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Capital to welcome star cast to Jazz Festival in June

Capital to welcome star cast to Jazz Festival in June

From guitar great Bill Frisell to space-jazz pioneers The Comet is Coming, the Wellington Jazz Festival returns with a stellar cast of international musicians, 7 - 11 June.

Festival Artistic Director Shelagh Magadza says she’s pleased to bring such an exciting eclectic line up to Wellington’s Opera House for the popular mid-winter festival.

“It’s been said that Bill Frisell plays guitar ‘like Miles Davis played trumpet’, and I’m delighted to have this music legend open the Wellington Jazz Festival. Playing his first-ever New Zealand show on 7 June, Bill will be joined by three of his When You Wish Upon A Star album collaborators, including The Decemberists vocalist Petra Haden.

“Also performing, one of the world’s most acclaimed jazz vocalists, Dianne Reeves, will be a real treat for Festival goers this year. With five Grammys to her name, Dianne moves smoothly between R&B, pop, folk and rock, and has collaborated with music legends such as Harry Belafonte and Wynton Marsalis,” Shelagh says.

The Festival’s global line-up includes the Harold López-Nussa Trio, which promises an upbeat evening of hot Cuban rhythms and one of the world’s greatest living drummers, Dave Weckl, with an ensemble cast featuring Santana vocalist Tony Lindsay.

Featuring sax prodigy ‘King Shabaka’, impressive Mercury Prize nominees The Comet is Coming will bring their inimitable psychedelic fusion of electronica and Afro-beats as they play homage science fiction and outer space.

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Another international highlight during the five-day Festival is the exciting world premiere of Seoul Jazz, a unique music collaboration between home-town jazz act The Jac and South Korea’s Black String.

Since it turned annual in 2013 in a new mid-winter slot, the Wellington Jazz Festival has become one of the capital’s most successful events. Growing year on year, in 2016 it attracted 25,000 people to 100 gigs across the city; and with 30% of its audience from outside the region, it brought increased business to Wellington’s bars, cafes and venues.

Visit www.jazzfestival.co.nz for more information.

Tickets are on sale from 9 March to The Culture Club supporters, and to the general public from 15 March. Ticket prices range from $39- $89 (excluding booking fees). The full Wellington Jazz Festival line-up will be announced in April.

Jazz at The Opera House

Bill Frisell

Featuring Petra Haydn, Thomas Morgan and Rudy Royston

8pm Wednesday 7 June

Tickets: $59 - $89

Dave Weckl & Tony Lindsay

With Adam Schroeder and Alex Sipiagin

8pm, Thursday 8 June
$49-$59

Dianne Reeves

8pm, Friday 9 June

Tickets: $59 - $89

Seoul Jazz: The Jac & Black String

4pm, Saturday 10 June
Tickets: $39

The Comet is Coming
8pm, Saturday 10 June
Tickets: $49

Harold López-Nussa Trio

7pm, Sunday 11 June
Tickets: $39 - $59

About the Wellington Jazz Festival

• Wellington Jazz Festival runs 7-11 June 2017

• Around 100 gigs will take place over five days

• The Jazz Festival draws a national audience of around 25,000 music fans

• Visit our website at www.jazzfestival.co.nz or follow us on Facebook and Twitter @welljazzfest

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