Funk and ska performers add to Singapore's sax appeal
In a regional calendar filling up with music festivals, Singapore's Mosaic has established itself as a hot favourite with lovers of jazz and blues, bringing in headliners such as Pat Metheny, James Moody and Shirley Horn.
This year, it's turning up the volume with a diverse mixture of genres and performances in an attempt to attract an even wider audience. From jazz to soul, indie, folk and even ska, festival organisers are hoping to provide a little something for everyone.
'We never wanted the festival to be just focused on jazz,' says Mosaic producer Amy Ho. 'The first year, the focus was more on jazz and world music because we wanted to build up the brand. Last year, we started to introduce a more eclectic mix to reach out to younger audiences.
'This year, we're expanding even further, with a more eclectic mix of music genres, but the jazz/blues component is still 40 per cent of the festival.'
Mosaic runs from March 9 to 18 and features more than 400 artists from 18 countries in 30 ticketed performances and about 70 free gigs and workshops. Although the festival has almost doubled the number of artists since it started in 2005, they're still squeezed into an 11-day run, meaning that festival-goers will need to be pretty selective.
'We prefer to offer music-lovers a more intense experience, which is why we have so many shows and workshops this year,' says Ho.
As in previous years, the festival will be anchored by some big names in jazz, soul and blues, headed by the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Under the baton of Ellington's grandson, Paul Mercer Ellington, the orchestra will be accompanied by trumpeter Byron Stripling and vocalist Freda Payne, and will pay tribute to three giants of American jazz: Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.
Other acts not to be missed include five-time Grammy Award-winning blues guitarist Buddy Guy, with his polka-dotted Fender guitar; horn-based Californian band Tower of Power, who were at the forefront of the 70s soul scene; and jazz pianist Chick Corea and vibraphonist Gary Burton, who first teamed up 35 years ago for their celebrated album Crystal Silence.
'We both have a love of the spontaneity of performance and share similar musical tastes,' says Corea. 'This makes for duet music with an ease and simplicity that's rare to find. We plan to revisit our past recordings as well as some new music that I've written. And we typically have a few surprises for our audiences.'
Alternative and indie music will also feature, says Ho, with veteran New Jersey indie-rock group Yo La Tengo, who fuse folk, punk, garage, electro and pop; Norwegian Jaga Jazzists, considered to be one of the premier acts of the nu-jazz movement in Scandinavia; and Thai indie band Goose. Gospel-lovers can look forward to the a cappella voices of Grammy winners Take 6, while Femi Kuti and his band the Positive Force will bring their take on Afro-funk, which has been described as 'dance music with a conscience'.
Kuti, the son of Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, names Miles Davis and James Brown as his main influences and performs irrepressibly high-energy, poly-rhythmic music that mixes traditional West African Yoruba music with American funk and jazz.
Singer-songwriters are also given exposure this year with artists including Argentinean-Swedish guitarist Jose Gonzalez, whose unique cover versions of songs by the Knife, Massive Attack and Kylie Minogue have created a buzz in the indie music scene; British pianist and guitarist Nerina Pallot, who plays a blend of folk-rock that merges her classical music training with her love of folk, country and rock music; and American pianist Rachael Yamagata, who has been labelled a poster girl for lovelorn twentysomethings since the success of her moody debut album, Happenstance, in 2004.
The more nocturnal crowd will appreciate 11th Hour, a new programme starting at 11pm. It begins with the soothing, acoustic sounds of Ricki Lee Jones in the first week and ends with a bang with the Tokyo Spa Paradise Orchestra's mixture of traditional ska, jazz, big band and rock when the festival closes.
Even the little ones aren't left out. A special jazz concert and workshop will be held to introduce some of the basics to those aged between five and 11. By inspiring them, organisers hope to encourage tomorrow's performers and audiences.
