Schedule

Since 1977, Estival is a summer jazz festival in Switzerland, Lugano. Estival offers a thrilling and particularly surprising line-up that explores the rich world of contemporary music whilst promoting the understanding of different cultures, tolerance, and co-existence. Discover the special bond between pianist Carla Bley and bassist Steve Swallow. The two have performed in the same bands since the '60s and have been romantic partners for more than two decades. Watching them perform is the definition of musical telepathy. Together with musicians Wayne Krantz, Victor Lewis, Larry Willis, and Don Alias, they form an amazing sextet at Estival in 1986.

The North Sea Jazz Festival is the largest indoor music festival in the world, known globally as the event where the past, present and future of jazz are featured within three days. Next to a firm base of jazz as the festival’s staple music genre, many others, such as blues, soul, funk, or hip hop, pass by. Back in 1981, legendary American singer James Brown gave an unforgettable performance at the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague. The "Godfather of Soul", "Mr. Dynamite", and "Soul Brother No. 1" was a major force in 20th century popular music, influencing many musicians in numerous genres.

Estival Jazz Lugano is an annual, open-air music festival that takes place over five days in the picturesque city of Lugano, Switzerland. Since 1979, this musical Mecca has been a must-attend event for all jazz and world music fans worldwide. In 1985, American vocal virtuoso Bobby McFerrin took the stage solo at Estival Jazz Lugano. The one-man musical force stunned the audience with his unique vocal percussion as he delved into the crowd for this quirky and charming act.

Art Farmer: Live in '64 highlights an amazing one-hour concert featuring the great flugelhornist in his prime. Farmer’s band includes legendary guitarist Jim Hall (fresh from Sonny Rollins’ band), drummer Pete LaRoca, and Steve Swallow on bass. The legendary ensemble plays both standards and originals with ease and finesse and highlights why Farmer was considered one of the most innovative horn players in all of jazz.

Pierre Courbois has been one of Europe’s leading jazz musicians since the mid-sixties. This concert, recorded at the renowned Amsterdam jazz club Bimhuis, sees the drummer playing with his QWINTETT. On the occasion of his 75th birthday in 2015, Courbois hit the road for the Pierre Courbois 75 Years Anniversary Tour. The PC QWINTETT consists of several highly acclaimed Dutch jazz musicians with whom Courbois has worked before in his long and versatile career. Among them are pianist Nike Langenhuijsen, double bassist Egon Kracht, trumpeter Toon de Gouw, and trombonist Ilja Reijngoud. QWINTETT honours the Charles Mingus tradition of thematic and melodic ensemble jazz - but also with an unmistakable Courbois groove! Courbois, known for his own way of combining compositions with improvisations, melodically melts constructions with uneven breaks.

Since 1977, Estival is a summer jazz festival in Switzerland, Lugano. Estival offers a thrilling and particularly surprising line-up that explores the rich world of contemporary music whilst promoting the understanding of different cultures, tolerance, and co-existence. Jimmy Witherspoon and Rozaa Wortham, two incredible brilliant jazz musicians. Rozaa Wortham starts off the show with the Jimmy Witherspoon Quartet. Swinging and full of energy she performs ‘It Don’t Mean A Thing’. Jimmy Witherspoon, known for the song “Ain’t Nobody’s Business” ends the show with some astounding lean-back blues.

Every year, the Jazz en Baie festival takes place in the beautiful bay of Mont Saint-Michel Today’s broadcast shows a special gathering between two grandmasters of French jazz: pianist Jacky Terrasson and trumpeter Stéphane Belmondo. The two team up for an amazing concert in which jazz is combined with soul and a touch of chanson française. The Franco-American pianist Terrasson delights in travelling the world, collaboration with others and leading his own trio, quartet, or quintet. With his long-time friend, Stéphane Belmondo, Terrasson has produced wonderful CDs and beautiful concerts. One then finds the trumpeter on the pianist’s album ‘Gouache’; on another, the pianist guests on Belmondo’s ‘Ever After’. At the Jazz en Baie festival, the duo plays its amazing piano and trumpet music. Highly recommended!

Georgie Fame, known for "Yeh, Yeh" and "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde" makes a triumphant comeback with The Blue Flames. Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames was a popular band in the UK in the '60s, celebrated for its R&B, soul, jazz, ska, and pop sounds. The training was largely inspired by ska, a popular musical style in Jamaican cafes in London at the time. It was the song "Green Onions" from the Booker T & The MG that inspired Georgie to incorporate the Hammond organ into her compositions. This performance by Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames is brimming with blues and soulful sounds that will delight the group's old and new fans.

This is the first part of the 1960 concert recorded on the Alhambra stage in Paris, France where the American jazz trumpeter and arranger Quincy Jones performed with his orchestra. In the late 1950s, Jones moved to France to play concerts, study composition with Nadia Boulanger, and work for a record label: opportunities that black composers hardly had in the US at the time. Jones founded his first, 15-piece orchestra in 1957, which eventually celebrated musical triumphs in 1960 - but was a financial disaster. These were defining experiences in the life of the now multifarious maestro we know today. The concert included numbers such as 'The Birth of a Band', 'Moanin'', 'The Gipsy', 'Cherokee', 'Walkin'' and 'Big Red'.

Two top-tier Belgian musicians – guitarist Philip Catherine and bassist Jean-Louis Rassinfosse – accompany American jazz trumpeter and vocalist Chet Baker during this 1985 performance at the beautiful Brussels Jazz Club, located on the Grand-Place, the Belgian capital’s central square. The trio plays Charlie Mariano’s “Crystal Bells”, the title track of their acclaimed 1983 album. Other songs played during this legendary concert include “Down” and “How Deep is the Ocean”.

Self-taught musician Les McCann became the international jazz superstar he is today after the release of his album “Swiss Movement” which he recorded in 1968 with the late Eddie Harris. Yet there is much more to this musician than that one record. McCann moves comfortably from one jazz style to the next, demonstrating impressive chops in all areas, from bop to fusion, and from vocals to the keys of the electric piano, clavinet, or synthesizer. His mix of church and swing music captures the spirit of the time perfectly, even when an illness prevented him from playing with more than one finger at a time in the early 1990s. In today’s broadcast, McCann takes gospel back to New Orleans, where he played this set in 1983. McCann’s vocals shine in the soulful performances of several of his hits, including “Just Like Magic”, backed by his wonderful “Magic Band” of saxophonist Bobby Bryant Jr., bassist Curtis Robertson Jr., and drummer Tony St. James.

The MotorMusic Jazz Sessions filmed in MotorMusic Studios in Mechelen, Belgium, attract many great jazz musicians. A wide variety of visiting international jazz musicians share their passion for the music while performing some of the most original music within the European, as well as the global, jazz scene. American pianist Lynne Arriale’s name is known to many die-hard jazz lovers. Her active performance career started in the early 1990s, as a constant profession of her love for melody and musical discovery. Lyricism and intimacy are key characteristics of her musical identity, shared by her renowned bandmates Jasper Somsen (acoustic bass) and E.J. Strickland (drums).

Annual trade fair, exhibition, and festival jazzahead! is one of the international jazz community's most important events. Hosted in Bremen, Germany, jazzahead! brings together musicians, bookers, agents, organizers, jazz experts, and music enthusiasts at the world’s largest jazz event. In 2023, jazzahead! paid special attention to Germany’s jazz scene and invited thirty jazz acts from all over the world to perform over the course of three days. Among the artists presenting themselves at jazzahead! 2023 is German saxophonist and bandleader Daniel Erdmann. With his German-French sextet Thérapie de Couple, he embarks on a free-improv journey filled with dissonances, odd time signatures, and jazz rock passages. Because, in his own words: "Every now and then, the engine of Europe has a marital crisis." In this European ménage à six, Daniel Erdmann (tenor saxophone) is joined by Théo Ceccaldi (violin), Hélène Duret (clarinet), Vincent Courtois (cello), Robert Lucaciu (bass), and Eva Klesse (drums).

Well-known for his exuberant style and intimate familiarity with a vast range of jazz and Latin idioms, Michel Camilo has always had a sixth sense for musical adventure. Camilo was one of the most stimulating jazz pianists to emerge in the mid- to late '80s. His powerful two-handed attack (full of impressive technical skills), his knowledge of both jazz and Afro-Cuban music, and his willingness to constantly take chances turn each of his solos into an adventure. This broadcast was taped during the 1999 Münchner Klaviersommer, when Camilo made one of his rare solo appearances. Improvising on a Steinway D grand piano, he drew an astonishing palette of musical colours from his instrument: rich orchestral sounds as well as and a tender lyricism.

Orchid Big Band is the missing link between American jazz trumpeter and bandleader Thad Jones and Russian modernist composer Igor Stravinsky. The newly-founded combo springs forth from collective Déluge, a collaboration between international artists in various disciplines. Led by Thomas Julienne, Orchid Big Band consists of eighteen musicians that are enthusiastic about playing original music in a modern-day ensemble. This youthful and gender-balanced formation draws in equal measure from jazz’s great big bands and European art and world music. Performing at Studio de l'Ermitage in Paris to celebrate the release of their first album ‘Éclosion’ on March 23, 2023, Orchid Big Band invites listeners to embark on a spirited journey to the very borders of orchestral jazz. The musicians are Christelle Raquillet (flute); Olga Amelchenko, Julien Dubois, Jeanne Michard, Maxime Berton, Julien Dubois (saxophone); Gabriel Levasseur, Olivier Gay, Laure Fréjacques, Julie Varlet (trumpet); Rozann Bézier, Sébastien Arruti, Gabrielle Rachel, Sébastien Llado (trombone); Mathilda Haynes (guitar); Clément Simon (piano), Nolwenn Leizour (double bass), Gaétan Diaz (drums), and Thomas Julienne (conductor).

'Münchner Klaviersommer' was an annual concerts series that took place from 1981 to 1998 in Munich, Germany. Although the festival's name suggests a strong focus on piano music, it featured countless famous musicians from jazz and classical music – not just pianists. The concerts were usually held in July at The Gasteig, home of the Munich Philharmonic. In 1994, legendary swing band leader and vibraphonist Lionel Hampton performed his own arrangements of jazz standards with Junior Mance on piano, Jimmy Woode on bass and Bobby Durham on drums. They were joined by the St. Petersburg State Orchestra conducted by Alexander Tschernuschenko, to create an exciting big band sound on rousing performances of ‘In the Mood’ and ‘Air Mail Special’. The program ends with Hampton singing Louis Armstrong's latter-day hit ‘What a Wonderful World’.