Kings Place Autumn/Winter Jazz season 2026

"EFG London Jazz Festival takes over the capital once again!"

The tagline that adorns the heading of the EFG home page ushers in a sense of warmth and excitement every year as London plays host to a typically phenomenal array of global grooves from established icons of the genre through to modern-day luminaries.  

And while London's esteemed venues celebrate this year's festival with a line-up that seems to grow in numbers and magnitude each year, London's Kings Place continues its commitment towards unhindered artistic creativity and innovation by showcasing an epic line-up of UK-based and overseas talent.

Oakland's Ambrose Akinmusire features as one of the leading names within the series with the trumpeter sure to deliver an inspired selection from songs amassed across his diverse and tenured catalogue.  With releases through Spain's Fresh Sounds, Nonesuch and Blue Note Records, the highly decorated Akinmusire has worked with an incredible and diverse selection of names including Roy Hargrove, Esperanza Spalding, Kendrick Lamar and Marcus Miller.  As in-demand a name as can be, Akinmusire's sensitivity and poise has garnered some sensational music and would surely rank as a must-see.

With an array of successful albums now under his belt, Matt Carmichael has become a pre-eminent face within the UK's contemporary jazz scene.  As a staunch flag waver for Scottish artistry, the saxophonist has continued to embrace strong elements of Scottish folk music as an integral part of his compositions.  Carmichael's sublime and spirited projects usher in a mish-mash of contemporary styles that are as imaginative as they are respectful of its past lineage.  While third album, 'Dancing With Embers', played beautifully towards an affectionate and warm-hearted nostalgia, Carmichael's upcoming 'Held in the Dark' tackles more sensitive subject matter dealing with elements of loss and hope.  Carmichael has the distinction of performing alongside the Kings Place Jazz Orchestra for what will prove to be an exhilarating union - founded by Callum Au, Hannah Hutton and Sam McShane, the ensemble serves as a loving homage to the archetypal big band sound and proves as equally commited to nurturing and inspiring younger talent that find their place alongside more established names like pianist Rob Barron.

Spearheaded by the revered Dave Holland and the esteemed Norma Winstone, Edition Records' 'Vital Spark' is an incredible conceptualizing of trumpeter Kenny Wheeler's final compositions.  Dave Holland's open-minded perspectives to jazz and composition has seen the bassist and band leader soar over a career that dates back to the early-1970s.  And with ties to Wheeler by way of their 1970s trio Azimuth, vocalist Norma Winstone further helps to breathe sensational life into 'Vital Spark' by way of her wordless, improvisation-heavy approach to her music.  And then of course we have the London Vocal Project which features more than twenty vocalists as part of the expansive choir who sound sublime over the intrinsically fascinating musical gumbo of inspired collaborators that adorn the project.  Having each forged their own path as highly respected and sought after artists in their own right, the collaboration between Holland, Winstone and the London Vocal Project ultimately tap into something incredibly special with the spirit of Kenny Wheeler looming affectionately over the project.  

And one of the most compelling pairings of the series comes from London's newly-formed jazz collective, Beyond Category, who partner with hip-hop hero and Brooklyn's own, Jeru The Damaja.  As the name might suggest, the great Duke Ellington factors into proceedings with "beyond category" serving as words synonymous with the great pianist and composer who used the term to describe his own boundary-less perceptions of music.  A concept adopted with what is sure to be a stunning performance as hip-hop and jazz relish within their commonality, finding a shared language in the spaces between genre and tradition.  If Ellington's philosophy was to resist the confines of category, then this collaboration feels like a particularly fitting continuation of that ideal — music unconcerned with boundaries, and all the more appealing for it.

  

Pianist Bill Laurance clearly thrives from positioning himself and his music amongst various and continually diverse settings - parking the expansive Texan jazz-fusion outfit of Snarky Puppy for a moment, Laurance's pairing with the eighteen-piece WDR Big Band, enlisted for his live album, 'Live at the Philharmonie, Cologne', serves as a great example and one that works in stark contrast to his fifth release, 'Cables', which saw Laurance whittle the numbers from eighteen down to one, helming the entire project - including every instrument played - by himself.  A solo piano performance offers a rare glimpse into the ethereal brilliance of Laurance who captivates in any setting.

For more information on who's on and when, please visit Kings Place: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/efg-london-jazz-festival/