There's a group of Radio 3 classical music enthusiasts who are most annoyed that jazz gets played on their precious station. I'm glad to report there'll be much more to irritate them come November 10, when the London Jazz Festival (sponsored by Radio 3) opens. Not only will jazz be infiltrating even more classical venues, such as Chelsea's Cadogan Hall, home to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; it will also be tampering with the works of Bach and Mozart.
Joanna MacGregor and Andy Sheppard will build on and improvise over Bach fugues with the Britten Sinfonia, and trumpeter Guy Barker (right) will be re-setting Mozart's Magic Flute in 1940s New York. Along with appearances by international artists such as Herbie Hancock, Abdullah Ibrahim, Michel Camilo, Lee Konitz and Cassandra Wilson, this will be a highlight of the festival.
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Guy Barker’s hot trumpet meets the ‘Magic Flute’ at the London Jazz Festival, says sholto byrnes
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For, though the festival has the requisite big names, it's relying for its substance more on the diverse local scene, currently riding a wave of relative optimism.
And of all the performances this year, Barker's is the most ambitious. He asked the thriller writer Rob Ryan to come up with a modern synopsis of the Magic Flute - or Die Zauberflote, to give it its original title (hence the new project's name, dZf) - and then wrote a score for big band to tell the story. The first performance will be at the BBC's Maida Vale studios.
Once they hear it, I think that most Radio 3 listeners - jazz or no jazz - will be rather proud to learn that it was commissioned by their treasured station. Art that aspires often requires patronage. Isn't that part of Radio 3's role, too? 
FIRST POSTED OCTOBER 19, 2006
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