YOUR GUIDE TO JAZZ FESTIVAL 2020
Today OPENER: BRUNO MAJOR
One time jazz artist Bruno Major released his 12-track R‘n’B debut album, A Song for Every Moon, in 2017. NME called it ‘stunning’ and noted that, true to the album’s title, Major had recorded and released a track every full moon for a year. The British singer-songwriter supported Sam Smith on a UK arena tour in 2018, before headlining his own tour in Europe and the US. Major last year released the singles Nothing, Old Fashioned and Tapestry.
MAIN ACT: MS LAURYN HILL
After her former group, the Fugees, disbanded in 1997, Lauryn Hill began her solo career. In 1998, she released her acclaimed debut album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which explored a women’s view on faith, love and life. Doo Wop (That Thing) became the first debut single in the history of the Billboard 100 chart to debut at No 1. The Miseducation…, Hill’s only solo studio album to date, earned her 10 Grammy Award nominations and five wins.
Tomorrow OPENER: SPYRO GYRA
Jazz fusion band Spyro Gyra emerged out of New York in the 1970s, combining jazz, R‘n’B, funk and pop. Saxophonist Jay Beckenstein and keyboardist Jeremy Wall rounded up jazz and rock musicians performing around the Buffalo bar and club scene. In 1974, when a bar owner asked for the band’s name, Beckenstein went with the green algae ‘spirogyra’, but the bar-runner jotted it down incorrectly — and so Spyro Gyra was born.
MAIN ACT: LIONEL RICHIE
Kicking off a solo career in the 80s after his time with The Commodores, Lionel Richie continued his success through the 90s with hits such as Easy, Sail On and Still. His 1983 album Can’t Slow Down won the Grammy for Album of the Year. Two years later, Richie co-wrote We Are the World with Michael Jackson, earning him another Grammy. Richie’s three children are TV personality Nicole Richie and models Sofia Richie and Miles Brockman Richie.
Friday OPENER: SAMMY MILLER AND THE CONGREGATION
The seven-piece collective is all about “frenetic energy” and “unflinchingly optimistic songwriting”, as evidenced by their 2020 debut album Leaving Egypt, a mix of tinkering instrumentals and full-bodied, tongue-in-cheek tracks. The group is all about improvisation, whether in the studio or on stage, with the lead melodies made up of either vocals or instruments.
MAIN ACT: ONEREPUBLIC
Six-member group OneRepublic released their debut album Dreaming Out Loud and the single, Apologize, in 2007. Apologize got a remix from producer Timabland, pushing it to No 1 and earning the band a Grammy nomination. They’ve since released four more albums — Native, Oh My My and this year’s Human — with tracks like Good Life and Counting Stars keeping them in the Top 10.