Schedule

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. In 1979, legendary big band leader and pianist Count Basie brought his famous big band to the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague to perform two sets. Basie, whose minimalist pianism and blues-oriented swing style had cemented his popularity as early as the 1930s, was in the midst of a European tour and had recorded his live album 'On the Road' the previous night in Montreux, Switzerland. Here is the second of two sets recorded at the festival in 1979.

'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 1984, Japanese jazz pianist Makoto Ozone was one of the artists appearing here. Having recently graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, Ozone performed a mesmerizing solo concert for the festival’s audience. Today, Ozone is among the most recognized Japanese jazz musicians in the world.

After Dutch singer Kim Hoorweg landed her first record contract from Universal Music at the age of 14, her musical career took off and she became a well-known name in the Netherlands jazz community. Famous artists such as Candy Dulfer, Raul Midón, Metropole Orkest, and Gino Vannelli, to name a few, have already performed with the singer on numerous occasions. This time, Kim Hoorweg performs at BIRD in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, together with fellow Dutch musicians Anton Goudsmit on guitar, Niels Broos on keyboards, and Yoran Vroom on drums.

For the 40th anniversary of jazz legend Miles Davis' legendary album Bitches Brew, trumpeter Wallace Roney leads a band that revives the master's music. This project is the brainchild of Miles' family (including his son Erin), which is represented by his nephew, drummer Vince Wilburn. This concert at the ancient theater in Vienne, France, is a grand tribute to Miles.

To close its 2019 edition, Jazz à la Villette pays tribute to the queen of soul Aretha Franklin, who died in the summer of 2018. The musical direction of the evening has been entrusted to Antibalas, an Afrobeat group from Brooklyn attached to the Daptones label, accompanied for the occasion by several guest singers: Bettye LaVette, José James, Alice Russell, Nona Hendryx & Zara McFarlane.

Emblematic trumpeter of the second wave of "neo-boppers" that appeared at the end of the 80s in the wake of Wynton Marsalis, Roy Hargrove has established himself as one of the most talented and unpredictable of the lot. While performing alongside Herbie Hancock, Sonny Rollins and Diana Krall, the Texan (born in Waco in 1969) turned leader has distilled some twenty sonic manifestos, going from orthodox and inventive jazz to funk or the hottest Afrobeat.

To celebrate the release of Django, the Parisian New Morning Club pays tribute to the legendary guitarist Django Reinhardt. The program showcases the magic of Reinhardt’s compositions, as well as the virtuosity of one of his most famous heirs: Stochelo Rosenberg. With unbridled passion and enthusiasm, Rosenberg interprets the music that marked French musical heritage: gypsy jazz. Rosenberg cultivates an exceptional technique with a unique vibrato and sets an example for guitarists and other instrumentalists who aim to keep music alive. On stage at New Morning Club, Rosenberg is supported by Hono Winterstein (guitar), Mathias Levy (violin), Rocky Gresset (guitar), and Xavier Nikqi (double bass).

Legendary performer Tony Bennett made his debut appearance at London's iTunes Fest at the Roundhouse and this stellar performance features the multi-Grammy award winner performing his biggest hits, among them, "The Best Is Yet To Come," "Fly Me to the Moon," and his signature song "I Left My Heart in San Francisco."

Legendary free jazz pianist Burton Greene rose to fame in New York City's free jazz scene of the 1960s. Exploring various spontaneous improvisational styles, Greene performs live at Cafe OTO in London, UK.

British pianist George Shearing enjoyed an international reputation as an instrumentalist, arranger, and composer. Equally at home on the classical concert stage as in jazz clubs, he was recognized for his inventive, orchestrated jazz. In this live recording from the Munich Philharmonie, Shearing played in a duo format with Canadian double bassist Neil Swainson. The repertoire consisted of a selection of compositions by Shearing himself, among them ‘Lullaby Of Birdland’, which is a standard in jazz repertoire.

Rotterdam’s BIRD is a club, café, and restaurant with a live music program that's deeply rooted in jazz, soul, funk, hip-hop, and electronic. Its name BIRD refers to the nickname of legendary New York jazz saxophonist, bebop co-founder Charlie Parker. BIRD serves Neapolitan pizzas, fine wines, no-nonsense beers, and an all-round metropolitan rawness. Since 2014, this urban jazz club and DJAZZ.tv have been collaborating for a series of music programs: BIRD.tv, allowing you to experience the best BIRD concerts and interviews as from a first-row seat! This episode is dedicated to seven brothers from the south side of Chicago: The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble AKA Bad Boys of Jazz, Tha Bros, and Yo Favorite Band! The band freely adds generous doses of hip-hop, soul, and funk to the brass band tradition, creating an intoxicating and boisterous blend: perfect for another episode of BIRD.tv!

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. In 1980, American soul legend Ray Charles brought the Raelettes and the Ray Charles Orchestra to the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague. With the full force of these two groups behind him, Charles showed why throughout his storied career he has been viewed as one of the most recognizable voices in music.

Erroll Garner: Live in '63 & '64 presents two beautifully filmed concerts featuring his classic trio of bassist Eddie Calhoun and drummer Kelly Martin. Erroll Garner was one of jazz’s true original players and this showcases his improvisational brilliance on a parade of his most classic numbers, such as “Fly Me To The Moon” and “I Get A Kick Out Of You”, as well as originals “Erroll’s Theme,” “Mambo Erroll”, and his best-known composition, “Misty”.

Dutch free jazz, jazz rock, and electronic music pioneer Pierre Courbois threw a belated 80th birthday bash at Amsterdam’s renowned BIMhuis in January 2022. Courbois, a celebrated drummer and percussionist, also masters the tabla, conga, bass guitar, and vibraphone, and is a prolific writer with over 100 compositions to his credit. Proving that any age is just a number, Courbois (*1940) teams up with Jesse Schilderink (*1995, tenor and baritone saxophone) and Wiro Mahieu (*1964, bass) in his new band 3GEN3. Billed 3GEN3 PLUS for this festive occasion, this exciting new ensemble is augmented by pianist Jasper van ‘t Hof. Known for his virtuosity and his innovative contributions to European jazz, Van ‘t Hof (*1947) has been hailed as Europe’s finest jazz pianist. He is the recipient of the Buma Boy Edgar Award 2018. Let 3GEN3 PLUS surprise you with their fresh, innovative music in this sparkling concert recording from January 2022!

‘Jazz a Vienne’ is one of the world's most prestigious jazz festivals. Ever since 1981 it has attracted leading jazz artists, with many of them playing return engagements. Unsurprisingly, the festival's 2012 edition did not fall short of expectations: the lineup was filled with the biggest names in music. Among them was the legendary pianist McCoy Tyner. Tyner has become one of the most influential pianists in jazz history. During the first half of the 1960s, Tyner was part of the classic John Coltrane Quartet. As such, Tyner’s playing supported the iconic saxophonist’s ventures into his spiritual quests. Joined on stage by Coltrane’s son Ravi, with Gerald Cannon on double bass and Montez Coleman on drums, Tyner treats the festival’s audience to an impressive performance.

Instead of children’s songs, the sound of jazz standards was always present. They practiced intricate drum rhythms instead of Bach etudes: Simon Oslender and Jérôme Cardynaals have jazz running through their veins! Under the name ‘Twogether’ both youngsters celebrate a very unique and soulful style of funky blues-jazz. They create a sound that leaves even renowned jazz artists speechless. The two, exceptionally talented boys met in a youth big band, and before long they became a musical team. Immediately after that, they won the first prize in the Prinses Christina Jazz Concours in Amsterdam, which got the whole thing started. In this concert, they perform with wonderful artists such as the Dutch saxophonist Benjamin Herman and the American vocalist Madeline Bell.

Regarded as the greatest instrumental soloist of all-time, Stanley Gayetzky, famously known as Stan Getz emerged as one of the most significant musical forces in the world of jazz post World War II. With his distinctively warm and lyrical tone, Getz is fondly dubbed as ‘The Sound’ because of his singularity and musical innovations. His commitment to music is evident from his long body of work that includes over 300 pieces of musical compositions. Ranked among America’s top tenor saxophone players, Getz was a gifted saxophonist who could play just about anything on it, a quality that put him on top of the polls. He is accredited for playing some of the best jazz with some of the best jazzmen in the country. However, his personal life was a rollercoaster ride — tumultuous and loused up by abjection, alcohol, addiction and furious flare-ups. This program shows his last public performance, recorded at Munich Philharmonic Hall, Germany on July 18, 1990. Stan Getz (tenor sax) is accompanied by Kenny Barron (piano), Eddie Del Barrio and Frank Zottoli (synthesizers), Alex Blake (bass) and Terri Lyne Carrington (drums).

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. John Carl Hendricks is one of the instigators of "vocalese", an art form that aims to add lyrics to existing instrumental pieces and replace several instruments with singing. He flaunts this technique at Estival, where he "scat" while playing double bass. Hendricks is known for his mastery of scat, a form of vocal jazz that uses onomatopoeia rather than lyrics