*Nina Simone will be honored in a three-day event at London’s Southbank Centre next year.
The Independent reports that this event is part of an initiative with the Montreux Jazz Festival and a creative partnership aimed at exploring the question, “What is jazz today?” The festivities will feature performances by Black female artists such as Laura Mvula and Corinne Bailey Rae.
Mvula and Rae will launch the residency at the Royal Festival Hall on January 31, 2025, with a performance titled “Mississippi Goddam: A Celebration of Nina Simone,” featuring the Tomorrow’s Warriors’ Nu Civilisation Orchestra and arrangements by Jules Buckley. The concert will also include performances by China Moses, Ni Maxine, and Tony Njoku.
The following day, February 1, musician and commentator Soweto Kinch will debut music from his new album,“ Soundtrack to the Apocalypse,” at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Additionally, that evening, the Southbank Centre’s house band, Peng Femme Jamm will host a jam session in the foyer of the Queen Elizabeth Hall.
In a statement, Mathieu Jaton, CEO of Montreux Jazz Festival, said: “What better way to showcase the incredible diversity of the modern jazz scene than through the lens of Nina Simone.”
Jaton added, “Few artists have shaped the history of music and the Montreux Jazz Festival as profoundly as she has. Her legacy of resilience and artistic brilliance remains a source of inspiration for us all.”
Mark Ball, Southbank Centre Artistic director, said: “We are delighted to announce the first names as part of the Montreux Jazz Festival x Southbank Centre Residency. Opening with two British icons – Laura Mvula and Corinne Bailey Rae – celebrating Nina Simone 26 years on since she graced the Royal Festival Hall, we are also making space for new and emerging creatives who are shaping jazz today, whether that’s the National Youth Jazz Orchestra or Peng Femme Jam. As we continue to ask, ‘What is jazz today?’, this partnership will further strengthen the genre’s exciting future.”
READ MORE FROM EURWEB.COM: Mary J. Blige Wants to Learn to Play Piano to Portray Nina Simone in Biopic | Video
