From 14 April to 1 May, jazzahead!’s sphere has expanded with—among other things—a large circus tent venue.
Lots of music and plenty of variety: those are some of the things which this year's jazzahead! at MESSE BREMEN has to offer. At last, after a two-year hiatus, the festival is back. From 14 April to 1 May there will be over 100 concerts on the site of the Messe, and also in several locations in Bremen's city centre. Partner country Canada is naturally at the centre of all this. In jazzahead!’s 16th year as a trade fair (and its 11th as a festival), the event is a powerful and attractive draw. Not only has there been the addition of a circus tent as an extra performance venue, there will also be the presentation of the German Jazz Awards on 27 April at the Metropol Theater Bremen.
Among the appealing events at jazzahead! are, as ever, the showcase concerts from 28 to 30 April, which – there was considerable doubt but it is now confirmed – can also be experienced live by audiences from the region. There have also been some changes and innovations for this year. For example, although the bands will still be presented within the familiar programming formats (Canadian Night on Thursday, European Jazz Meeting on Friday, German Jazz Expo and Overseas Night on Saturday), there will always be two bands across the four stages playing at the same time – so the audience will have choices to make. There will be both a daytime and an evening programme, starting at 2pm and running into the night. Combined tickets are available for this, and these also include access to the programme of events taking place in the circus tent.
The festival opens with Canadian Night on Thursday evening. “This programme offers a wonderful snapshot of the many different disciplines and voices which our country has to offer," says Rainbow Robert, speaker of the Jazz Festival Canada and a jury member of the Canadian programme. She says the decision process was anything but simple: “Canada is an incredibly large country with an inspiring and diverse jazz community—there are so many extremely talented and dedicated artists." Performers will include classically trained trombonist Audrey Ochoa, Montreal's François Bourassa Quartet, which has been established for decades now, as well a performance from the duo of Marianne Trudel and John Hollenbeck.
The other 32 showcase concerts, with artists from Europe, Germany and overseas, also offer music of the highest quality, such as the Andalusian saxophonist, singer/songwriter Antonio Lizana with his fusion of jazz and flamenco, or JO, the band formed by German drummer Jo Beyer or the Ofer Mizrahi Trio, which combines Western, Turkish and Indian music with jazz. Live audiences will be able to enjoy the showcases on four stages on the Messe site, and also at the Schlachthof cultural centre, adjacent to the site.
There will also be plenty of music in the circus tent: this venue is something new in the jazzahead! experience. On Friday 29 April and Saturday 30 April, six more concerts will take place here, with bands specially invited by jazzahead! Late on Friday evening, the Portuguese band “Rite of Trio" will perform there: they are influenced by composers like Stravinsky and Ligeti as well as rock bands like Mars Volta and the Lounge Lizards. Another highlight will be the concert by young Sicilian guitarist Matteo Mancuso. He is not only an internet guitar phenomenon, he has also received plaudits from guitar heroes like Al Di Meola and Joe Bonamassa. The flamenco jazz group Los Aurora from Spain will be there with a dancer- “we expect them to really bring the tent to the boil," says Sybille Kornitschky, who runs jazzahead! for Messe Bremen.
The programme on Saturday evening is just as exciting: three bands nominated for the German Jazz Award are on the bill: Israeli singer Efrat Alony with her programme “Hollywood Isn't Calling”, Ukrainian singer Leléka with her band, and balafon supremo Aly Keïta from the Ivory Coast whose brand of world music will have a real festival feel.
There is fantastic variety in the CLUBNIGHT in which Canada will also be playing a major role. No fewer than 22 venues will become clubs in Bremen for the night from Saturday 30 April to Sunday 1 May.
These include Metropol Theater Bremen which will present a Canadian evening with a series of concerts. These include the masters of improvisation on string instruments, the Josh Zubot String Quartet (from 7.30 pm), the Canadian-Haitian Vox Sambou (10.30 pm) and the large ensemble Haram (11.30 pm). Haram take pieces from the classical Arabic repertoire – from countries such as Egypt, Iraq or Sudan – and transform them with the band’s unique and fascinating sound. Partner country Canada will also play the main role at Bremen's Schaulust: in addition to performances by (among others) Barbra Lica (7 p.m.) and the CODE Quartet (8 p.m.), the Gentiane MG Trio from Quebec will be performing from 11 p.m., standing in at short notice for The Brooks, who were unfortunately obliged to cancel.
There will also be music from other countries on this evening. TAU has a varied programme: a Finnish evening will begin at 6 pm- first with guitarist Mikko Iivanainen, then with multi-instrumentalist Osmo Ikonen, known as the keyboardist of the rock band “Sunrise Avenue", among others. In the “Lila Eule" there will be a Danish evening- among others with the duo Svaneborg Kardyb (6 pm) as well as the band Bevort 3 (from 9 pm).
Other options and possibilities for CLUBNIGHT are Kaye-Ree's performance in Markthalle Acht. She is a German singer born in Iran, and she captivated a large TV audience in 2018 on “The Voice of Germany" talent show. She will present her gentle “Global Soul” in three sets between 7 and 9.45 pm. Entry is free. The Pusdorf Studios also have their own young musical colour, here the bands “Welten" and “Jungle by night" will perform- in cooperation with LiveKomm and the Bremen club amplifier- between 7 and 10 pm. The ACHAT Hotel will host the US-American Roni Ben-Hur Trio and the German duo Schlesinger Lackerschmid.
Tickets for all events at jazzahead! and the festival are available at the advance booking offices or by phone 0421- 36 36 36 as well as from Nordwest Ticket via their webshop. Tickets are also available from the ticket service in the Glocke (0421- 33 66 99), in the press building of the Weser-Kurier, in all regional newspaper offices or online at jazzahead/en.
Among the appealing events at jazzahead! are, as ever, the showcase concerts from 28 to 30 April, which – there was considerable doubt but it is now confirmed – can also be experienced live by audiences from the region. There have also been some changes and innovations for this year. For example, although the bands will still be presented within the familiar programming formats (Canadian Night on Thursday, European Jazz Meeting on Friday, German Jazz Expo and Overseas Night on Saturday), there will always be two bands across the four stages playing at the same time – so the audience will have choices to make. There will be both a daytime and an evening programme, starting at 2pm and running into the night. Combined tickets are available for this, and these also include access to the programme of events taking place in the circus tent.
The festival opens with Canadian Night on Thursday evening. “This programme offers a wonderful snapshot of the many different disciplines and voices which our country has to offer," says Rainbow Robert, speaker of the Jazz Festival Canada and a jury member of the Canadian programme. She says the decision process was anything but simple: “Canada is an incredibly large country with an inspiring and diverse jazz community—there are so many extremely talented and dedicated artists." Performers will include classically trained trombonist Audrey Ochoa, Montreal's François Bourassa Quartet, which has been established for decades now, as well a performance from the duo of Marianne Trudel and John Hollenbeck.
The other 32 showcase concerts, with artists from Europe, Germany and overseas, also offer music of the highest quality, such as the Andalusian saxophonist, singer/songwriter Antonio Lizana with his fusion of jazz and flamenco, or JO, the band formed by German drummer Jo Beyer or the Ofer Mizrahi Trio, which combines Western, Turkish and Indian music with jazz. Live audiences will be able to enjoy the showcases on four stages on the Messe site, and also at the Schlachthof cultural centre, adjacent to the site.
There will also be plenty of music in the circus tent: this venue is something new in the jazzahead! experience. On Friday 29 April and Saturday 30 April, six more concerts will take place here, with bands specially invited by jazzahead! Late on Friday evening, the Portuguese band “Rite of Trio" will perform there: they are influenced by composers like Stravinsky and Ligeti as well as rock bands like Mars Volta and the Lounge Lizards. Another highlight will be the concert by young Sicilian guitarist Matteo Mancuso. He is not only an internet guitar phenomenon, he has also received plaudits from guitar heroes like Al Di Meola and Joe Bonamassa. The flamenco jazz group Los Aurora from Spain will be there with a dancer- “we expect them to really bring the tent to the boil," says Sybille Kornitschky, who runs jazzahead! for Messe Bremen.
The programme on Saturday evening is just as exciting: three bands nominated for the German Jazz Award are on the bill: Israeli singer Efrat Alony with her programme “Hollywood Isn't Calling”, Ukrainian singer Leléka with her band, and balafon supremo Aly Keïta from the Ivory Coast whose brand of world music will have a real festival feel.
There is fantastic variety in the CLUBNIGHT in which Canada will also be playing a major role. No fewer than 22 venues will become clubs in Bremen for the night from Saturday 30 April to Sunday 1 May.
These include Metropol Theater Bremen which will present a Canadian evening with a series of concerts. These include the masters of improvisation on string instruments, the Josh Zubot String Quartet (from 7.30 pm), the Canadian-Haitian Vox Sambou (10.30 pm) and the large ensemble Haram (11.30 pm). Haram take pieces from the classical Arabic repertoire – from countries such as Egypt, Iraq or Sudan – and transform them with the band’s unique and fascinating sound. Partner country Canada will also play the main role at Bremen's Schaulust: in addition to performances by (among others) Barbra Lica (7 p.m.) and the CODE Quartet (8 p.m.), the Gentiane MG Trio from Quebec will be performing from 11 p.m., standing in at short notice for The Brooks, who were unfortunately obliged to cancel.
There will also be music from other countries on this evening. TAU has a varied programme: a Finnish evening will begin at 6 pm- first with guitarist Mikko Iivanainen, then with multi-instrumentalist Osmo Ikonen, known as the keyboardist of the rock band “Sunrise Avenue", among others. In the “Lila Eule" there will be a Danish evening- among others with the duo Svaneborg Kardyb (6 pm) as well as the band Bevort 3 (from 9 pm).
Other options and possibilities for CLUBNIGHT are Kaye-Ree's performance in Markthalle Acht. She is a German singer born in Iran, and she captivated a large TV audience in 2018 on “The Voice of Germany" talent show. She will present her gentle “Global Soul” in three sets between 7 and 9.45 pm. Entry is free. The Pusdorf Studios also have their own young musical colour, here the bands “Welten" and “Jungle by night" will perform- in cooperation with LiveKomm and the Bremen club amplifier- between 7 and 10 pm. The ACHAT Hotel will host the US-American Roni Ben-Hur Trio and the German duo Schlesinger Lackerschmid.
Tickets for all events at jazzahead! and the festival are available at the advance booking offices or by phone 0421- 36 36 36 as well as from Nordwest Ticket via their webshop. Tickets are also available from the ticket service in the Glocke (0421- 33 66 99), in the press building of the Weser-Kurier, in all regional newspaper offices or online at jazzahead/en.
