From the US to Palestine and beyond, improvised music from around the world finds a home in London
The EFG London Jazz Festival 2024 is set to take over more than 350 venues, forging connections between a worldwide lineup of acclaimed artists
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Every November, London turns into a haven for improvised music. As part of the 10-day EFG London Jazz Festival 2024, acts from around the world are preparing to descend on more than 60 venues across the capital, from the prestigious concert halls of the Barbican and Southbank Centre to sweaty basement clubs in Hackney and Soho.
Launched in 1992, the event has hosted a diverse and dazzling roster of names, including the South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, UK South Asian fusionist Nitin Sawhney and US pioneers such as Herbie Hancock, Pharoah Sanders and Ornette Coleman.
The festival will celebrate its 32nd edition with more than 350 shows, offering up international headliners such as guitarist Pat Metheny, trumpeter Charles Tolliver and singer Dianne Reeves, as well as an array of homegrown talent including saxophonists Emma Rawicz and Courtney Pine, and trumpeter Mark Kavuma. The 2024 lineup stands out, however, for pushing the event’s remit further afield than ever before.
“Each year as the festival progresses, we find ourselves programming acts from countries and traditions we haven’t highlighted before,” says director of programming Pelin Opcin. “We’re bringing these varied interpretations of jazz into the core of the festival, since improvised music has a history of making a home in so many different cultures. We don’t play by the industry rules of genre separation — it’s all just excellent music to us.”
One strand of jazz history being paid particular attention is the vibrant improvisation scene that sprang up in South Africa in the 30 years since the abolition of apartheid. Among the many highlights are acapella group The Joy, the explosive, free jazz drumming of Asher Gamedze and the avant-garde piano work of Thandi Ntuli and Bokani Dyer.
Opcin talks enthusiastically about the way South African artists are “exploring their country’s musical heritage and social change alongside jazz tradition to produce music rich with tension and joy”.
“It’s exciting artistry that is already taking the world by storm and we’re very happy to highlight it here,” she says.
Continuing the theme of global music born of struggle, the 2024 roster also features a number of Palestinian acts, from ney flute master Faris Ishaq to pianist Faraj Suleiman. For Ishaq, whose instrument dates back to Ancient Egypt, this will be his third performance at the festival, presenting a new project titled Kham.
“Kham means ‘raw’ in Arabic and it’s inspired by the ney’s raw material which is sugarcane,” he says. “The project is an effort to preserve Palestinian culture by showcasing the ney through a repertoire of traditional Palestinian shepherds’ music, as well as through improvisation. It’s celebrating our heritage and showcasing how diverse we can be as people.”
Blending the Palestinian tradition of ney music with varied instrumentation including harp, West African talking drums and voice, Ishaq sees his cross-cultural blend as a good example of what makes modern jazz special.
“Jazz is a platform that welcomes any culture, since it has been developed through so many different traditions,” he says. “I’m just bringing another sound to that long lineage.”
While Ishaq’s performance directly engages with the African heritage of jazz, other global artists are taking a different approach. For some listeners, Turkish singer Melike Şahin’s two albums, Merhem (2021) and Akkor (2024), may play as a modern take on Anatolian psychedelia and pop. She, however, sees her headlining UK debut at Earth Hackney on 24 November as a perfect fit.
“Jazz is all about musicians trying to invent their own style and language and I embrace that journeying sense in my work,” she says. “It’s also a method of creating your sound live every night and that’s a challenge I relish. My shows are always like a phoenix rising from the ashes, making something new each time.”
Ultimately, Opcin sees the future of the EFG London Jazz Festival as an ever-expanding platform for new interpretations of what improvisation means.
“Jazz is owned by everyone across the world, so we’re completely right to reflect that in our festival,” she says. “Over the 10 days of the festival itself, it’s all about audiences being around like-minded people to connect through different sounds. It’s not just a night out, it’s a genuinely exciting way to discover new music and maybe even find a new community.”
EFG London Jazz Festival takes place in venues across London from 15 to 24 November
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