The 10th annual festival of Jazz in Martinborough returns in 2021 with two ticketed concerts in the fabulous Martinborough Town Hall.
The festival kicks-off on Friday, 3 September when award-winning pianist Duncan Haynes presents tunes that celebrate legendary jazz vocalists and features songs from the beautiful ballad Lush Life all the way through to Coltrane’s 26-2, with a bunch of swinging tunes and great soloists in between. This will be the third session for Directions in Jazz, an ongoing project to share the joy of improvised music with a wider audience
Then on Saturday 4 September the sensational Miho’s Jazz Orchestra will play a unique blend of world music and jazz, as flute and sax player Miho Wada seamlessly fuses her distinctive Pan-Pacific style with Afro-Cuban flute, Japanese pop and irresistible grooves.
Free Gigs
| FRESH JAM: COLLEGE JAZZ SHOWCASE Friday August 27, 6pm at Kuranui College Auditorium |
| Hear the best in young, emerging jazz talent in the Wairarapa performing a range of jazz styles. |
| STEVE CARLIN Friday September 3, 6.30pm at Medici Cafe |
| Steve Carlin is one of the most exciting crooners in New Zealand, with a rich baritone voice that captures the essence of the swing era vocalists. |
| SCARLET Friday September 3, 9.30pm at Mesita Sunday September 5, 1.pm at Union Square |
| From sultry ballads to sassy 60’s jazz & pop, Scarlet inject every song with their unique flavour and soul. |
| REMUTAKA ALL STARS DIXIE SWING BAND Saturday September 4, 11.30pm at Martinborough Brewery |
| Always a favourite at the Brewery, and representing Trad, Swing and Dixie Jazz like no other group at the festival, the Remutaka All Stars Dixie Swing Band returns to delight and entertain again in 2021. |
| GYPSY SWING Saturday September 4, 11.30pm at (tbc) |
| Leigh and Sam are one of the finest gypsy jazz duos in New Zealand, playing their part in the Gypsy Jazz revival, sometimes with a with a modern twist, sometimes with a Latin spark. |
| SUGARFOOT STOMP Saturday September 4, 11.30pm outside at The Village Cafe Courtyard |
| Social dancing and performances outside the Village Café to the great sounds of jazz and swing. |
| THE CRAYFORD TRIO Saturday September 4, 3.30pm at Union Square |
| The Crayford Trio perform jazz standards and the original music of NZ jazz legend Terry Crayford, father to Greg and grandfather to Miles. |
| NOIR Saturday & Sunday September 4/5, 4.00pm at Peppers Parehua |
| Enjoy a sultry and smooth blend of jazz standards and contemporary tunes as Noir return to Peppers Parahua for an 8th year at Jazz in Martinborough. |
| GYPSY JAM TRIO Saturday September 4, 8.30pm Union Square |
| Gypsy Jam Trio is a Wairarapa based trio specialising in Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli-style French Gypsy music. |