Montana Christchurch International Jazz Festival

Montana Christchurch International Jazz Festival

NEW YORK, BERLIN AND SYDNEY BASED MUSICIANS
GATHER FOR NINE DAY CABARET SERIES IN CHRISTCHURCH

Montana Christchurch International Jazz Festival
Jazz in the Hall, 1 – 9 April 2005

The Montana Christchurch International Jazz Festival’s Jazz in the Hall cabaret series is this year bringing New York, Berlin and Sydney-based artists together with local performers for nine spectacular shows during 1 – 9 April 2005.

In addition to jazz standards, the cabaret series will feature original material and a diverse range of styles including acid, contemporary and funk, as well as Motown, Blues and ballads from nine top selling artists.

New York’s Jack Wilkins, dubbed one of the most consistently innovative jazz guitarists in the international arena, will headline the series with his quartet on the opening night – Friday, 1 April. A seasoned performer with tremendous technical prowess, Jack is renowned for his ability to animate the infinite nuances of jazz guitar while retaining a relaxed style and complete textural balance. He’s been recording since the early 70s and his back catalogue includes names such as Chet Baker, Sarah Vaughan, Bob Brookmeyer and Ray Charles.

Well loved both here and abroad, Ian Edwards, acclaimed jazz clarinet player with a body of work spanning more than 20 years, will also perform for one night only on Tuesday, 5 April. Ian was a founding member of the Christchurch Jazz School and is described as one of Canterbury’s top musicians. He now makes his home in Australia where he continues to play extensively as a soloist both on clarinet and saxophone.

Also featured is the return of the new generation guitarist Dan Sperber, who burst onto the mainstream with The Relaxomatic Project on EMI’s multi-platinum Lazy Sunday compilation album in 2001. Dan debuted at the Festival in 2002, and this year will present another dimension of his talents with the Dan Sperber Trio on Wednesday, 6 April. A founding member of the Relaxomatic Project, the first New Zealand act to appear on the internationally acclaimed Blue Note label, and The New LoungeHeads, a self-styled hybrid of jazz, trip-hop and dub, Dan is known to others as the host of bFM’s Jazz Show. He is now based in Berlin.

“This series presents the best of the Festival in an intimate venue – the Great Hall – so the audience can fully appreciate the relationship between the artist and their instrument”, says Festival Director, Jodi Wright.

Other acts to appear in this series include: Irish torch singer Mary Coughlan performing with her Trio; tributes to Motown, sung by Rachel Dunham (Sydney), Chet Baker, performed by local guitarist Geoff Culverwell (Wellington) and Bacharach, arranged by Tom Rainey (Christchurch); an exploration into the double bass with Paul Dyne Group; and the ever-popular Nairobi Trio (Auckland).

About the Festival
The Montana Christchurch International Jazz Festival began in 1998 as a biennial event and is now presented annually. The largest jazz festival in New Zealand, the event comprises more than 100 national and international jazz artists performing at a variety of venues in the Christchurch region. The Festival is core funded by the Christchurch City Council and receives donations from a range of other in-kind, contra and financial supporters.

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SIDEBAR: ADVANCE TICKET SALES
Tickets for all events in the Montana Christchurch International Jazz Festival are now available – ticket sales were advanced to Monday, 17 January, 2005.

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o Headline Acts – Limited tickets for Norah Jones are still available and tickets for James Morrison and Mary Coughlan Sings Billie Holiday went on sale for the first time this week (available at Ticketek as of 17/01/05).
o Jazz in the Hall cabaret-style series presenting nine of this year’s best acts in The Great Hall in the Arts Centre are also now available (at Ticketek as of 17/01/05).

o Jazz for Lunch, Lunchtime Jazz at Harbourlight and Harbourlight Jazz tickets available now (as of 17/01/05 from the Arts Centre Information Centre).

o Bookings now open for the Jazz Master Class Workshops with some of the Festival’s leading musicians (as of 17/01/05 from the Arts Centre Information Centre).

o Free events include: After Hours Jazz Club, Jazz Alley, Jazz City Series, Jazz on Film ($2 donation), Jazz Karaoke and Jazz in the Mall (Merivale).

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Festival Programme will be available from Tuesday, 22 February, 2005
http://www.jazzfestchristchurch.com

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