EFG London Jazz Festival appoints Professor In Residence
The EFG London Jazz Festival has appointed Professor George McKay as its first ‘Professor In Residence’.
The EFG London Jazz Festival has appointed its first ‘Professor In Residence’. George McKay is Professor of Media Studies at the University of East Anglian and a Leadership Fellow at the Arts & Humanities Research Council in their the Connected Communities Programme.
In a statement Professor McKay Says, “One of my focuses in terms of Connected Communities is the idea of festival – how does this density and intensity of cultural activity transform its environment (whether that’s tents and soundsystems in a field or trumpets in a city street), and what is the impact on the local population and audiences. There’s been a real explosion of interest in what’s being called the New Jazz Studies from UK academics over the past decade. So, working with the EFG London Jazz Festival team, we thought it a good idea to try to bring some of this academic energy and insight around jazz to festival-goers.”
Professor McKay has written several books including ‘Circular Breathing: The Cultural Politics of Jazz In Britain’ (2005), about the development of jazz, free improvisation, political campaigns, New Orleans-style marching bands, questions of race and gender in this music of ‘liberation’.
As well as music, the Festival also has a full programme of talks which are free to attend:
Saturday 15 November
- South Africa 20 years on and the legacy of the Blue Notes - Southbank Centre / Front Room 12.45 & 3.30pm
- Knife in the Water - discussion about the music of the film’s charismatic composer, Krzysztof Komeda - Barbican Cinema, 3pm
- Way in to the Way Out: Arun Ghosh and Zoe Rahman (Part 1) - Southbank Centre / Front Room 4.30pm
Sunday 16 November
- Jazz Record Requests with Alyn Shipton - Barbican FreeStage 2pm
- Way in to the Way Out: Arun Ghosh and Zoe Rahman (Part 2) - Southbank Centre / Front Room 4.30pm
Tuesday 18 November
- The Art and the Value of Commissioning New Music - with Trish Clowes and Guy Barker - Southbank Centre / Queen Elizabeth Hall 6pm
Wednesday 19 November
- Jazz Rants: The Jazz Industry and The Creative Economy - Club Inégales 7pm
Thursday 20 November
- Hear Me Talkin’ To Ya – Stefano Bollani - Barbican 6.30pm
Friday 21 November
- Hear Me Talkin’ To Ya - Kenny Barron & Dave Holland - Southbank Centre / Queen Elizabeth Hall 6.30pm
Saturday 22 November
- Improvisation and action – the legacy of John Stevens - Southbank Centre / Front Room 2pm
- ‘the space is the place’ : the art of programming - Barbican 5.30pm
- Blue Note at 75 - Don Was meets Richard Havers - Southbank Centre / Level 5 Function Room 6pm
Sunday 23 November
- Jazz and Gender - Southbank Centre / Front Room 12.45pm