Natalie Cole added to Blue Note’s Jazz At Sea Festival

The Grammy-award winning singer joins many of the label’s stars for a transatlantic jazz crossing this October.

The Jazz at Sea Festival sets sail from New York aboard Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 on October 29th, and features a number of top jazz performers including pianist Robert Glasper, saxophonist Marcus Strickland, guitar player Lionel Loueke and bass man Derrick Hodge. Blue Note president, and Grammy-winning producer Don Was will also host a unique night on board, and alongside all the performing artists will join in for an All-Star Band performance.

Cunard recently celebrated its 175th birthday, and its long history of transatlantic crossings has included jazz stars once or twice before – Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Dave Brubeck all took part in similar events.

Natalie Cole is the daughter of legendary jazz singer Nat King Cole, whose legacy she helped revitalise with a series of duets and covers. She recently spoke to Jazz FM’s Nigel Williams about ‘new’ recordings of her father, which turned up in New York City.