EFG London Jazz Festival 2020 pronounced “a phenomenal success”.

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

The 2020 EFG London Jazz Festival, a digital only event that presented 129 exclusive streams involving more than 700 artists, has been hailed as "a phenomenal success". Press release attached.

We have received the following press release;

The EFG London Jazz Festival 2020, that ended yesterday, November 22nd, was heralded a phenomenal success  

‘For the Festival to be happening this year is an amazing achievement. The ten-day show goes on, and it’s found a way to turn the situation into a positive’ 
(Radio Times) 

Two weeks ahead of the Festival we transformed ourselves into a fully digital event, with 129 exclusive streams involving more than 700 artists shown to an audience of hundreds of thousands watching online, expanding our audience to every corner of Britain and right across the globe. 

‘This year we were connected to the artists, audiences, supporters and our wonderful musical community in a different way, and we are grateful to everyone who has been a part of this digital journey. From the joy of the artists being able to perform together after such a long time, to warm comments from the music scene and our global audiences, the Festival was surrounded with positivity. We are ecstatic for being able to find a way to channel the artists’ exquisite music, ideas and inspiring visions once again.  Jazz is the sound of resilience and we continue to learn from it, be amazed by it.’
(Pelin Opcin, Director, EFG London Jazz Festival)

We were thrilled that artists, audiences, venues and all our partners supported the Festival through this most turbulent year.  Our thanks to our title sponsor EFG Private Banking, and Arts Council England as well as to PRS Foundation, Edwardian Hotels, ABRSM, Help Musicians UK and Champagne Thiénot. 
Their support in hard times has been phenomenal, and we look forward to continuing to work together far into the future.  This year, it’s truer than ever to say ‘we couldn’t have done this without you’.  Thank you.

The huge increase in digital streaming led us to seek out experts in the field to support our plans, and we were delighted to partner with MixcloudLive, showing exclusive streams from our ground-breaking new music series Between The Lines, and more. The whole programme will live at efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk/mixcloud

We continued our media partnerships with BBC Radio 3, Jazz FM and Jazzwise, who backed us with extensive coverage, cross-posted digital content, and live-broadcasted Festival events.  It was great to see such a major programme of films and specially created content on BBC TV, BBC Sounds and iPlayer including a special version of Jazz 625 hosted by Jamz Supernova and Moses Boyd, a film of South African cellist Abel Selaocoe and the final of the BBC Young Jazz Musician competition.  The broadcasts all live at http://www.efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk/broadcast 

The EFG Elements Series featured four spectacular shows: Cassie Kinoshi’s SEED Ensemble celebrating Pharoah Sanders’ phenomenal oeuvre, special films of Kansas Smitty’s and Judi Jackson, with our opening gala Jazz Voice completing the selection.  Jazz Voice itself saw a huge audience of over 58,000 viewers, with over 40% of views coming from outside the UK – demonstrating the most positive aspect of the current situation; the ability to take our Festival productions out to a global audience.

‘The Jazz Voice finale served up Bill Withers’ Lean On Me - a statement from the heart, whose message of connectedness and community – not to mention the consoling power of music – resonated deeply. 
(★★★★☆ The Arts Desk)

The international jazz scene was highlighted with special performances by Tigran Hamasyan, Linda May Han Oh, Emile Parisien & Vincent Peirani and exciting musical discoveries from Switzerland, Lithuania, Sweden and a psychedelic Turkish event, featuring special names Moğollar, Baba ZuLa, Islandman and Ilhan Ersahin’s Istanbul Sessions.

The buzzing UK jazz scene was at the core of the festival with performances from Shabaka Hutchings, Emma-Jean Thackray, Ashley Henry, Nikki Yeoh, Bill Laurance, Rosie Turton, Sarathy Korwar, Camilla George, Tenderlonious and many more. 

This work was illuminated by a series of talks: ARTicle 10: Conversations in the era of Black Lives Matter, (referring to Article 10 of the Human Rights Act: “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression”), that ‘provided a platform to discuss pressing issues such as racial inequality and the legacy of colonialism in light of the many marches and protests that have marked 2020. Given the longstanding engagement of improvising musicians with socio-political matters this debate was entirely pertinent. The informative and inspiring speakers, sharing African-American and Black British perspectives, gave us much to think about, and more importantly, every reason to turn constructive intention into effective action.’ (Kevin Le Gendre, Curator & Host)

The Festival ran a dedicated digital showcase of artists from Serious’ Take Five talent development programme. Take Five Presents featured online performances from some of the most exciting emerging artists from across the UK; you can catch them all on our dedicated YouTube playlist.

The iconic Church of Sound returned to the festival with Gary Crosby’s Groundation with Nathaniel Facey, Shirley Tetteh and Moses Boyd, in celebration of Charlie Parker’s Songbook on his 100th birthday

We worked with Kings Place to deliver an impressive programme of young British artists including Dinosaur, Binker Golding, and Yazz Ahmed.  London’s jazz clubs rose to the Festival occasion in their usual creative fashion, enabling audiences right across the world to enjoy the unique London vibe.

The Festival created new performances in Jazz Yoga, a special event where online audiences experienced award-winning multi-instrumentalist Shri Sriram playing live with yoga teacher Constanza Ruff.  British performance artist GAIKA, with Azekel & Miink, presented PALATIUM: a new show that folds Black visionaries into contemporary electronics and sets the results against a backdrop of experimental film.

‘The EFG London Jazz Festival has really pulled together something amazing to keep this music alive, and to keep us being creative and keep the community together.  That’s something I’ve just been so grateful for since the beginning of the pandemic – these kind of angels – these people who’ve really pulled together to make it possible’ 
(Linda Oh on BBC 6Music Cerys Matthews)

EFG also helped us to create a digital exhibition space that will be a resource for Serious and the Festival in years to come.  Looking at the history of album cover design between the US and the UK, Esquire Cover Club was edited by John Fordham around the collection of Stefano Wagner, and features contributions by Ralph Steadman and Val Wilmer.  The exhibition will be online at http://www.esquirecover.club into 2021.

This year, the Festival worked with over 300 music industry professionals, including venue staff and freelance production and technical staff, ranging from stage managers to camera operators, sound engineers to video editors. We also engaged with many creatives working in film, including teams from BBC Studios and Three Shades Creative. We continued to work closely with our crucial production suppliers who’ve had all of our PA, backline and crew needs covered as ever! 

You can watch selected EFG London Jazz Festival concerts and events for free on our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/Londonjazzfestival
and website http://www.efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk

The next EFG London Jazz Festival will run from Friday 12 to Sunday 21 November 2021.

The EFG London Jazz Festival is one of the landmark jazz events in the UK, joining up the immense cultural map of London, bringing music from world class creators and emerging artists, celebrating the cultural diversity surrounding jazz and its related genres, producing new work and building synergy with the other cultural driving forces in the jazz scene. 
http://www.efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk

Serious also produces a year-round programme of major concerts, festivals and national and international tours, learning and participation and talent development programmes, as well as specially commissioned bespoke events. Parallel to this it has established a registered charity, Serious Trust, to fundraise and support the next generation of artists and audiences through its artist development, learning and participation and commissioning programmes. 
http://www.serious.org.uk

EFG International is a global private banking group offering private banking and asset management services and is headquartered in Zurich. EFG International’s group of private banking businesses operates in around 40 locations worldwide. Its registered shares (EFGN) are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange.
http://www.efginternational.com