Carmen Lundy, Clare Martin, Christine Tobin and many more ready for ReVoice!
Monday, October 6, 2014
Now an essential part of the capital’s jazz calendar, this year marks the fifth birthday of Georgia Mancio’s acclaimed ReVoice! Festival as it runs over 12 nights from 9-20 October.
Kicking off this Thursday at its first regional concert at Watermill Jazz Club in Dorking with renowned UK vocalists Claire Martin and Joe Stilgoe (9 October), this year’s festival features the inimitable Carmen Lundy (pictured top), the dance-oriented duet of Vinx and Lee Payne, a film noir-inspired show from singer and actress Sandra Nkake, Christine Tobin, Claire Martin, Ian Shaw, Lianne Carroll and more.
It also extends beyond London for the first time, taking in Dorking’s Watermill Jazz Club and The Hunter Club in Bury St Edmunds while it concludes at the 606 Club in Chelsea. Mancio explained the reason to reach out beyond the festival’s usual Dean Street locale: “They’re about the people who run them and the people who go, and the fantastic atmosphere they create. They’re so up for listening and engaging, and they’re so warm – like a wave of energy you get back.”
Highlights this year also include US soul-jazz-looping singer/percussionist Vinx and English tap dancer Lee Payne with their Hands, Mouth & Feet show, striking French/Cameroonian singer songwriter Sandra Nkake, and a rare four shows over two club nights from Grammy-winning US star Carmen Lundy backed by a trio led by revered keyboardist Patrice Rushen.
As well as curating the event Mancio (left) performs each night on the opening set and has lined up another ambitious series of collaborations as she performs each night with the likes of Andrew McCormack, Tom Cawley, Michael Janisch and Gareth Lockrane among others.
The festival continues at Pizza Express Jazz Club in Soho for nine-nights with a double bill each night topped by: Rebecca Parris (10-11 Oct); Diana Torto/John Taylor/Julian Siegel (12 Oct); Liane Carroll/Ian Shaw/Georgia Mancio (13 Oct); Christine Tobin’s Deep Song (14 Oct); Vinx/Lee Payne (15 Oct); Sandra Nkake’s Shadow Of A Doubt (16 Oct); and Carmen Lundy with Patrice Rushen Trio (17-18 Oct).
The event then closes out over two nights with Belgian-born singer Gabrielle Ducomble at the Hunter Club, Bury St Edmunds (19 Oct) and then a trio of Georgia Mancio, Sara Colman and Randolph Matthews at the 606 Club, Chelsea (20 Oct).
Of all the international artists that Georgia has programmed at ReVoice!, two in particular have stood out. “Jhelisa Anderson, because her performance skills were so immense. Something in me changed because of seeing her - she made me feel braver. She and Beady Belle, or Beate (Lech), both have it – they’re just so brave on stage, so totally immersed in the music, but in such an honest way. They’re both fantastic singers, but I think it was as much the performance. Everything was so well executed but it didn’t seem contrived in any way. The other thing about Beate were the levels, the gears that she had. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone do that – she just kept pulling out more and more expertise. We all talk about jazz and why there is not more of an audience for it. Well, I think that’s a lot to do with it, the performance – the way it’s presented and the way you put it across with confidence and really believe in it.”
– Peter Quinn and Mike Flynn
For more info and tickets go to www.revoicefestival.com