- Generous gifts make the Festival possible
- International talent shines at the Festival
- Art Rock, Turntablists and DJs...
- John Zorn: A Major Coup
- GJF website now features music of performers
- 2008 concert tickets and passes now on sale
- Three Thursdays of Jazz: Thursday 3
- GJF at 15: confident, ambitious and very diverse
- Three Thursdays of Jazz: Thursday 2
- Festival artistic director Ajay Heble suffers heart attack Monday, now stable
Current News
International talent shines at the Festival
1. Satoko Fujii ma-do (Japan)
2. Instant Composers Pool (ICP) Orchestra (Netherlands)
Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii and the Instant Composers Pool (ICP) Orchestra from the Netherlands are just two of the internationally acclaimed talents coming to this year's Festival. Bringing distinctive sounds and attitudes towards jazz, their particular styles will have you wanting to hear more. Listen to excerpts of their music or get ticket info. on our website: guelphjazzfestival.com.
1. Satoko Fujii ma-do (Japan)
Pianist and composer Satoko Fujii last visited Guelph for the 2005 Festival. Accompanied by her husband trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, they met with great acclaim. Enthusiastically welcomed again this year, Fujii returns with her husband, as well as bassist Norikatsu Koreyasu and drummer Akira Horikoshi.
With over 35 albums to her credit, Fujii is in constant demand for performances. Hailed as one of today's most original jazz pianists, she synthesizes jazz, avant-rock, contemporary classical and Japanese folk music into a sound that is truly her own. Their ma-do quartet is a brand new project that was just recorded in April 2008. We expect tremendous things from Satoko Fujii.
Fri., Sept. 5, 8pm (1st half of double bill)
River Run Centre, Main Stage
Tickets: $30/$25
2. Instant Composers Pool (ICP) Orchestra (Netherlands)
If jazz and creative music have always thrived on the productive frictions that result from the differences between key protagonists, then the ICP Orchestra is as traditional a band as they come. With the playfully volatile and oft-contradictory duo of Misha Mengelberg and Han Bennink at its core for more than 40 years, ICP is now a long-established 10-piece ensemble that features several of the most original voices in creative music.
Their expansive repertoire regularly includes a mix of jazz, Kurt Weill, old dance steps, Monk, Ellington, collective playing ("instant composing"), and more. The outcomes are kaleidoscopic and thrive on provocative tension. For a radical band at the peak of its powers, it doesn't get any better than the ICP Orchestra.
Fri., Sept. 5, 8PM (2nd half of double bill)
River Run Centre, Main Stage
Tickets: $30/$25
Instant Composers Pool (ICP) Orchestra
With the playfully volatile and oft-contradictory duo of Misha Mengelberg and Han Bennink at its core for more than 40 years, ICP is now a long-established 10-piece ensemble that features several of the most original voices in creative music. The ICP Orchestra is a radical band at the peak of its powers and brimming with outrageous (and outrageously varied) soloists.
