November at B:Music was a celebration of Jazz artists at various stages of their careers, playing in multiple spaces across the venues – beginning the month with a Diwali-inspired performance by award-winning pianist, Rekesh Chauhan, as part of the Free Jazz Friday series of events at Symphony Hall. This performance also enabled an opportunity for B:Music’s B:and Together Indian Classical ensemble to present a 20-minute performance ahead of Rekesh’s set.
Then, ahead of a performance by Pat Metheny at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, as part of his Dreambox/MoonDial World Tour, B:Music was proud to present a performance opportunity for another of the talent development ensembles, B:and Together Jazz. The young musicians were able to share a 30-minute performance, ahead of the show by Pat in the main auditorium, and were then offered free tickets to be able to watch Pat’s performance as well. B:Music has a philosophy of celebrating music from around the corner and around globe, being brought together through a love of music through performance, learning and participation. This recent evening showed the value of that ethos in abundance.
"It's been really rewarding to work more closely with Chris on linking the main programme with our talent development and education activity. The success of our recent events is a testament to the strong symbiotic relationship that our departments are building together. Not only are these opportunities bolstering the progression and confidence of our young talent, but they're also helping our charitable message to reach a wider and more diverse audience. It doesn't get much better than that!" - Katy Minter (Project Officer, B:Music)
Just a week later, B:Music also produced performances by Mica Millar on her headline UK tour (following a storm-affected performance at Mostly Jazz Funk and Soul Festival in 2023), and then to close the month, welcomed Valentina Fin from Italy as part of an artist development programme with the team at I-Jazz. Valentina and the band came to Birmingham for a performance as part of the ongoing Free Jazz Friday series of performances, playing and 80-minute set to a loyal and captive audience.
"It felt like a full circle moment for me to present our recent Free Jazz Friday in partnership with I-Jazz, having recently participated in the European Jazz Network General Assembly in Ghent. We're extremely grateful to be part of such a thriving network of likeminded organisations, such as I-Jazz, who are focused on nurturing young talent in the industry. Our audience were captivated by the performance and relished the opportunity to see musicians from outside of the UK on one of our stages!” - Katy Minter (Project Officer, B:Music)
“We’re delighted to have partnered up with Giulia and the team at I-Jazz to be a part of their artist development programme, by recently presenting Valentina Fin as part of our long-standing Free Jazz Friday programme of events. We hope that this will be the start of a longer-term relationship with I-Jazz, and the invitation for other EJN partners to bring artists to the UK as part of this series is very much extended” Chris Proctor (Head of Programme, B:Music)
Photo: B:and Together Jazz pre-show - (c) Trevor Bailey
