Summer is finally here, which means there's only one thing left to do — hold out for the start of the BBC Proms 2024! In addition to the world-class roster of classical musicians on display, there has been a sharp uptake of interesting curation along the lines of jazz and alternative music, and this year's season is no exception. Read on to explore the list of fine musicians and composers in the spotlight this summer, not to mention the many fabulous performers who will be honouring them throughout the festival.
24th July - Nick Drake: An Orchestral Celebration
Fifty years on from his untimely death, the alternative folk troubadour is finally being celebrated with a concert of his own. Jules Buckley, the mastermind behind the popular Quincy Jones and Charles Mingus celebrations of recent years, takes the helm of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. With a lineup of special guests still to be announced, this one-off concert is a must for all fans of Nick Drake's fragile genius.
28th July - Sarah Vaughan: If You Could See Me Now
The first of this year's would-be centenarians, the Divine One is honoured in a star-studded concert early on in this season's calendar. The esteemed figures paying tribute to the seminal jazz vocalist include Cherise, Lucy-Anne Daniels, Marisha Wallace and Lizz Wright, all under the direction of Guy Barker leading the BBC Concert Orchestra.
The jazz gatekeeper continues to make headlines since turning his hand to writing classical music (but always managing to incorporate his zesty New Orleanian spirit). Within this appetisingly American programme from incomparable maestro John Wilson and his Sinfonia of London comes the UK premiere of Wynton Marsalis’ fanfare for brass and percussion, the jubilantly titled ‘Herald, Holler and Hallelujah!’ You can watch a recent performance of the piece below:
15th August - Ellington, Braxton and Mary Lou Williams
This concert honours three of the most progressive composers from the jazz world during their respective lifetimes – one of whom even features as part of the performance! Kicking off festivities with a string of Ellingtonian favourites in arrangements by Morton Gould, these milestones of the past century are sandwiched between a performance of Mary Lou Williams' Zodiac Suite (1945) as well as a rare UK appearance from AACM-associate Anthony Braxton.
If you don’t know by now, this unbeatable group of Tuareg musicians represent the best of the desert blues style their Northern Malian homeland has come to be known for. Their arrival in the UK for a Late Night Prom will surely be regarded as a highlight of this year’s season.
2nd September - Ultra Lounge: Henry Mancini and Beyond
From the sultry The Pink Panther to the groovy Peter Gunn, Henry Mancini left his mark as a truly masterful writer of soul-tinged film and television scores. Edwin Outwater conducts the BBC Concert Orchestra in a programme of the legendary composer’s best-loved hits as part of his centenary celebrations.
7th September - Choral Day: Jason Max Ferdinand Singers
After being given the opportunity to curate his own concert as part of the 2018 season, the prodigious Jacob Collier remains a familiar face at the Kensington-O. With his four-volume Djesse project having reached its conclusion earlier this year, the European premiere of the musician's multi-layered chorale 'World O World' takes centre-stage as part of the first performance on British soil by the exemplary Jason Max Ferdinand Singers.
8th September - Chineke! play Tchaikovsky’s ‘Pathétique’
Mixing things up a little, Europe’s first orchestra of Black and ethnically diverse musicians complement their performance of the Russian composer's emotional sixth symphony with a raucous adaptation of his famous ballet, The Nutcracker, which was turned upside down in 1960 by the dream team of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. This jazz suite is a peach of the repertoire and a certified crowd-pleaser!
Hailing from Warwickshire, Barney is a twenty-something musician with a burning passion for sounds that entice as well as grooves that swing. He undertook a BA English Language & Linguistics at King's College London, graduating in 2022. Having promoted jazz and folk artists and performers throughout the West Midlands and the Greater Manchester area, he now sings on Sundays in a church choir, plays double bass to anyone that’ll listen, and occasionally might bring out an Irish reel on the mandolin - but not without warning. He can also speak some French, if you ask nicely. Performing has dragged him from his humble beginnings in cosy local pubs to the prodigious stage of the Royal Albert Hall, and all the way back again. This is his first editorial role and he looks forward, with the help of everyone at Presto Music, to discovering the perfect beat.
