Singapore’s premiere Jazz music festival returns for its 5th anniversary this April 6th to 8th with an ever bigger line-up than previous editions. We are pleased to see some serious A-list bookings such as Ms. Lauryn Hill, Soul II Soul, Estelle and Jamie Cullum. 
Essential names in the true spirit of jazz such as Gogo Penguin, Omar and Brand New Heavies feature, and not to forget the usual suspects and festival regulars at SingJazz, Incognito. A great addition of Singaporean artistes & DJs also share equal billing with these big names.
Below we take you through some highlights on the program that spans across the weekend for all you real music lovers!
Friday 6 April 2018
Main Stage 5PM-1030PM
Singaporean electronica artiste/vocalist Weish gets a well deserved feature, with her music recently appearing at Sundance Film Festival in Utah, USA.
Manchester-based trio, GoGo Penguin is a must catch! With influences drawn from rock, jazz and electronica in equal measure, Revision Music managed to catch the outfit at Worldwide Festival Sete 2015, and trust us these Mercury Prize winning band will keep your feet moving to some wicked alternative rhythms.
We love Brazilian culture at Revision Music, and we are glad to see bossa nova veteran Paulinho Garcia gracing this year’s party. An export of the music to Chicago in the late seventies, Paulinho’s career has seen him tour jazz clubs & festivals all around the world, including selling out Singapore’s world class Esplanade Hall.
The Late Show
10PM-4AM
Bass-man and Singaporean songwriter Tim De Cotta’s music is as creative and original as it gets. Permutations in rock, funk & jazz along with his own souled-out vocals and lyrical themes are unique only to him, while always being relevant and accessible to any discerning music fan.
Originating from North London via UK’s reggae sound system culture and warehouse raves in the eighties, Soul II Soul have sold 10 million albums since their formation including two Grammy’s in 1990.
Estelle is yet another Grammy winner featuring at SingJazz this year. The ‘American Boy’ collaboration with Kanye West earned her a Grammy and defines her West London roots as an MC with great mass appeal.
A soulful turntablist influenced by the truest old-school hip hop to the stankiest funk, DJ Drem pushes those styles all around Singapore’s more discerning clubs. Part of Matteblacc & Singaporean community-focused music store & café Choice Cuts, Drem’s mighty skills on the turntables coupled with a solid ear for quality music, is a great feature at The Late Show.
Saturday 7 April 2018
Main Stage 4PM-1030PM
Tompi performs traditional Indonesian music with a modern twist. An artiste based out of Jakarta, we highly recommend catching Tompi if you like worldly music of the soulful and ethnic nature.
Five-time Grammy winner at the past four award shows, Lalah Hathaway is a future legend in the making. Features on Kendrick Lamar’s ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’ cements her artistry of high quality music. A true flag bearer of the musician communities all over the globe by co-founding #realmusicrebels, her frequent collaborators include Robert Glasper, The Internet, Hiatus Kaiyote, Thundercat & Kamasi Washington.
The Late Show 10PM-4AM
Prime time for the festival happens at this time slot, with none other than The Fugees alumni, Ms. Lauryn Hill headlining the Saturday night late show. If you have seen her do renditions of her work with her backing band thru live concert recordings posted on Youtube, you know this performance will be electrifying.
With support from globe-trotting Singaporean Dancehall queen & MC, MAS1A, Los Angeles’s forever digging wax master DJ Nu-Mark and Singapore’s DJ JNR, this line-up is strictly for the heads. Do not miss!
Sunday 8 April 2018
Main Stage 4PM-1030PM
To close off the music-filled weekend, Sunday’s show opens with the Gypsy Kings’ offshoot, House Of Gypsies. Tracing back gypsy culture to Rajahstan, India from more than a thousand years ago, the outfit incorporates Spanish Rumba fused with Indo-Gypsy themes and presents it for the current generation and future ones.
The Brand New Heavies are acid jazz pioneers from the nineties with over 2.5 millions records sold, 16 Top 40 UK singles and 2 double platinum selling albums. Consider yourself lucky to see this band perform live, before your eyes and ears, especially since they should be playing some new material from their album dropping this summer.
Yet another product of the UK’s nineties cross-cultural music movement, Omar first burst onto the scene in 1991 on Gilles Peterson’s Talkin’ Loud label, and pushed through the industry with an illustrious career, creating music with legends like Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, Angie Stone & Common.
Omar is set to play at Sing Jazz 2018 alongside Incognito and Friends to celebrate the festival’s 5th anniversary and close off the festivities with a touch of class.
Visit www.sing-jazz.com/2018/tickets to get your tickets and witness all these acts at the Marina Bay Sands.
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