Instytut Polski w Londynie

4.10.2024 - 5.10.2024 Events, Music

A new festival and two-day celebration of great jazz singers whose abundant vocal excellence will be on display at Jazz Café POSK during the weekend of the 4th and 5th of October! Headline acts include Norma Winstone, Emma Smith & Alice Zawadzki. Supported by the Polish Cultural Institute London

4 & 5th October 2024, music from 8pm on each night, Jazz Cafe POSK

Check out the programme for each day of the festival below

Day 1 – Friday 4th October, Bar 7 pm / music 8 pm:

THE POSK FESTIVAL OF JAZZ VOICE! Day 1: “Polish Jazz Voices Spotlight”; Alice Zawadzki Jazz Trio; Norma Winstone Quartet “Inspirations…”

Tickets £15 on the door and Eventbrite:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-posk-festival-of-jazz-voice-day-one-tickets-966410117677

Set 1: Polish Jazz Voices Spotlight!

Set 2: Alice Zawadzki Jazz Trio

Set 3: Norma Winstone Quartet: “Inspirations…”

SET 1 (8 pm): “POLISH JAZZ VOICES SPOTLIGHT!”:

Seven stand out Polish vocal talents residing in London will sing their favourite jazz standards! During this exciting set we will hear: Marta Mathea Radwan, Marta Gornitzka, Anita Łazińska, Marta Carillon, Agata Kubiak, Magdalena Supel and Małgorzata Janek!

The vocalists will be accompanied by an international trio of excellent musicians: John Crawford on piano, Jakub Cywiński on double bass and Lester Ridout on drums!

SET 2 (9:10 pm): ALICE ZAWADZKI JAZZ TRIO!

In a performance that promises to enchant, the award-winning singer, violinist and songwriter Alice Zawadzki returns to POSK with a new trio of exceptional musicians, pianist Bruno Heinen, and bassist Tom Mason. Described by MOJO magazine as “something of a phenomenon“, Alice’s musical style has always been hard to categorise, but at its core lies a devotion to the art of storytelling, embracing the listener, and luminosity of sound. An early immersion in New Orleans jazz and gospel, her classical training as a violinist, and her constant exploration of improvised and roots music, inform a unique style and heartfelt performances, with Jazzwise Magazine declaring that “her lustrous vocal range is the real live deal. A commanding, intense performer.“

“Zawadzki’s talent is bursting at the seams. An exceptional, world-class singer” – Written in Music (Netherlands)

Line up: Alice Zawadzki – vocal, violin; Bruno Heinen – piano; Tom Mason – double bass

Video 1: (“Nobody’s Fault but Mone” – Live Session for Jazz FM): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WqXkNQGGBk

SET 3 (10 pm): NORMA WINSTONE QUARTET – “INSPIRATIONS…”

The iconic jazz artist Norma Winstone prepared a very special set for the festival… it’s called “Inspirations…”, and as the Artist herself says, this will be a set influenced by “singers and their songs that have inspired my love of music. Songs that are not usually included in my programmes…”! Get ready for a rare treat indeed!!

Widely considered one of the best jazz artists in the world, Norma Winstone has a long relationship with the music of Kenny Wheeler and John Taylor and their recordings as Azimuth on ECM in the 1970s and 80s were groundbreaking. She has been at the forefront of vocal jazz for many years and recorded several albums for ECM with her European trio (one of which was nominated for a Grammy). She was awarded an MBE in 2007.

Line up: Norma Winstone – vocals; Nikki Iles – piano; Mark Lockheart – saxophones; Steve Watts – double bass

“One of the Glories of contemporary Jazz” – Jazz Journal

“Right now, she is at the peak of her form… there is no jazz singer in the country to touch her” – Alyn Shipton, The Times, London

“It is unlikely that there is a better jazz singer than Miss Winstone. She has none of the histrionics which mar so much of the work of her contemporaries, and one is left with tasteful ideas, expressed in pure musical form” – Steve Voce, Jersey Evening Post

“.. a superb example of state-of-the-art, imaginative, virtually beyond-definition singing” – Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times

Video 1 (“Timeless Place”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6seXOCwrlc

Video 2 (“Distances”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSybigsUjTs

More information about the artists here:

Norma Winstone: www.normawinstone.com

Nikki Iles: www.nikkiiles.co.uk

Mark Lockheart: www.marklockheart.co.uk

Steve Watts: www.trinitylaban.ac.uk/study/teaching-staff/steve-watts/

Alice Zawadzki: www.alicezmusic.com

Bruno Heinen: www.brunoheinen.com

Tom Mason: www.tommasonbass.com

Marta Mathea Radwan: www.mmradwan.com

Marta Gornitzka: www.martagornitzka.wordpress.com

Anita Łazińska: www.instagram.com/anitalazinska

Marta Carillon: www.martacarillon.com

Agata Kubiak: www.agatakubiak.com

Magdalena Supel: @magsuofficial

Małgorzata Janek: www.instagram.com/gosiajanini/

John Crawford: www.johncrawfordpiano.com

Jakub Cywinski: www.instagram.com/jakubcyw/

Lester Ridout: www.instagram.com/lesterridout/

Day 2 – Saturday 5 October, Bar 7 pm / music 8 pm:

THE POSK FESTIVAL OF JAZZ VOICE! Day 2: Rouhangeze; Sam Merrick, Heidi Vogel; Emma Smith Quartet!

Tickets £15 on the door and Eventbrite:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-posk-festival-of-jazz-voice-day-two-tickets-966427559847

Set 1: Rouhangeze with Tomasz Bura on piano (duo performance)

Set 2: Sam Merrick with Jazz Trio

Set 3: Heidi Vogel with Jazz Trio

Set 4: Emma Smith Quartet

SET 1 (8 pm): ROUHANGEZE with Tomasz Bura on piano (duo performance)!

Rouhangeze is a contemporary singer-songwriter born and bred on the beautiful, all intoxicating island of Mauritius; her velvet vocal tones echo the emotion and beauty of her homeland. Her voice is compelling with an ease, soul, and versatility.

A smooth ascension of melody, technicality, and heart…Her timing in delivery of phrases brings about such a resolute feeling of joy to the listener. Charged with a passionate heart, every nuance articulates a dynamic story, grabbing your attention in wanting to hear where she takes you next…

“Rouhangeze is a phenomenal vocalist (…) Her vocal abilities and incredible vocal range are breathtaking…” – Eric Appapoulay – SONY (Award Winning producer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist, singer songwriter)

Video 1 (Rouhangeze & Tomasz “Signs”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmL1aCu3SWQ

SET 2 (8:40 pm): SAM MERRICK with Jazz Trio!

Fresh from touring across Europe, British jazz singer, Sam Merrick presents a set of his favourite standards from the great American songbook and beyond, paying homage to writers of this timeless music including the likes Hoagy Carmichael, Richard Rogers, Leonard Bernstein and more!

Sam Merrick is a singer of ever-growing repute. Having had the privilege of sharing the stage and performing with some of the top names in Jazz, he now performs internationally, pleasing audiences far and wide with the likes of The Nick Ross Orchestra, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra, the award-winning pianist, Jef Neve & other projects on the London, UK & European Circuits.

“Superbly seductive singing” – Daily Echo

Sam will be accompanied by an international trio of excellent musicians: John Turville on piano, Jakub Cywiński on double bass and Lester Ridout on drums!

Video 1 (“The Nearness of You” – live): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bYTR89NHzc

SET 3 (9:20 pm): HEIDI VOGEL with Jazz Trio!

Heidi Vogel, vocalist with The Cinematic Orchestra and a singer and songwriter on her own rights, performed around the world from The Sydney Opera House to Fuji Rock and Headlining Montreux Jazz festival with Quincy Jones in attendance. Heidi was a soloist at the 2019 Proms at the Royal Albert Hall for The Sacred Music of Duke Ellington. She has headlined her own shows at clubs such as Ronnie Scott’s, and performed in Bobby McFerrin’s Choir at Jazz a Vienne. Tonight, at Jazz Café POSK, with the trio of the superb musicians (John Turville on piano, Jakub Cywiński on double bass and Lester Ridout on drums), she will present a mix of her all-time favourites jazz standards!

“…Surely one of the great jazz voices of modern times…” – Vamos London

“…She’s got an extraordinary voice….an incredible range to her voice and such a texture to it as well. You’ll really enjoy the album, keep an eye out for Heidi Vogel” – Jamie Cullum (BBC Radio 2)

“…Vogel’s extraordinarily rich and complex vocal timbre proved capable of completely seducing the senses… such that she can lift the soul while simultaneously breaking your heart” – The Arts Desk

Video 1 (“Midnight Sun”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jdc-OuFBl0w

SET 4 (10 pm): EMMA SMITH QUARTET!

Emma Smith’s star is on the ascendant. With diverse and extensive experience performing everywhere from the 02 Arena to the leading jazz clubs of New York City, collaborating and recording with the likes of Michael Bublé, Robbie Williams, Georgie Fame and Seal along the way, Emma Smith has created a formidable reputation as a powerful and expressive artist in UK jazz. Now with her first new solo album in 10 years, Emma Smith is set to make an indelible mark on the European and international musical landscape, by showcasing a body of work that perfectly demonstrates her prowess as a rising star with one of the very best voices in the business!

Line up: Emma Smith – vocal; Jamie Safir – piano; Joseph Lee – bass; Luke Tomlison – drums

Video 1 (“One Week”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jzfhpw08i8

Video 2 (“Love Song” – The Cure cover): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymt_cBfCjZM

Video 3 (“In the Still of the Night”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY3gOQKppv0&t=1s

Video 4 (“I Get a Kick out of You”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH_TgELofTg