Jazz quartet lvdf. From left: Myele Manzanza, Maria Chiara Argirò, Alex Hitchcock, Michelangelo Scandroglio Photo: Supplied / Wellington Jazz Festival
The Wellington Jazz Festival is coming up in mid-October, and among this year's line-up is the recently formed ensemble, ldvf.
All acclaimed bandleaders in their own right, ldvf is a cross-cultural quartet featuring musicians from the United States, Italy, the UK and New Zealand.
Drummer and composer Myele Manzanza is the New Zealand member of the group, and currently lives in London.
Myele Manzanza Photo: Liane McGee
The quartet will be performing tracks from their soon-to-be-released EP, and also Myele Manzanza’s Jazz Festival commission, Music for a Multi-Polar World. This new work explores shifting global narratives through sound and draws on events from Brexit to the conflicts in Gaza, Sudan and Congo.
RNZ Concert’s Nick Tipping caught up with the drummer to talk about the Festival commission, how the quartet started up (and what's behind the name 'ldvf'), and to find out how things work when four leaders of different bands come together to form a group.
"There's a skill that comes with music where it's not all about you," says Manzanza, "and it's not all about me showing what I can do, and me showing my fancy drum chops, or me trying to force the musical vision that I want."
"It's sort of like being able to hold space for others and be true to their vision and contribute what I can do for it."
"I think the band works... because all of the personalities are strong, but also are empathetic and sympathetic in a way that wouldn't necessarily work with different kinds of musicians who are also very, very talented."
lvdf
Wellington Jazz Festival
8pm, Saturday 18 October
Miaow Nui
