Celebrating its 3rd anniversary, this ever-popular free jazz festival is again taking place at Canary Wharf, in Canada Square Park, E14. This dedicated festival to jazz is taking place on various days between the 13th and 16th August 2009, and includes some of the UK’s top jazz musicians, as well as a whole range of up and coming young jazz artists. This is an excellent opportunity to hear some established stars, as well as some of the rising stars in jazz, and the best thing about this festival/concerts/gigs is that it’s all free!

The schedule and lineup are as follows:

Thursday 13th Aug

• 1pm to 2:15pm – Martha Lewis’ Cafe Aman

Friday 14th Aug

• 1pm to 2:15pm – Tom Cawley’s Curios
• 7pm to 8:15pm – Omar Puente

Saturday 15th Aug

• 1pm to 2:15pm – Twelves Trio
• 2:45pm to 4pm – Lizzie Parks
• 4:30pm to 5:45pm – Porkchop feat. James Morton
• 6:15pm to 7:30pm – Lauren Dalrymple
• 8pm – 9:15pm – Gilad Atzmon’s Orient House Ensemble

Sunday 16th Aug

• 1pm to 2:15pm – Brandom Allen Quintet
• 2:45pm to 4pm – Soweto Kinch Quartet
• 4:30pm to 5:45pm – The B-Sides feat. Mary Pearce
• 6:15pm to 7:30pm – Mike Westbrook Band ‘Off Abbey Road’

An impressive lineup and lots of free jazz. It is a perfect location as well to have a picnic or a drink outside, although it might get rather busy, as the space in Canada Square Park is rather small!! Nevertheless if the sun is shining and the weather is good, it will make for an excellent day out on the weekend.

Just bear in mind that if you plan to visit on a weekend, the Jubilee Line is currently undergoing upgrading and maintenance work on every weekend till the end of the year; which means more likely than not the whole line or parts of it will be closed on Saturday or Sunday. It pays to check the TfL website for upcoming weekend closures, as well as if the Canary Wharf Jubilee Line station will be affected by the engineering works.

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