Sing Jazz (yes, the jazz fest that brought Jamie Cullum, Natalie Cole and India Arie to us in February) will be taking over the now-defunct Sultan Jazz Club starting June 22.
Ahead of Sing Jazz Club‘s soft launch next Thursday night, we spoke to the club’s artistic director David Smith and learned that the new club will play host to local musicians like Melissa Tham and the Steve McQueens, as well as invite regional and international guest artists from time to time.
But the lineup won’t be one-note (sorry, couldn’t resist), according to Smith, because they plan to explore genres like funk and R&B and take part in other collaborative projects. “Not everybody likes jazz, so it’s all about programming the right things to engage the audience.”
Plus, they have bigger plans in the works—like support and training for budding musicians—as part of Sing Jazz’s mission to nurture the local jazz scene. Smith says they’re aiming to be “a platform for creativity, instead of just another gig venue where people expect the same thing over and over.”
Asked if he wasn’t bit disheartened by the string of jazz club closures over recent years, Smith says, “It’s not jazz that’s killed these clubs—it’s issues like rent and staffing problems. Someone has to be keep trying. There needs to be a home for jazz in Singapore.”
