Hey jazz lovers, The Penang Jazz Festival is back!

It is that time of year again, when Malaysian jazz lovers head to Penang for one of Malaysia’s premiere jazz festivals: The Penang Jazz Festival.

This year’s festival opens on Dec 1 at 6pm with An Acoustic Evening featuring Kelvyn Yeang, Viv Adram, Az Samad and Liyana Fizi, to be held at 23 Love Lane. Entrance is free.

As always, there will be a series of forums and workshops held throughout the festival, as well as the Jazz By The Beach main event on Dec 3 and 4, to be held at Gardens, Bayview Beach Resort.

This year’s main stage performers are a mix of international artistes, including Korean jazz stalwarts the Kim Oki Band, Japanese trio Triple Standard, Danish harmonica maestro Mathias Heise, Dutch fusion band Marutyri and Macedonian-born violinist Vladimir Cetkar.

There will also be a tribute to one of Penang’s most illustrious musical sons, the late Jimmy Boyle, by The James Boyle Trio (led by his son, James), and featuring Liyana Fizi and Bihzhu.

For more information regarding the forums, workshops, and shows throughout the festival, visit www.penangjazz.com. Tickets for the main event cost RM85 (including RM3 ticketing fee and GST). For ticketing details, call 03-7880 7999 or visit www.ticketpro.com.my.