The Ipswich Jazz Festival will be returning in its third year this summer and will feature top jazz acts, alongside pub performances, music and dance workshops and other events, from the 22nd to the 24th of June. Jazz gigs on 24th June, Sunday, are free events, to be held at the Arbor House and the Duke of York. Details have been announced for the festival that will feature top local and international acts.
On 22nd June, Friday, Rumba de Bodas will be headlining with a performance at St Peter’s by the Waterfront. On 23rd June, Saturday, Ian Shaw, singer and pianist, will perform and be joined by leading saxophonists, Vasilis Xenopoulos, Branden Allen and also Chris Ingham. A specially commissioned piece of music for the festival will be presented. There will be also a performance by the South Suffolk Youth Jazz Ensemble.
The headliners on 24th June, Sunday, will be singers Charlie Wood and Jacqui Dankworth. The jazz weekend will have the involvement of the community, with workshops on guitar, drums and for singers. Ipswich Town Hall will host a jazz exhibition. A photography workshop will be led by John Watson. Other events include jazz movies showing at Ipswich Film Theatre and a lecture on the history of genre by Martin Hathway, at the Ipswich Institute.
Neil Bateman, the festival’s organiser, is glad to have attracted superb artists and to be working with local bodies with so many different events. The festival is supported by a grant awarded by the Arts Council of England, with sponsorship from Music World and the Coes of Ipswich, that will keep costs down and help sell reduced price tickets.
Bryony Rudkin, the deputy leader of Ipswich Borough Council, said it’s great to have the festival back with a diverse, exciting line up by Neil Bateman again and it’s sure to be a great success. Tickets are now available by phone at 01473-295900, or at the website of Wolsey Theatre (www.wolseytheatre.co.uk).
