Club-hopping all round Bremen on the evening of 12 April—everything from a world champion beatboxer to avant-garde icon Han Bennink—from the Mallorcan guitarist featured in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona to an (imaginary) free trip to Curaçao in the Caribbean—and a new app.
A special highlight and a favourite feature of Bremen’s jazzahead! in April is its party night, CLUBNIGHT, treats for both newbies to the jazz scene and for people who’ve seen it all. This year’s city-wide extravaganza, on Friday 12 April, starts at 5 pm and, in some venues, goes straight through into the early hours of Saturday morning. No fewer than 35 venues, some of which are taking part for the first time, will be turning themselves into their very own “Birdland" or “Blue Note" for the evening. CLUBNIGHT promises more than 70 fascinating concerts given by top-class bands from all over the world. There is an all-in-one ticket which not only gives access to all of the venues, but also includes unlimited use of public transport throughout Bremen and the Niedersachsen region.
Jazzahead! 2024’s key themes are fully reflected in the CLUBNIGHT programme, starting with some of the most exciting bands from this year's partner country, the Netherlands; rising stars of the young German scene are there too; plus rare discoveries to be made through the focus on “Jazz from Africa". There will also be events putting inclusion and sustainable touring into the spotlight. Evenings/ nights presented by individual countries also promise unique experiences, spontaneous encounters, and the chance to see and hear artists in close-up. These include the CLUBNIGHT evening given by partner country the Netherlands at Bremen’s brand-new Zentrum für Kunst, with fusion prodigy Kotokid and Brazilian saxophonist Lucas Santana, among others. There is a specially curated concert given by artists nominated for a German Jazz Prize, at Pusdorf Studios: Greek-German bassist Athina Kontou with her band Mother, top drummer Max Andrzejewski with his band Hütte, and much talked-about baritone saxophonist Kira Linn. All three of these acts have previously made their mark with their own showcases at jazzahead!. (Incidentally, the German Jazz Prize ceremony is not in Bremen this year, but will be held the following week, on 18 April, in Cologne).
The seventy-plus acts at Bremen CLUBNIGHT are spread out all over the city—from the city centre and Ostertor/Steintor to Neustadt and Woltmershausen and Bremen Nord and into the new neighbourhood of Tabakquartier. The 35 venues include many which are long-standing and regular CLUBNIGHT destinations, such as the Achat Hotel, which is organising a “Jazz from Africa" evening with Washington DJ-ing legend John Murph, the sextet of South African guitarist Vuma Levin, plus a late session. Another familiar haunt is Bremen’s vaulted medieval Ratskeller, this time presenting the electronica of Clavexperience featuring Bulgarian beatbox world champion SkilleR. The Römer night club is the place where the German scene will gather, with a performance by award-winning Munich bassist Nils Kugelmann and his trio. The fabulous acoustic of the Sendesaal is the place to hear two Dutch bands: with drummer Han Bennink will be a fresh version of the avant-garde ICP (Instant Composers Pool) and the much-acclaimed band “alto for two” with saxophonist Kika Sprangers, who is also to be heard at the helm of her Large Ensemble in the 2024 jazzahead! showcase programme.
There are also venues which will be joining in for CLUBNIGHT for the first time this year: the Union Brewery in the west of Bremen will host the Danish post-jazz quartet Girls in Airports, and later in the evening there will be a set by DJ Tereza, originally from East Germany, who has performed with the German Symphony Orchestra, on Gilles Peterson's Worldwide FM and at the Boiler Room. The UK is very much back in the fray this year. singer Emma Smith, who has often appeared in Germany as a Puppini Sister and a Postmodern Jukeboxer will make her own-name debut at Café Sand, by Weserstrand’s sandy beach, while Tor 40 am Güterbahnhof (right next to the main railway station) will be presenting a UK country night with five bands, including Mama Terra, signed to London cult label Acid Jazz, plus a midnight jam session led by Aaron Liddard (from Amy Winehouse’s band).
Next door at Schaulust, Italy will be presenting an evening of bands from the country for the very first time at jazzahead!. The bill includes Milanese prog-rock video game soundtrack jazzers Tendha. At the Instituto Cervantes in Bremen Schwachhausen, the gypsy jazz trio led by Mallorcan guitarist Biel Ballister will be performing, among others. Ardent jazz fan Woody Allen chose his music for the soundtrack of the hit film “Vicky Cristina Barcelona". Umzu in the city centre will not only be hosting a discussion on inclusive events, but also a concert by the band AGM, who will be performing their vision of barrier-free music-making with Roman Babik (piano) and Dimitrij Markitantov (saxophone). Following a “Better Live" panel on sustainable touring, the Indian-American singer and instrumentalist Amirtha Kidambi and her band will perform at Kukoon. At Neusi's near the university, singer Ineza, who was born in Rwanda, grew up in Belgium and now lives in London, will delight audiences with a mix of jazz and neo soul. FlamenKora bring the traditional music of Africa and Andalusia together with jazz on the MS Loretta – the first waterborne jazzahead! experience for many years. There will also be a free concert on the Bike it! stage in front of the Papp in Neustadt: the performance by percussionist Vernon Chatlein from Curaçao inviting a special guest will transport the audience – metaphorically- straight off to the Caribbean.
As is the way with jazz, there are several late sessions taking place during CLUBNIGHT. These include one at the Achat Hotel, the place to be at night, where a late-night session with special guests South African guitarist Vuma Levin and his band will celebrate CLUBNIGHT into the weekend from 23:30.
Together with Rausgegangen Bremen, we have created a special app for jazzahead! CLUBNIGHT. The whole programme is available, searchable by the name of the venue or of the bands, together with directions to venues with the shortest routes and venue capacity. It is all live in the Rausgegangen app, downloadable here.
Everyone involved is looking forward to your preview coverage, please give a few of the bands a namecheck!
The jazzahead! CLUBNIGHT ticket costs €35 (reduced €20) and is also a VBN ticket for the whole night. Tickets are available in advance from Nordwest Ticket via the jazzahead! Webshop or at the advance booking offices as well as on site at the box offices of the participating venues. Further information can be found under “Get your Tickets" at Festival — jazzahead!
A special highlight and a favourite feature of Bremen’s jazzahead! in April is its party night, CLUBNIGHT, treats for both newbies to the jazz scene and for people who’ve seen it all. This year’s city-wide extravaganza, on Friday 12 April, starts at 5 pm and, in some venues, goes straight through into the early hours of Saturday morning. No fewer than 35 venues, some of which are taking part for the first time, will be turning themselves into their very own “Birdland" or “Blue Note" for the evening. CLUBNIGHT promises more than 70 fascinating concerts given by top-class bands from all over the world. There is an all-in-one ticket which not only gives access to all of the venues, but also includes unlimited use of public transport throughout Bremen and the Niedersachsen region.
Jazzahead! 2024’s key themes are fully reflected in the CLUBNIGHT programme, starting with some of the most exciting bands from this year's partner country, the Netherlands; rising stars of the young German scene are there too; plus rare discoveries to be made through the focus on “Jazz from Africa". There will also be events putting inclusion and sustainable touring into the spotlight. Evenings/ nights presented by individual countries also promise unique experiences, spontaneous encounters, and the chance to see and hear artists in close-up. These include the CLUBNIGHT evening given by partner country the Netherlands at Bremen’s brand-new Zentrum für Kunst, with fusion prodigy Kotokid and Brazilian saxophonist Lucas Santana, among others. There is a specially curated concert given by artists nominated for a German Jazz Prize, at Pusdorf Studios: Greek-German bassist Athina Kontou with her band Mother, top drummer Max Andrzejewski with his band Hütte, and much talked-about baritone saxophonist Kira Linn. All three of these acts have previously made their mark with their own showcases at jazzahead!. (Incidentally, the German Jazz Prize ceremony is not in Bremen this year, but will be held the following week, on 18 April, in Cologne).
The seventy-plus acts at Bremen CLUBNIGHT are spread out all over the city—from the city centre and Ostertor/Steintor to Neustadt and Woltmershausen and Bremen Nord and into the new neighbourhood of Tabakquartier. The 35 venues include many which are long-standing and regular CLUBNIGHT destinations, such as the Achat Hotel, which is organising a “Jazz from Africa" evening with Washington DJ-ing legend John Murph, the sextet of South African guitarist Vuma Levin, plus a late session. Another familiar haunt is Bremen’s vaulted medieval Ratskeller, this time presenting the electronica of Clavexperience featuring Bulgarian beatbox world champion SkilleR. The Römer night club is the place where the German scene will gather, with a performance by award-winning Munich bassist Nils Kugelmann and his trio. The fabulous acoustic of the Sendesaal is the place to hear two Dutch bands: with drummer Han Bennink will be a fresh version of the avant-garde ICP (Instant Composers Pool) and the much-acclaimed band “alto for two” with saxophonist Kika Sprangers, who is also to be heard at the helm of her Large Ensemble in the 2024 jazzahead! showcase programme.
There are also venues which will be joining in for CLUBNIGHT for the first time this year: the Union Brewery in the west of Bremen will host the Danish post-jazz quartet Girls in Airports, and later in the evening there will be a set by DJ Tereza, originally from East Germany, who has performed with the German Symphony Orchestra, on Gilles Peterson's Worldwide FM and at the Boiler Room. The UK is very much back in the fray this year. singer Emma Smith, who has often appeared in Germany as a Puppini Sister and a Postmodern Jukeboxer will make her own-name debut at Café Sand, by Weserstrand’s sandy beach, while Tor 40 am Güterbahnhof (right next to the main railway station) will be presenting a UK country night with five bands, including Mama Terra, signed to London cult label Acid Jazz, plus a midnight jam session led by Aaron Liddard (from Amy Winehouse’s band).
Next door at Schaulust, Italy will be presenting an evening of bands from the country for the very first time at jazzahead!. The bill includes Milanese prog-rock video game soundtrack jazzers Tendha. At the Instituto Cervantes in Bremen Schwachhausen, the gypsy jazz trio led by Mallorcan guitarist Biel Ballister will be performing, among others. Ardent jazz fan Woody Allen chose his music for the soundtrack of the hit film “Vicky Cristina Barcelona". Umzu in the city centre will not only be hosting a discussion on inclusive events, but also a concert by the band AGM, who will be performing their vision of barrier-free music-making with Roman Babik (piano) and Dimitrij Markitantov (saxophone). Following a “Better Live" panel on sustainable touring, the Indian-American singer and instrumentalist Amirtha Kidambi and her band will perform at Kukoon. At Neusi's near the university, singer Ineza, who was born in Rwanda, grew up in Belgium and now lives in London, will delight audiences with a mix of jazz and neo soul. FlamenKora bring the traditional music of Africa and Andalusia together with jazz on the MS Loretta – the first waterborne jazzahead! experience for many years. There will also be a free concert on the Bike it! stage in front of the Papp in Neustadt: the performance by percussionist Vernon Chatlein from Curaçao inviting a special guest will transport the audience – metaphorically- straight off to the Caribbean.
As is the way with jazz, there are several late sessions taking place during CLUBNIGHT. These include one at the Achat Hotel, the place to be at night, where a late-night session with special guests South African guitarist Vuma Levin and his band will celebrate CLUBNIGHT into the weekend from 23:30.
Together with Rausgegangen Bremen, we have created a special app for jazzahead! CLUBNIGHT. The whole programme is available, searchable by the name of the venue or of the bands, together with directions to venues with the shortest routes and venue capacity. It is all live in the Rausgegangen app, downloadable here.
Everyone involved is looking forward to your preview coverage, please give a few of the bands a namecheck!
The jazzahead! CLUBNIGHT ticket costs €35 (reduced €20) and is also a VBN ticket for the whole night. Tickets are available in advance from Nordwest Ticket via the jazzahead! Webshop or at the advance booking offices as well as on site at the box offices of the participating venues. Further information can be found under “Get your Tickets" at Festival — jazzahead!
