Penang Island Jazz Festival returns in December

Music lovers should head to Penang next weekend, as from 5 to 8 December, the tenth edition of Penang Island Jazz Festival will take place, with a full roster of performances and events.

The main stage ‘Jazz by the Beach’, at Bayview Beach Resort Gardens, will feature local and international jazz musicians, while the Creative Malaysia fringe-stage venues Bayview Beach Resort, Hard Rock Hotel and Park Royal Penang Resort will cover a range of musical genres, from classical to funk. Sunrise @ Tropical Spice Gardens is the setting for performances on the Saturday morning.

Meanwhile there will be workshops by some of the festival’s key performers, photography and poster exhibitions co-organised with Bayview Hotels, and after-hours jazz jams.

For more serious musos there’ll also be talks and Island Forum sessions with the theme of ‘going beyond’, covering topics such as networking and exporting music, and expanding musical horizons / crossing borders between jazz and world music.

Tickets can be bought online and cost RM78 ($30).