Battersea Jazz Festival Launch Party
To celebrate the opening of the fourth Battersea Jazz Festival, the Hugo Jennings Big Band will be putting on a jazz celebration featuring some of the finest talents on the London jazz scene. As well as performing original arrangements from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Oliver!, and the Sound of Music, as well as classics from big bands such as the Duke Ellington and Count Basie Orchestras, the Duke Pearson, Dizzy Gillespie, and Thad Jones-Mel Lewis big bands, and the Terry Gibbs Dream Band.
The Battersea Jazz Festival was first set up in July 2022 by Hugo Jennings, with the goal of showcasing the incredible talent we are so lucky to have on the London jazz scene and beyond. In its three runs so far, the festival has hosted more than 25 events of a wide variety of sizes and styles, establishing itself as a popular part of the London jazz calendar. As well as featuring some of the biggest names in British jazz and selling out venues such as the Clapham Grand and World Heart Beat Embassy Gardens, international stars such as Baptiste Herbin have come to perform.
Hugo Jennings is a jazz pianist, singer and bandleader, orchestral conductor, teacher, and music curator. As with many of his gigs as a leader, he will be presenting a programme which showcases jazz’s rich history in an entertaining and informative way for the audience. Hugo has established himself as a respected name on the London jazz scene, through his playing, knowledge of the history of the music, and his work organising many gigs across town. His music is inspired by Barry Harris, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, Cedar Walton, Thelonious Monk, the Great American Songbook, and a variety of other jazz and classical composers. He has appeared alongside high-profile British artists such as Alex Garnett, Steve Fishwick, Tom Smith, Fraser Smith, Sam Braysher, and countless others, as well as American musicians including Adam Moezinia and Chuck Redd. In addition to his performing as a jazz pianist and singer, Hugo also works as conductor of Social London Orchestra and the South London Jazz Orchestra.
