Created by Alex Wilson
Festival Shows 2018
Click on images to listen to the Festival Artists!
Tuesday, 16th October
Eliane Correa + special guests
This year's curator opens the festival with her 8-piece project that fuses Afro-Cuban folklore with the newest London jazz/soul sound. Tipped by Gilles Peterson as one of the freshest new sounds to come out of Havana, the result is a genre-defying melting pot of sounds. Correa's sultry, rich keyboards layer over syncopated percussions, accompanying tales of love, migration and healing as sung by Sahra Gure (+ guests). An intricate, passionate and large-sounding project that features some of the UK's top Cuban and international musicians.
Wednesday, 17th October
Ernesto Marichales presents: Afro-Venezuelan Jazz All-Stars
Venezuelan award-winning percussionist Ernesto Marichales brings to the festival an exclusively curated evening of Afro-Venezuelan jazz and folklore, featuring an all-star line-up of the UK's most renowned Venezuelan musicians: Marichales's Venezuelan folk / jazz fusion ensemble Telajeta, virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer Aleph Aguiar, multi-instrumentalist Luzmira Zerpa of Family Atlántica, folk percussionist Baldo Verdú and an array of special guests will join forces and take the audience on a journey through the rhythms and songbook of Venezuela, with a modern jazz twist. This is an exclusive, one-off gathering exclusive to the London Latin Jazz Festival 2018!
Thursday, 18th October
Yelfris Valdés: The world of Eshú Diná
Multi-award winning Cuban trumpet player Yelfris Valdés will be bringing to the festival his critically acclaimed and profoundly spiritual new album The World of Eshú Diná: a fusion of soundscapes, jazz and Afro-Cuban traditions, all treated as a sacred ritual where he is the messenger that will take the audience into a safe holistic journey, musically and spiritually.
Yelfris became known across the world playing with Sierra Maestra, wicth which he earned a Grammy nomination. Since his move to London, his musicl mission is to build bridges between Cuban traditions, jazz and modern sounds.
Friday, 19th October - DOUBLE SHOW
Roberto Pla & his Latin Ensemble
The Godfather of Latin Music in the UK returns to the festival with his 13-piece salsa orchestra! With a career spanning over 5 decades including tours alongside acts as varied as Cheo Feliciano, Motorhead and Boney M., Roberto Pla recently spearheaded the largest-ever tribute to Latin music in the UK at the Barbican. He will be performing a selection of Fania-inspired originals and classics alongside some of the creme de la creme of the UK's jazz and Latin musicians. Expect lush horn arrangements, virtuosic soloing and stylish but fiery vocals - and plenty of dancing!
Saturday, 20th October - SINGLE SHOW
Aleh Ferreira
Brazilian singer-songwriter Aleh Ferreira, best known as the frontman of legendary Brazilian funk band Banda Black Rio, will be bringing his five-piece Brazilian funk-soul band to Pizza Express Jazz Club to close this year's edition of the London Latin Jazz Festival. His warm, distinctive voice, samba-funk fusion grooves and lyrics that celebrate Afro-Brazilian heritage have earned him a career spanning three decades across the globe.
Having also shared the stage with the likes of Ed Motta, Seu Jorge and Daniela Mercury and earning an assortment of national and international awards for his work as a performer but also as a composer for the screen and producer, Aleh is one of the most prominent contemporary musical figures of musica popular brasileira in the diaspora.
