Guildhall Jazz Festival: Fabian Almazan in Conversation with Jo Lawry
- 6pm
About this event:
- Category:
- Guildhall Jazz Festival | Jazz | Platform / Discussion
- Event type:
- Free | In-person
- Admission:
- Free No tickets required
- Location:
- Milton Court Concert Hall
Guildhall Jazz Festival x EFG London Jazz Festival: Fabian Almazan in Conversation with Jo Lawry
Guildhall Jazz Festival x EFG London Jazz Festival: Fabian Almazan in Conversation with Jo Lawry
Ahead of our evening Jazz Festival performances, discover how music and environmentalism intersect in this intimate conversation with acclaimed pianist and Biophilia Records founder, Fabian Almazan. Interviewed by Guildhall Head of Jazz Dr Jo Lawry, Almazan reflects on his artistic journey and passion for climate awareness.
Part of the Barbican’s Fragile Earth series and Guildhall School’s annual Jazz Festival, presented in partnership with EFG London Jazz Festival, celebrating the creativity and originality of the Guildhall Jazz community.
Hear the UK premiere of Fabian Almazan’s reimagined Alcanza Suite performed by the Guildhall Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Jo Lawry as part of the Guildhall Jazz Festival on 20 November.
Talk ends approx. 6.45pm
About the artists
Fabian Almazan is an award-winning jazz pianist and composer, environmentalist, and founder of Biophilia Records. His 2019 album, This Land Abounds With Life, is an exploration of the relationship between humans and the natural world. His record label, Biophilia, supports musicians who share Fabian’s love of nature, including pianist Glora Cheng, vocalists Gian Slater and Kim Anderson, and drummer Justin Brown. The record label has even organised volunteer efforts to help clean up rivers and other natural resources.
Guildhall School's Head of Jazz Dr Jo Lawry is a vocalist, composer and educator, and joined Guildhall School from the University of Sydney, where she was Equity in Jazz Team Leader. Dr Lawry has also been on the faculty of New England Conservatory, Boston; Manhattan School of Music, New York and the University of Adelaide.
As a musician, Dr Lawry has worked with Carnegie Hall as a featured artist in its ‘Musical Connections programme’, served as Artist-in-Residence at the Australian Embassy in Washington, D.C., and has been a Teaching Artist-in-Residence at Frost School of Music, Miami and the University of North Texas, as well as being a guest teaching artist at Jazz Campus, Basel and Siena International Jazz Workshop. Her debut album, I Want to Be Happy, was named as one of “Best CDs of the Decade” by Downbeat Magazine. As a guest artist, Dr Lawry has also featured on numerous jazz recordings including Dr Lonnie Smith’s Rise Up! And Kate McGarry’s If Less is More… Nothing is Everything.
Beyond jazz circles, Dr Lawry has become well known for her work with Sting, with whom she has toured and recorded with since 2009, and more recently with Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel. In 2013, Dr Lawry was featured in the film 20 Feet From Stardom, which chronicled the lives and careers of the musical voices behind some of the greatest musical legends of the 21st century, and went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
This event is part of the 2025 Guildhall Jazz Festival in partnership with EFG London Jazz Festival - five days of electrifying jazz at Milton Court.
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Venue information
Milton Court, based across the road from our Silk Street building, provides the School with world-class performance and training spaces, including a state of the art concert hall, a lyric theatre, a studio theatre and several major rehearsal rooms.
- Milton Court, 1 Milton Street, London, EC2Y 9BH
