JAZZ, FOLK AND WORLD MUSIC PROGRAMME

TOWN HALL AND SYMPHONY HALL BIRMINGHAM

WINTER/SPRING 2010

BBC BIG BAND - BETH NIELSEN CHAPMAN - COURTNEY PINE - FAIRPORT CONVENTION - FEAST
OF FIDDLES - JAN GARBAREK GROUP - JUDY COLLINS - MELODY GARDOT – MIDLAKE - MOTHER
INDIA - STEVE REICH'S DRUMMING - THE DUBLINERS - THE IMAGINED VILLAGE - TOM PAXTON -
TRANSATLANTIC SESSIONS - YASMIN LEVY

Futurist folk group The Imagined Village, Judeo-Spanish songstress Yasmin Levy, leading UK jazz
star Courtney Pine OBE and legendary South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela performing with
the CBSO are amongst the highlights at Town Hall and Symphony Hall Birmingham in winter and
spring 2010 – underlining the halls’ firm commitment to present a wide ranging and accessible
programme, showcasing the very best in jazz, folk and world music.

This eclectic and varied season gets underway on 21 January at Town Hall with futurist folk group
The Imagined Village and their collective multi-cultural take on English identity and music, followed
by perennial US folk legend Tom Paxton on 25 January at Town Hall, still performing both starkly
beautiful and light-hearted music well into a sixth decade.

Town Hall welcomes the Jan Garbarek Group on 29 January; Rainer Bruninghaus on keyboards, Yuri
Daniel on bass and special guest and Indian master percussionist Trilok Gurtu join the defining voice
of European jazz, Jan Garbarek, in this Birmingham concert, his first for six years.

Transatlantic Sessions, the stage centrepiece of the Celtic Connections festival and acclaimed
BBC4 TV series, offer an incredible line-up of eighteen singers and musicians, including Eddi Reader,
Cara Dillon, Tim O’Brien and Danny Thompson, for a memorable evening of Irish, Scottish and
Americana inspired music at Symphony Hall on Friday 5 February.

Grammy award winning folk singer and social activist Judy Collins, who catapulted to success with
1967 album Wildflowers will perform classic songs drawn from over 40 years in music on 7 February
at Town Hall, while future world music superstar Judeo-Spanish songstress Yasmin Levy visits the
venue on 10 February with her Sentir tour. A captivating vocalist, Levy sings in the moving romantic
tradition of Ladino, a 15th century language of Sephardic culture blended with Andalusian flamenco.

Town Hall Associate Artists the BBC Big Band led by conductor Jiggs Whigham and featuring guest
vocalist Ian Shaw will evoke the era of easy listening with a show dedicated to the timeless songs of
Burt Bacharach and Henry Mancini on Friday 12 February at the Grade I listed concert hall, while
Fleet Foxes label-mates and Texan lo-fi explorers Midlake perform material from trad-folk inspired
third album The Courage of Others at Town Hall on 16 February.

Town Hall will resound to the work of minimalist US composer Steve Reich on Saturday 20 February
as acclaimed percussionist Colin Currie leads seven musicians performing the dramatic Ghanaian-
influenced Drumming, a tapestry of pounding bongo drums, marimba, glockenspiels and female
vocals closing the Town Hall Drumming Day, which also includes an earlier family concert and a pre-
concert talk.

A UK tour by US country and pop singer songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman takes in a performance at
Town Hall on 27 February, bringing the sound of Texas and Nashville direct to Birmingham, and
following on 3 March, leading UK jazz star Courtney Pine returns to Town Hall on 3 March to perform
Transition in Tradition, his critically acclaimed and widely influenced homage to the first great
saxophone star Sidney Bechet, accompanied by pianist Zoe Rahman and electric violinist Omar
Puente amongst others.
Fairport Convention, proud recipients of BBC Radio 2’s ‘Most Influential Folk Album of All Time’ as
well as a Lifetime Achievement Award, visit Town Hall on 6 March for the third time since the
concert venue reopened in 2007.

Celebrating the music of one of the world’s most influential musicians, Duke Ellington, at Town Hall
on 12 March, the BBC Big Band, led by the irrepressible Jiggs Whigham are joined by Birmingham
star vocalist Jaki Graham for Cotton Club ‘Duke’ classics as well as reprisals of The Nutcracker and
Peer Gynt suites.

Worldwide musical heroes The Dubliners will perform at Town Hall on 17 March for an emotional and
moving St Patrick’s Day concert. Soon to enter their 5th decade on the road, the Irish folk group –
who boasted Jimi Hendrix and Roy Orbison amongst their high profile fans - return for their first
show at Town Hall since the 1990s.

An all-star line-up of British folk stars in Feast of Fiddles will perform at Town Hall on 5 April as part
of their 17th spring tour counting Phil Beer, Garry Blakeley, Ian Cutler, Tom Leary, Chris Leslie,
Peter Knight and Brian McNeill amongst their numbers for an evening of solo performances, stirring
ensembles and musical entertainment.

The Mother India weekend, a journey through the musical heritage of Mother India in the company
of a range of Indian musical masters, will take place at both Town Hall and Symphony Hall from 9 to
11 April. The weekend will feature a rare UK recital from santoor maestro and living legend Pandit
Shivkumar Sharma, a collaboration between sarod players Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash and cellist
Matthew Barley as well as a re-visioning of cinematic classic Mother India by British-Asian artist DJ
Tigerstyle and a handful of freestage events including the launch of Asian chill series Mid-day
Mantra, a new free monthly Saturday lunchtime series.

At Symphony Hall on 19 April, singer-songwriter Melody Gardot will perform her inimitable smoky
voiced jazz and blues, following the critically acclaimed 2009 release of My One and Only Thrill,
the follow-up to 2008 debut album Worrisome Heart, which was completed after recovery from a
near fatal accident and led to comparisons with contemporaries such as Norah Jones and Madeleine
Peyroux.

The BBC Big Band complete their third performance of the winter and spring programme with the A
Tribute to Louis and Ella, featuring Australian trumpet virtuoso James Morrison and BBC Jazz Award
winning vocalist Anita Wardell performing classic tracks by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald at
Town Hall on 23 April.

Legendary South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela will appear at Symphony Hall on 7 May for a
unique collaboration with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Town Hall Gospel Choir
and City of Birmingham Young Voices for whom he has written a new work, as well as performing
Jason Yarde’s Trumpet Concerto.

Further jazz, folk and world music highlights at Town Hall and Symphony Hall in 2010 include the
third annual English Originals – a weekend celebrating the diversity of English music from traditional
folk to contemporary singer-songwriters - at both venues from 14-16 May. There’s soulful and
gospel-infused folk-blues from Eric Bibb at Town Hall on 27 May followed by Ukulelescope on
Saturday 5 June, a collaborative project between the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain and the
British Film Institute and part of the Town Hall ‘Vintage Silents’ weekend celebrating music and
movies from the silver screen era.

ENDS
Listings
The Imagined Village BBC Big Band: Duke Ellington’s Sounds of Harlem
Town Hall, Birmingham Town Hall, Birmingham
7.30pm, Thursday 21 January 7.30pm, Friday 12 March
£16.50 £12.50 / £16.50 / £19.50

Tom Paxton The Dubliners

Town Hall, Birmingham Town Hall, Birmingham
7.30pm, Monday 25 January 8.00pm, Wednesday 17 March
£20.00 £20.00

Jan Garbarek Group Feast of Fiddles

Town Hall, Birmingham Town Hall, Birmingham
7.30pm, Friday 29 January 7.30pm, Monday 5 April
£18.50 / £22.50 / £25.00 £16.50

Transatlantic Sessions MOTHER INDIA: Arun Ghosh Sextet

Symphony Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall Level 3 Bar
7.30pm, Friday 5 February 5.30pm – 7.00pm, Friday 9 April
£24.50 Free

Judy Collins plus support from Kenny White Mid-day Mantra:

Town Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall Level 3 Bar
7.30pm, Sunday 7 February 1.00pm – 2.30pm, Saturday 10 April
£20.00 Free

Yasmin Levy – Sentir Tour Supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council
Town Hall, Birmingham England
7.30pm, Wednesday 10 February
£16.50 MOTHER INDIA: Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Master of
Santoor
BBC Big Band: What The World Needs Now… Town Hall, Birmingham
Town Hall, Birmingham 7pm, Friday 9 April
7.30pm, Friday 12 February £12.50 / £16.00 / £22.00
£12.50 / £16.50 / £19.50
MOTHER INDIA: Amman & Ayaan Ali Bangash with Matthew
Midlake, plus support Sarah Jaffe Barley
Town Hall, Birmingham Town Hall, Birmingham
7.30pm, Tuesday 16 February 7.30pm, Saturday 10 April
£15.00 £16.50

Steve Reich’s Drumming MOTHER INDIA: 21st Century Remix

Town Hall, Birmingham Town Hall, Birmingham
7.30pm, Saturday 20 February 7.30pm, Sunday 11 April
£5.00 / £6.50 / £10.00 / £14.50 / £17.50 £12.50

Beth Nielsen Chapman, with support from Marcus Hummon Melody Gardot
Town Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Birmingham
7.30pm, Saturday 27 February 7.30pm, Monday 19 April
£21.00 £22.50

Courtney Pine: Transition in Tradition, with support from BBC Big Band: A tribute to Louis & Ella
Omar Puente Town Hall, Birmingham
Town Hall, Birmingham 7.30pm, Friday 23 April
7.30pm, Wednesday 3 March £12.50 / £16.50 / £19.50
£16.50
Maskela and the CBSO
Fairport Convention Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Town Hall, Birmingham 7.30pm, Friday 7 May
7.30pm, Saturday 6 March £5.00 / £12.50 / £18.50 / £23.50 / £27.50 / £33.50 / £37.50

Town Hall and Symphony Hall are managed together by Performances Birmingham Limited, an independent charitable trust.
Between them, the two halls present an exciting and varied programme of over 600 concerts and events a year, designed to
appeal to people of all ages and backgrounds. Over 500,000 people visit Town Hall and Symphony Hall annually, and a thriving
education and community department reaches a further 10,000 people of all ages.

Town Hall Birmingham re-opened in October 2007 following a £35m renovation funded by Birmingham City Council (£18.3m),
Heritage Lottery Fund (£13.7m), European Regional Development Fund (£3m).

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TOWN HALL SYMPHONY HALL BOX OFFICE 0121 780 3333
ON-LINE BOOKING www.thsh.co.uk
(£2 fee per transaction on all bookings except those made in person at the box office)
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Fiona Fraser
Press & PR Manager
E Fiona.fraser@thsh.co.uk
T 0121 644 5008 (Direct)

Lyle Bignon
Assistant Press & PR Manager
E lyle.bignon@thsh.co.uk
T 0121 644 6028 (Direct)

Issue date: Monday 4 January 2010