New faces for Birmingham in 2008

The 24th Birmingham International Jazz Festival (July 4-13) is based on the same principle that has worked so well for many a year: events (at least 150 this year) all across the city and its surrounds, nearly all of them free of charge, with locations ranging from the conventional to the downright unpredictable, with jazz musicians playing in a variety of settings in 3 or 4 day residencies.

This year’s Birmingham, as in many recent years, is particularly strong on European bands, with old favourites like the Budapest Ragtime Band, Germany’s Bourbon Street Stompers and the New Orleans Jump Band, Mike Izatt’s ever-popular multi-national force from the Costa del Sol, and some exciting new faces. Equally multi-national are the Swedish Jazz Kings, with Swedes like Tomas Ornberg and Olle Nyman joined by outstanding Australian trumpeter Bob Barnard and UK players Martin Litton and Spats Langham. The Netherlands’ Dixieland Crackerjacks have, since 1994, built a reputation as one of the foremost bands in the classical jazz field, laying stress on ‘the swinging and happy sounds stemming from the 20s and 30s’ while Les Zauto Stompers from France similarly insist that ‘the audience must be as happy in the hall as the musicians are on the stage’! For real youthful exuberance, though, Birmingham goes a bit further afield, to Melbourne, Australia, for the Red Hot Rhythmakers, a nine-piece led by multi-instrumentalist Michael McQuaid (trumpet and reeds), and to Utah, for the Brigham Young University big band, Synthesis.

Two of last year’s big successes return: American saxophonist Carol Sudhalter and Dutch violinist Tim Kliphuis. A new face to the festival is the outstanding American saxophonist Greg Abate with a CV that takes in Berklee College (in the 1970s), the Ray Charles Orchestra and a prolific recording career with Candid. Nashville-based singer-songwriter Suzahn Fiering brings her unique talents to the festival, as does Sally Night, British-born, Cannes-based where she works with many of the best French and Italian jazz musicians.

Add in a selection of Britain’s finest, deployed in all kinds of enterprising musical combinations and geographical locations, and it’s pretty obvious that Birmingham 2008 will, as usual, fill the city with the best of jazz.