This June, the Teddington Riverside Jazz Festival will make its debut. It will do exactly what it says on the tin: bring a stellar line-up packed with emerging talent and established jazz artists to the Lensbury Club’s lawns, a wonderful riverside setting for London’s newest jazz festival.
Supported by a grant from the PRS Early Career Promoter Fund, festival founder, jazz afficionado and Teddington resident Ken Richman has carefully curated a line-up of artists who are sure to serve up a broad array of sweet jazz, blues and summer grooves.
Topping off the line-up is long established and highly regarded singer and pianist Liane Carroll, with her “rare ability to meld effortless, often transcendent vocal and piano technique with heart stopping emotion and soul bearing power” (Peter Quinn).
For Ken Richman, she was an obvious choice: “asking Liane Carroll to play was a no-brainer for me. My wife Judith and I have been fans of hers since we met her many years ago, when she was teaching on a jazz summer school.” Liane is joined on stage by husband and bassist Roger Carey, and drummer Russell Field.
The line-up is stuffed with unmissable artists from guitarist Chris Corcoran, of whom Richman says, “he’s not just your average blues guitarist, he is totally original and creates such a groove,” to fast rising pianist Emily Tran, who will appear with her trio. With a Brick Lane Jazz Festival performance already under her belt this year, as well as an upcoming set at Love Supreme and a background with the influential jazz development programme Tomorrow’s Warriors, Tran certainly is one to watch.
Alongside playing his set, Chris Corcoran will be sharing tips and tricks from his many years of experience through a blues guitar workshop. He is kindly delivering this as part of the festival’s commitment to raising money for Off The Record, a charity dedicated to offering counselling to young people with mental health issues in the Borough of Richmond.
Some serious grooves will be served by Funk Affinity, a band led by bassist Dave Jones. Both Richman and his wife were blown away by a performance from the band, turning to each other at the same time and saying “Book them!” – something that luckily for the festival’s punters, they managed to do! Guesting on vocals is Sandra-Mae Lux, who also doubles on tenor sax.
Elsewhere on the line-up, London jazz collective Way Out West will appear in a six piece format, featuring the addition of Nette Robinson on vocals and sax. Led by Tony Woods, the augmented quintet will be providing powerful straight-ahead sax-led swing.
Local rare groove-meisters FunkYard 7 will kick things off in fine style at 2pm, setting the bar high for the live music, which will run across two stages until 8pm.
With every artist bringing something tantalising and distinct to the day, the Teddington Riverside Jazz Festival is not to be missed for fans of the music from London and beyond.
Line-up:
Liane Carroll and her Trio
Dave Jones’ Funk Affinity
The Chris Corcoran Band
The Emily Tran Trio
The Way Out West Collective
FunkYard 7
DJ Mehdi Naami (Beatkozina)
Adult tickets cost £45, with children’s tickets priced at £23 and a family ticket available for £120.
