"Blue Note: 70 Years" is the Theme of Jazzfest Berlin '09

Exhibition with photographs by Francis Wolff in the Jewish Museum - 4 concerts in the glass-topped courtyard

The JazzFest Berlin '09 will take place from November 4th to 8th. This year, the central theme explored by artistic director Nils Landgren is Blue Note: 70 years, allowing him to establish a connection between the JazzFest and the birthplace of the label's two founders, Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff. An appropriate complement to the program is a special exhibition which opens on October 30th at Berlin's Jewish Museum featuring photographs by Francis Wolff of Blue Note releases. With the Jewish Museum, the JazzFest will be “annexing" an ideal cooperation partner: the glass-topped courtyard of the museum will be converted into an additional concert locale for the duration of the festival.

Guest appearances there will include those by Israeli-born keyboard virtuoso Yaron Herman, just 27 years old, who has already experienced a meteoric career rise -- from failed basketball pro to the most sought-after Parisian jazz pianist of the moment. Robert Glasper from New York made his Blue Note debut in 2005. Together with musical partners Vincente Archer and Damion Rade, he wows audiences with the fade-in-and-out technique of contemporary hip-hop, among other practices. Aaron Parks too, now just twenty-five years old, recently signed a contract with Blue Note Records. His debut album, entitled Invisible Cinema (August 2008) was greeted with enthusiasm, and his image was included among the elite of the “New Jazz Visionaries" (JazzTimes).

Among recent high-profile Blue Note artists is trumpeter/composer Terence Blanchard. He opens this year's JazzFest Berlin '09 on November 4th with a performance of his A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem For Katrina) (Blue Note 2007) jointly with the German Filmorchester Babelsberg. Given this year's theme, it should come as no surprise that Julian Benedikt's Grammy-nominated film Blue Note -- A Story of Modern Jazz (1997) will be screened at this year's festival. Additional Blue-Note-toned activities are planned, but also musical islands and concerts featuring artists invited by Nils Landgren in the spirit of his tried-and-true motto: “showcase good music."

Our successful collaboration with ARD and Deutschlandradio Kultur will continue. All concerts of JazzFest Berlin '09 will be recorded and in some cases broadcast live.

The entire program for JazzFest Berlin '09 will be published in August and presented by Nils Landgren with commentary at a press conference prior to the festival launch.

For additional information, please visit www.jazzfest-berlin.de or call (030) 254 89 100.