Producers Fane Productions are delighted to announce artists confirmed so far for this tribute to Michel Legrand at the Royal Festival Hall on 20 September including Alison Moyet, Richard Hadfield, Maria Friedman and Tamsin Little who will join Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra under artistic director James Pearson.
In late January the renowned French film composer and jazz legend Michel Legrand passed away. This news came only two weeks after announcing his concert with the Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra this September at The Royal Festival Hall, and only four months after his unforgettable sold out concert with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Now this concert becomes a unique tribute to his everlasting impact on 20th century music.
Joining the Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra on piano, will be their very own artistic director, James Pearson. In an evening rooted in Legrand’s legendary 1999 Big Band jazz album, as well as his magical film scores, they will be joined by some very special guests including celebrated songstress Alison Moyet, multiple Olivier Award winner Maria Friedman, rising jazz star Richard Hadfield and renowned classical violinist Tasmin Little, and many more guests still to be announced. Expect stirring video tributes too from former collaborators and friends of Legrand who can’t be there on the night including Quincy Jones, Sir Michael Parkinson and others.
A three-time Oscar and five-time Grammy Award winner, Legrand’s unique ear for a memorable tune and his towering skills as a jazz pianist and composer will be celebrated in powerful arrangements of some of his greatest hits including The Windmills of Your Mind, Ray Blues, Summer of 42, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Dingo Rock, How do you Keep the Music Playing, Yentl and many more… Unforgettable melodies imprinted on the history of jazz, song, and film music.
James Albrecht of Fane Productions said: ‘We are so happy that artists are lining up to pay tribute to Michel in this way. Most of them have their own personal connections to him and will be choosing which songs they will perform. This is a fitting way to pay tribute and we know it will be an unforgettable evening for artists and audiences alike.’
Tickets go on general sale tomorrow, Wednesday 24 April. The proceeds from the concert will go to a music charity. More special guests will be announced soon.
Royal Festival Hall
Southbank Centre
Belvedere Road
London SE1 8XX
September 20TH at 7.30PM
Box office:
www.southbankcentre.co.uk
020 3879 9555
customer@southbankcentre.co.uk
Prices £15 - £70
Michel Legrand
It is impossible to say everything there is to say about Michel Legrand in just a few lines – to describe his love of jazz, his historic sessions with Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Phil Woods or Stéphane Grapelli, his meetings with the big names in classical music (Kiri Te Kanawa, Jessye Norman, Maurice André) or easy listening (Yves Montand, Barbra Streisand, Charles Aznavour). In any case, Legrand has succeeded in meeting one singular challenge – that of living several lives in one lifetime.
Beginning his meteoric rise to fame as accompanist to Maurice Chevalier, Legrand went on to be at the forefront of the French New Wave, collaborating with Jean-Luc Goddard and Jacques Demy, with whom he invented a new genre of film music. Tearing down the barriers between jazz, classical music and easy listening, he is at home in any musical situation.
His worldwide reputation was cemented with ‘The Windmills of Your Mind’ from The Thomas Crown Affair, and no other European composer has a filmography that includes Orson Welles, Marcel Carné, Clint Eastwood, Norman Jewison, Louis Malle, Andrzej Wajda, Richard Lester, and Claude Lelouch, to name just a few.
His songs have been sung by Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Louis Armstrong, Liza Minnelli, Kiri Te Kanawa, Yves Montand, Charles Aznavour and Barbara Streisand.
