of sounds from classic reggae to Irish fiddles.
// Oct 17, 7.30-9pm, Master Hall.
// Oct 18, 8-9.30pm, The River.
The Earth, Wind and Fire Experience, featuring Al McKay All-Stars
So the first issue to address is the name. Earth, Wind and Fire are giants in soul incorporating everything from funk to Latin in their sound. The group which formed in 1969 has had a floating line-up, which featured guitarist Al McKay during its classic mid-1970s period. Now, McKay has struck out on his own traveling with a 13-piece band and slaying crowds around the world with renditions of Earth, Wind and Fire classics like 'Boogie Wonderland' and 'Shining Star.'
// Oct 17, 8-9.30pm, The River Stage.
// Oct 18, 7.30-9pm, Master Hall Stage.
Victor Wooten
Best known for being part of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Wooten was the first person to win Bass Player Magazine's Bass Player of the Year more than once. The five-time Grammy Award winner is considered a bass legend with a signature style that includes his trademark open-hammer-pluck technique.
// Oct 17, 5-6pm, Master Hall.
// Oct 18, 6-7.30pm, The River.
Dee Dee Bridgewater
The three-time Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter has performed with jazz giants like Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gilespie and Dexter Gordon. She won a Tony Award for her role in 1975's The Wiz and picked up her latest Grammy in 2010 for her tribute album to Billie Holliday. She's been a longtime friend to the JZ Festival, opening up the 2009 festivities and also performing at the upcoming inaugural JZ Festival Guangzhou.
// Oct 17, 4-5pm. Jazz Café.
// Oct 17, 6-7pm. The River Stage.
// Oct 18, 5-6pm. Master Hall Stage.
Other Highlights
Lord Echo
The New Zealand producer and multi-instrumentalist specializes in "boogie-laced funk, disco-primed reggae, futurisitc soul and timeless African rhythms."
// Oct 17, 8.30-10pm. Earth Lounge
// Oct 18, 6.30-7.30pm. JZ Club Stage.
J-Fever & Soulspeak
J-Fever is one of the country's most respected MCs and Soulspeak has toured the world with his WordySoulspeak project with DJ Wordy. These two Beijing hip hop mainstays have found a sweet chemistry since linking up a couple years ago. They just released their second collaborative album, Color Blind, on Douban's new D-Force label and had a ripping set at last month's Echo Park Festival.
// Oct 17, 7-8pm. Earth Lounge
Long Arm
The St. Petersburg multi-instrumentalist and producer is one of the heavyweights in the contemporary electronic jazz scene, frequently drawing comparisons to Flying Lotus (coming to QSW Culture Center on Nov 26). He'll be building his set through different synths and other acoustic instruments mixed live and backed by drummer Ruslan Gadzhimuradov.
// Oct 17, 5.30-6.30pm. Earth Lounge.
Shunza & the Red Groove Project
The multi-lingual singer-songwriter is known for her "velvet" voice and love ballads. In an intriguing match, the Golden Melody Awards winner will be backed by Shanghai-based 10-piece funk favorites Red Groove Project.
// Oct 18, 4.30-5.30pm. The River.
Charles Pasi
The young French singer is known for mixing modern jazz and blues, while blowing on his trademark harmonica. He makes his JZ Festival debut as part of a cultural exchange that sent singer Coco Zhao to Europe this summer for a festival appearance. Catch Pasi's set at JZ Club on October 19.
// Oct 18, 5.30-6.30pm. Earth Lounge.
Schedule
Oct 17
Master Hall Stage
7.30-9pm: Joss Stone
5-6pm: Victor Wooten
2.30-3.30pm: Tia Ray
The River
8-9.30pm: The Earth Wind & Fire Experience, featuring Al McKay Allstars
6-7.30pm: Dee Dee Bridgewater
4.30-5.30pm: Crowd Lu
3-4pm: Isabelle Huang
1.30-2.30pm: The Verse
Blue Grass
8-9pm: Yannick Rieu Quartet ‘When Jazz Met China’
6.30-7.30pm: Yves Léveillé Quintet – ‘Essences des Bois’
5-6pm: Shangyin Trio & Special Guest Brian Hurley
3.30-4.30pm: Jacques Kuba Séguin ‘Litania Projekt’
2-3pm: Marianne Trudel Trio ‘Trifolia’
Earth Lounge
8.30-10pm: Lord Echo
7-8pm: J-Fever & Soulspeak
5.30-6.30pm: Long Arm
4-5pm: TtechMak
2.30-3.30pm: Running Blue
1-2pm: Antonio Serrano and Josemi Carmona
Jazz Café
4-5pm: Dee Dee Bridgewater
2.30-3.30pm: Crowd Lu
Oct 18
Master Hall Stage
7.30-9pm: The Earth Wind & Fire Experience, featuring Al McKay Allstars
5-6pm: Dee Dee Bridgewater
2.30-3.30pm: Chang Shilei
The River
8-9.30pm: Joss Stone
6-7.30pm: Victor Wooten
4.30-5.30pm: Shunza & the Red Groove Project
3-4pm: Gao Funk & E-Eleven
1.30-2.30pm: Project Ace
Blue Grass
8-9pm: Drums United
6.30-7.30pm: RTM
5-6pm: Asaf Sirkis Trio
3.30-4.30pm: Mario Trane Quintet
2-3pm: Ya! Voices
Earth Lounge
8.30-10pm: JZ Latin Project
7-8pm: Noukilla
5.30-6.30pm: Charles Pasi
4-5pm: Tinho’s Band
2.30-3.30pm: Redic & the Storm Riders
1-2pm: Luo Ning Latin Jazz Band
Jazz Café
4-5pm: Victor Wooten
2.30-3.30pm: Shunza & Lawrence Ku
JZ Club Stage
6.30-7.30pm: Lord Echo
4-5pm: Sebastian Schunke “Berlin Quartet”
1.30-2.30pm: Jonas Seetoh
// Oct 17-18, 2-11pm, RMB180-230 per day. Expo Park, tickets. See event listing.
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