The ferociously talented Sarah Gillespie is kicking off the Oxford Jazz Festival with a gig at the Corner Club on Thursday 9 April. And the buzz surrounding her just got even buzzier, with a 4-star review in MOJO magazine this month for her debut album Stalking Juliet.
It’s fantastic that the critics are starting to take note of her because Sarah is truly something special, and a potential Mercury Award-winner if I ever heard one. Her electic mixture of gypsy jazz, folk, country, pop, blues and Middle Eastern sounds is utterly unique, and I’d even go so far to say that she’s one of the best lyricists this country has ever produced. No, really. She’s also funny as hell and smart as a whip 
.
Don’t miss her Oxford performance with her quartet, which features her musical collaborator and the producer of Stalking Juliet, Gilad Atzmon - a man who needs no introduction. Well, hopefully he doesn’t. If you’ve been paying attention there at the back.
Some of Sarah’s press:
“A major new singer-songwriter…Sarah Gillespie is one of the most individual yet recognizable voices to emerge in some time.” All About Jazz
“A leftfield singer-songwriter…wry lyrics and sinuous melodies” John Bunjey, Mojo ****
“Gillespie’s fiery originals offer a contrasting combination of sweet folkish melodies and a lyrically witty, street-talking attitude, that transports Lou Reed and Dylan to multicultural London.” Jazzwise
“Excellent Greenwich born singer-songwriter Gillespie crafts acoustically-styled songs that shimmer with beauty while accompanying herself on finger-picked guitar. New album ‘Stalking Juliet’ mixes blues, jazz, vaudeville and gypsy swing… very much a talent to watch” Time Out
As we posted here, Oxford Jazz Festival performers Art Themen and 3BPM performed a pre-festival show at the North Wall Arts Centre.
Take a look at the video of their brilliant performances here:
(And no, I have no idea why when you type in ‘Art Themen’ and ‘North Wall’ into the search box in YouTube, you get the video for ‘That Don’t Impress Me Much’ by Shania Twain. But you do. Go on, try it.)
The programme has gone online and it’s time for a small backpat, shameless though it is!
Alissa Robinson, creator of Oxford City Guide and the creative force behind this festival has sweated blood and tears over the look of this festival and has created the finest looking programme I have ever seen. Many congratulations to her and for all the advertisers who have made it possible - You’ll find all details about the lineup of the festival including some late additions which we managed to squeeze in at the last minute.
It should be your indispensable guide to the weekend, followed up with the paper copy early next Monday Morning. Get your hands on one and use it to squeeze as much jazz into Easter weekend as you are able.
A final note - All of this has been done without any sponsorship or funding - Just out of the pockets of the three founders. If people want to get onboard and be a financial part of OJF 2010, please get in touch with any of the 3 of us. Mx
Our economy is a storm ravishing the British economic landscape and seemingly one of the key things being hit, in advance of the 2012 Olympics is the world of Culture. Jazz Festivals are falling at a rate of knots, first Brecon Jazz was announced as being in financial trouble, then the Isle of Man jazz festival is cancelled, closed followed by the Plymouth jazz festival being cancelled last week and the Isle of Wight jazz festival seeing cancellation this week.
Yet in the midst of all this gloom is one good news story; amongst the beautiful dreaming spires of Oxford, a brand new jazz festival has set out to beat the economy, by making the whole of Oxford take part, from volunteer stewards to restaurants, churches and college theatres across the city being willing to house jazz bands at either a cut price rate or by paying for the performances themselves. It has turned this festival, still in it’s inaugural year into a behemoth, with a full and exciting range of jazz in some of the most exhilarating venues imaginable, including the Oxford Union debating chamber and a converted asylum.
Performances from the leading lights of the world of jazz underpin the program which runs across the whole Easter weekend including highlights from Gwynneth Herbert, Ian Shaw, Julian Siegel and John Etheridge
See http://www.OxfordJazzFestival.com for further details
The stunning Steve Waterman played a blinding concert to a thrilled audience last night (Sat 21st march) at The North Wall Arts Centre in Summertown, Oxford. Third in the series of Elite Jazz Concerts this was also one of the ‘taster’ pre-events for the Oxford Jazz Festival and what a tasty morsel it proved to be! The quartet spooned huge helpings of tasty Jazz to an enthusiastic audience - performing an eclectic range of pieces from main stream standards to more modern Jazz features from Waterman’s latest album drawing from the music of Gerry Mulligan and Chick Corea. Discussions are now taking place to book Steve Waterman’s Quintet (or could it be a sextet) for a feature gig at the 2010 Oxford Jazz Festival.
Isle Of Wight Jazz Festival cancelled, Isle of Man Jazz Festival cancelled, Brecon Jazz in financial trouble, Plymouth Jazz Festival cancelled.
Oxford Jazz Festival brand new on the scene and heading from strength to strength through a terrifying economic market. We need every support you can give, we need you to tell everyone you know to come to Oxford, because we have a fantastic festival planned, which is going from strength to strength, but will need people to attend, so that we can return year after year.
This city has needed a festival of this sort for so many years, it feels like we are the first rain after the drought - It’s such an exciting thing to be a part of and tremendous to watch it taking shape. For Easter weekend, don’t leave Oxford - it’ll be a cultural spectacle!
Our JazzFactor competition is shaping up to be a very exciting event. We recently had an unexpected change in venue for the competition - originally scheduled for the Wesley Memorial Church, JazzFactor will now be held in the beautiful St Hugh’s College in North Oxford. We have lined up some pretty fantastic judges (more on that in days to come), and the prizes will really be worth competing for. The winners of JazzFactor will receive a paid gig at the Jazz Cellar at the Big Bang as well as a free recording session at SAE! So far we have 5 bands lined up. If you know of any jazz group under the age of 18 (must be in school) who would be interested, get in touch with us right away.
The Sunday Times Travel section will be running a feature on coming to Oxford during the Easter Holidays - keep an eye out for the article on Sunday 08 March.