BBC Radio 3 has renewed its deal with the London Jazz Festival for a further five years, signaling that the music genre will maintain its place at the heart of the network's schedule.
The station's controller, Roger Wright, announced the deal last night at the launch of this year's festival, extending the existing agreement which has run since 2001.
"This new deal will ensure that live jazz will remain a key part of Radio 3's unique commitment to new music in the future," said Mr Wright.
The agreement, which runs from 2008 to 2012, will see Radio 3 broadcasting extensive coverage of the festival on air and online.
Now in its 16th year, this year's London Jazz Festival will run from November 16-25 and encompasses a wide variety of London venues - from major concert halls such as the Royal Festival Hall and the Barbican, to the newly refurbished Radio Theatre at BBC Broadcasting House, to London jazz clubs.
This year's coverage will include performances by Blue Note trumpeter Charles Tolliver's celebrated Big Band and a special concert to celebrate the music of Ella Fitzgerald on the 90th anniversary of her birth, entitled We All Love Ella.
"As the relationship between BBC Radio 3 and the London Jazz Festival has grown since its first year in 2001, I've come to think of it as an extremely happy marriage," said the London Jazz Festival director, Claire Whitaker.
"With the announcement of this new five-year deal, it feels like an equally happy renewal of vows."
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