The last Bank Holiday weekend of the year is always a busy one in London with the annual Notting Hill Carnival taking place Sunday and Monday daytime, and of course the multitude of after parties (and pre-parties) which fill out the rest of the three-day schedule. However this year we bring you news of a new arrival on the event scene with something essential for the Saturday night crowd, and it comes with just a little jazz twist! This year, Jazz re:freshed are in the midst of celebrating ten years’ deep in the live event game, having held down a decade long residency of their weekly jazz flavoured Thursday nights at the Portobello Road institution, Mau Mau bar. Having already garnered a wealth of event experience hosting the great and the good of both the international and homegrown underground jazz circuit, as well as running a successful record imprint, blog and website, Adam Rock, Justin ‘TopRock’ McKenzie and crew continue to push things forward with the beginning of their own festival. So this Saturday at The Flyover in West London (a short walk from their usual home and seconds from Ladbroke Grove tube), the first Jazz re:fest is springs into life. A long sought ambition finally fulfilled by the team in terms of their own evolution, Saturday’s event sows the seeds for something larger, and over seven hours brings together a strong lineup of musicians and DJs from across London’s diverse musical offerings.
Appearing live  on the night will be a heavyweight selection of musicians including West London broken beat pioneer and master pianist Kaidi Tatham, clarinetist Shabaka Hutchings (of Sons of Kehmet and Zed-U fame), saxophonists Steve Williamson (Jazz Warriors) and Nathan Haines, and guitarist Mike Patto. Vanessa Freeman (Kyoto Jazz Massive, Reel People), Abdul Shyllon and Vula will be supplying the vocal-led treats on stage while there are also planned performances from Da Lata, TURTL and Personal Life, and in the DJ booth, Dego (4Hero, 2000Black), Daz-I-Kue (Bugz in the Attic, Uprock) and Eric Lau (Kilawatt). All in all it looks quite the pre-carnival primer!  Early bird tickets did sell out quite quickly but you can still grab a few  of the remaining advance tickets for as little as £20 plus booking fee from the WeGotTickets website or the Jazz re:freshed website. In the meantime, to get involved with all the pre-event hype, you should head to their Facebook page.
THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT…
Jazz re:fest takes place on Saturday 24th August 2013 at The Flyover | Portobello (3 – 5 Thorpe Close, W10 5XL) Doors Open 8pm – live music starts 9pm SHARP, 3am finish.
To get you in the mood, Adam has also dropped this little mix featuring music from the acts involved.