The weekend-long Shanghai East Bank Jazz Festival was set to kick off today. A newcomer to the local jazz music scene, the festival will last until Sunday, September 8, and will see more than 10 international jazz musicians performing.

Belgian jazz pianist Eric Legnini

Unfortunately, organizers were thrown a curveball when headliner Bobby McFerrin pulled out earlier this week for health reasons. The 63-year-old 10-time Grammy winner announced on his website that he will postpone his gigs in Shanghai, Tokyo and Osaka because of a previously diagnosed heart condition, but plans to reschedule.

Best-known for his hit song "Don't Worry, Be Happy," McFerrin was due to open the festival at 7 pm on the Jazz Maestro stage, which will host top level international jazz musicians. He was then scheduled to perform another set at 9:30 pm in a special concert, "Bobby Meets Shanghai." Organizers have pushed back the festival's start date to Saturday and will refund tickets bought for McFerrin's performances.

Parisian band Akalé Wubé Photos: CFP, IC and courtesy of akalewube.com and Flore Anne Roth

American jazz sextet Mingus Dynasty will be the first act on the Jazz Maestro stage. The band was formed in 1979, just after the death of the renowned jazz musician Charles Mingus, by the artists Mingus played or recorded with during his career. The band was named after the 1959 album Mingus Dynasty. Mingus Dynasty will perform at 7 pm on Saturday. They will be followed by a special concert from Brazilian husband-and-wife duo Francis and Olivia Hime at 9:30 pm.

Other acts that will perform during the festival on the Jazz Maestro stage include French drummer Manu Katché, who worked and performed with Peter Gabriel on his 1986 album So, Sting, Dire Straits, Eurythmics and Manu Chao, among many others. Katché will take to the stage on Sunday, September 8, at 9:30 pm. He will be followed by the Belgian jazz pianist Eric Legnini, who is the leader of the Eric Legnini Trio, and bassist Kyle Eastwood, the son of the American actor and director Clint Eastwood. The younger Eastwood, who studied film in college, eventually chose jazz over cinema and released his first album From There to Here in 1998.

The second, Jazz Cloud stage will showcase the next generation of jazz talent. German band Mo'Blow will kick things off on Saturday, September 7 at 3:30 pm and return on Sunday at 2 pm. Next up will be Akalé Wubé, a Parisian band dedicated to the grooves of 60s and 70s Ethiopian music. Akalé Wubé will perform on Saturday at 5 pm. Giovanni Mirabassi, a Paris-based Italian jazz musician will perform on Sunday at 3:30 pm. Mirabassi, a self-taught pianist, has performed throughout Europe, the US and Japan, and took part in jazz festivals around the world including the Paris Jazz Festival, JVC Jazz Festival, and the North Sea Jazz Festival. The closing act on the Jazz Cloud stage will be South Korean jazz vocalist Youn Sun Nah who is gaining a lot of fans in Europe, especially France. Nah began her career in the Korean Symphony Orchestra before she moved to Paris to study jazz at the renowned CIM Jazz School, which is one of the oldest jazz schools in Europe. She will perform on Sunday at 5 pm.

Bassist Kyle Eastwood

The Shanghai East Bank Jazz Festival will be held at Q.S.W. Cultural Center. There are three categories of tickets for the Jazz Maestro, Jazz Cloud and special concert stages and tickets are separate for each. A one-day pass for the Jazz Cloud is 200 yuan ($32.68) presale and 250 yuan at the door. Evening tickets for the Jazz Maestro stage are 280 yuan to 1,280 yuan. Weekend packages are 800 yuan to 2,000 yuan.

Date: September 7 to September 8, 3:30 pm to 10 pm

Venue: Q.S.W. Cultural Center

Address: 179 Yichang Road

To book the tickets go to www.247tickets.cn/series/shanghai-east-bank-jazz