Jazzahead! 2027 Focus Areas Include Pacific Region And The Baltics
Courtesy Joerg Sarbach
The world’s largest jazz trade fair and festival, from 22 to 24 April 2027 in Bremen, Germany.
For up-and-coming jazz acts, jazzahead!’s showcase programme is among the most effective launch pads anywhere in the world.
Applications for the 2027 showcases – short concerts of 30 to 45 minutes – will be open until September 30, with entries to be made via jazzahead.de/showcases. Starting on 22 April 2027, the 38 international showcases and the approximately 120 Clubnight concerts will once again bring thousands of visitors, as well as international music industry professionals, including record labels, management and booking agencies, to Bremen, Germany.
jazzahead! is currently in the process of putting together the five juries to choose the showcase acts through a rigorous multiphase selection process. The showcase acts come from all over the world.
Award-winning Estonian pianist Kirke Karja, who has attended every jazzahead! since 2017 in a professional capacity, is a member of the team producing the programme. Karja says: In the Baltic countries, music culture is not as closely connected with historical names such as Bach, Debussy or Coltrane. Our legs are not bound by tradition! We are part of Europe, but we are also connected to other cultural spheres. This has definitely influenced our music. For example, Estonian saxophonist Maria Faust has said that she doesn’t swing… she marches. This is precisely the kind of different perspective which makes music from our region so fresh and interesting.“
From 2027 to 2029, the focus region will be Asia Pacific. The objective of this initiative is to forge connections between the nations in the region and across continents, and for this to happen both on an artistic and professional level. Alongside at least three showcases from the Pacific region, there will also be panels and discussions with specialists. The focus will be not only on nations with a profile in the jazz world such as Japan and Australia, but also on the scenes in less well-known countries such as South Korea, Indonesia and Thailand.
“Asia Pacific” follows on from the focus theme “Jazz from Africa”—jazzahead! remains firmly committed to developing ongoing close collaborations with its African partners.
The showcase application period for jazzahead! 2027 ends on 30 September. At the same time, registration opens for all industry participants – who can start networking online straight away by signing up via the participant portal.
Applications for the 2027 showcases – short concerts of 30 to 45 minutes – will be open until September 30, with entries to be made via jazzahead.de/showcases. Starting on 22 April 2027, the 38 international showcases and the approximately 120 Clubnight concerts will once again bring thousands of visitors, as well as international music industry professionals, including record labels, management and booking agencies, to Bremen, Germany.
jazzahead! is currently in the process of putting together the five juries to choose the showcase acts through a rigorous multiphase selection process. The showcase acts come from all over the world.
Partner region—The Baltics
The Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) are taking centre stage as an exciting growth market. It is a region that is all too often overlooked and certainly deserves to be better known. The jazzahead! team and the partner region will be working together to identify some of the amazing talents in the region. Each of the three countries will be represented by three showcase acts.Award-winning Estonian pianist Kirke Karja, who has attended every jazzahead! since 2017 in a professional capacity, is a member of the team producing the programme. Karja says: In the Baltic countries, music culture is not as closely connected with historical names such as Bach, Debussy or Coltrane. Our legs are not bound by tradition! We are part of Europe, but we are also connected to other cultural spheres. This has definitely influenced our music. For example, Estonian saxophonist Maria Faust has said that she doesn’t swing… she marches. This is precisely the kind of different perspective which makes music from our region so fresh and interesting.“
First preview of the jazzahead! 2027 programme
jazzahead! 2027 will begin on 21 April with an Exhibitors’ Preview, an evening exclusively for industry participants. The trade fair and festival will be launched at the Auftakt! Welcoming Ceremony at midday on 22 April.From 2027 to 2029, the focus region will be Asia Pacific. The objective of this initiative is to forge connections between the nations in the region and across continents, and for this to happen both on an artistic and professional level. Alongside at least three showcases from the Pacific region, there will also be panels and discussions with specialists. The focus will be not only on nations with a profile in the jazz world such as Japan and Australia, but also on the scenes in less well-known countries such as South Korea, Indonesia and Thailand.
“Asia Pacific” follows on from the focus theme “Jazz from Africa”—jazzahead! remains firmly committed to developing ongoing close collaborations with its African partners.
The showcase application period for jazzahead! 2027 ends on 30 September. At the same time, registration opens for all industry participants – who can start networking online straight away by signing up via the participant portal.
