They may call it the Skywards Dubai International Jazz Festival, but the headlining acts over the first weekend were all about pop ballads and big bands. On Friday night the London-born Jools Holland brought his 20-piece Rhythm and Blues Orchestra to the event's new home at Dubai Festival City.
"Hello Dubai, it's so beautiful to be here again, are you feeling good? Because we are," said Holland.
The musician, who also hosts the programme Later...With Jools Holland, sings, plays the guitar and piano, and has worked with the likes of Bono, Tom Jones and Sting throughout his career. During the evening, the band performed a mixture of old and new hits such as Enjoy Yourself, In the Evening by the Moonlight and Well Alright, as well as classics such as L.O.V.E. They also improvised by performing a song they had composed that same afternoon.
Just past midnight, after two encores and fans screaming to encourage them back on stage, the band finally bid farewell to the crowd.
On Thursday night, the British singer/songwriter James Blunt, famous for his overwrought, emotional ballads, poked fun at himself during his show.
"You can smile all you want," he joked, while preparing for the weeper Carry You Home, "but I'm still going to sing all of my miserable songs". It was an emotionally charged night for Blunt, a 37-year-old former British Army officer who served during the conflict in Kosovo in 1999. He performed before thousands of fans gathered in front of the main stage and at one point, while charging through 20 songs over a 95-minute show, he said: "Dubai, I have a secret to tell you. Me and the band have been touring for exactly one year today and tonight is our last concert and that is what makes it so special – that it's here."
Blunt displayed his talent by alternating between piano and guitar throughout the night. And he dedicated the maudlin 2005 hit Goodbye My Lover to the men in the crowd.
"So guys, it was Valentine's Day a few days ago and if it didn't go down well, I know the burden, so this song is for you," he said.
The ubiquitous You're Beautiful was sent out to Dubai, while it was during a tender rendition of the song If Time Is All I Had that the British singer showed his most vulnerable side.
"I don't usually play this to a large crowd because it's quite a personal song," he said. "After that I will sing something for all the husbands and boyfriends who have been dragged out here by their partners. But bear with me for now as I'm singing from the heart."
Blunt picked up the energy just before leaving the stage, when he jumped into the crowd to the delight of fans and the horror of security staff.
"Goodbye, Dubai, see you again soon," said Blunt, standing on top of his piano before giving one last wave to the crowd.
On Friday's main stage, the South African Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter and guitarist Jonathan Butler was joined by his band to play tunes including Be Here with You, originally a duet with Angie Stone and others from his new album So Strong. Earlier on the Jazz Garden stage, during a performance by Jimmy Thomas and Samantha Antoinette, the London-based funk singer took a few moments to remember a great American R&B singer who died last month.
"This next song At Last is a tribute to the late, great Etta James," she said.
The eight-day jazz festival continues over three stages until Friday, with performances by the American singer/songwriter Jason Mraz on Thursday night and the Brit Award-winning singer/songwriter James Morrison on Friday. For more information go to www.dubaijazzfest.com
melshoush@thenational.ae
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
T20 World Cup Qualifier
October 18 – November 2
Opening fixtures
Friday, October 18
ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v Singapore, 2.10pm, Netherlands v Kenya
Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Ireland, 7.30pm, Oman v UAE
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Darius D’Silva, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Junaid Siddique, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Waheed Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Zahoor Khan
Players out: Mohammed Naveed, Shaiman Anwar, Qadeer Ahmed
Players in: Junaid Siddique, Darius D’Silva, Waheed Ahmed
