Featuring everything from Caribbean fusion to sweaty blues and wild big band adventures, the eleventh Wellington International Jazz Festival opens on 6 November for seven nights of exotic and inspiring music. Highlights include the acclaimed French piano virtuoso Mario Canonge and European jazz trombonist Nils Wogram. The festival also offers a rare opportunity to catch up with some of our most inspiring musical exports, and the chance to hear three new commissions.Born in Martinique, Canonge has been based in Paris since 1979 and has become internationally renowned for his daring fusion of jazz and traditional music from the French Antilles. His awe-inspiring trio with Mauritian bass player Lynley Marthe and Indian drummer Chander Sardjoe will be joined by local saxophone legend Lucien Johnson.

Also not be missed is the man considered the trombonist of European jazz - Nils Wogram - performing with his sought-after quartet Root 70, which includes New Zealanders Hayden Chisholm and Matt Penman. Hailed as the hottest young band on the German scene, this half-German, half-New Zealand group combine traditional jazz with avant-garde elements to create a sound that is both original and accessible.

Wellington-born Edward Ware has been living in New York since 1990, where he's made a name for himself as a talented percussionist and composer. For this return to Wellington he has rearranged the tunes of Thelonious Monk with a quartet of local musicians - Paul Dyne (bass), Anita Schwabe (piano) and Nick van Dijk (trombone and euphonium).

UK-based Tom Rodwell has recently been the subject of a BBC documentary about his unique method of recording. His reappearance in Wellington will see him performing radically rearranged, raw and funky versions of pre-war blues and 19th century slave-time spirituals with his duo Storehouse.

New Zealand-born international treasure Mike Nock will be performing solo in the Ilott Theatre. His concert will be a rare opportunity to hear some of his finest compositions from throughout his career, along with new music to be released later this year.

The festival will also offer the first opportunity to hear three new commissions supported by Creative New Zealand, including original new work from the esteemed Auckland-based John Bell and The Immaculate Trio. Outstanding pianist and local darling Jonathan Crayford will also be presenting a new work at Ilott Theatre - which aims to describe the short and highly eventful life of Evariste Galois, the French revolutionary mathematician who died under murky circumstances. And at Happy, Wellington supergroup Village of the Idiots will be performing new compositions by saxophonist Lucien Johnson.

Happy will also host outstanding local acts including The Serpentine Quartet, Vibrant Tongues and Blair Latham, The Crust, Sign of the Hag, and Punctured Lung.

When: 6-14 November 2007
Tickets: Ticketek

24/10/07

Image: Famous Martinique virtuoso Mario Canonge.