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ELECTRO SYMPHONY Cheltenham Festival stages Heritage Orchestra playing music by DJ Amon Tobin

At the end of April, the elegant town ofCheltenham, famous for its bathhouses and horseracing, will host a major music event, drawing critics from across the world. The Cheltenham Jazz Festival, which began twelve years ago, is now one of the largest festivals of its kind in the UK, if not Europe. Needless to say, the festival featues quality jazz acts, which is what you would expect from an internationally renowned event. 81 year old diva Eartha Kitt will headline the event on the 29th April and should bring back fond memories with hits such as I Want to be Evil and Old Fashioned Millionaire.

Despite the unquestionable eperience of certain guest artists such as Maceo Parker, ex-saxophonist with James Brown, the festival is generally characterised by its mixture of different styles and fresh talent. A good example is The Fringe, the free part of the festival which promotes young musicians and takes place simultaneously in bars across the city. Jamie Cullum is just one of the many veterans whose career started off at these open mic events.

But, truth be told, new doesn't necessarily mean inexperienced. That's the case with Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca, who's playing at the Everyman Theatre. Despite his young age, he's played alongside heavyweight artists such as Ibrahim Ferrer and the Buena Vista Social Club. Roberto is already a dab hand, proving that age ain't nothing but a number.

Another highlight is The Heritage Orchestra from East London. If the buzzword of the moment is innovation, then they're on the ball. The name Heritage is just used to wind people up, because the band re-invent everything, starting with the style of music ordinarily played by an orchestra. In November they got a standing ovation after playing songs by DJ Amom Tobim at the London Jazz Festival. If you missed out first time around, this is another chance to catch the band live.

To top it all off, don't forget that the 5th May is a Bank Holiday. Naturaly, the festivities will kick off on the Friday: renowned BBC DJ Giles Peterson will present emerging artists signed to his label Brownswood at the local student union - sounds promising.

Words by Erika Tambke

CHELTENHAM JAZZ FESTIVAL
29th April – 5th May
WWW.CHELTENHAMFESTIVALS.COM