Schedule

Five musicians, in excess of 3000 miles, nine concerts, in thirteen days: in November 2015, the five-piece ensemble ‘Tango Extremo’ left the confines of its hometown, the Dutch city of The Hague, to travel through Russia. On the musicians’ jam-packed itinerary were performances in Moscow, Novosibirsk, Saratov, Tomsk, and Barnaul. There, the ensemble collaborated with a local classical orchestra, the members taught workshops, and travelled countless miles by busses, planes, and trains. The warm welcome of the Russian audiences made up for the icy Siberian colds of the journey. The Dutch reporter Herman Nanninga was on hand to document this gargantuan tour of Russia in his film ‘Tango on the Tundra’.

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 2024, jazzahead! paid special attention to the jazz scene of the Netherlands and invited over forty jazz acts to perform over the course of three days. Among the ensembles presenting themselves at jazzahead! 2024 is contemporary Mexican jazz trio Antiánima. Antiánima was founded in 2019 and has since become known for its adventurous blend of musical styles, incorporating elements from contemporary jazz, punk, free jazz, progressive rock, electronic, and hip hop. Antiánima explores an audio-visual concept that integrates MIDI-controlled visuals with their performances. The lineup includes Ángel Herrera Rivera (bass), Samuel de Jesús Sánchez Alvarado (drums), and Luis Ángel Orduña Gutiérrez (guitar).

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 French-Armenian pianist Yessaï Karapetian. His 2022 debut album “Yessaï” has been described as having “overwhelming energy, power, but also invention”. Or, in Karapetian’s own words: “jumping off a cliff without a parachute, to be able to fly and do the impossible in front of everyone, or only in front of God.” Dive headfirst into a world full of rich, piano-led jazz textures with progressive nuances and intricate interludes.

In this DJAZZ Belgium Sessions performance, which was recorded at AED Studios in Lint, Belgium, we witness Europe’s finest jazz musicians at work. A wide variety of international jazz musicians give a creative, up-close and inside insight into their art of playing jazz music. Young talent and established jazz musicians play to their heart’s content: take for instance this unusual performance by the Free Desmyter Quartet. Desmyter is an obstinate improviser with a very original and recognisable sound. His compositions are never contrived, nor revolutionary, for that matter, yet they are contemporary and innovative.

The Flying Pickets are a British vocal group that was formed in 1982, transferring the art of a cappella to the pop music scene. These five gentlemen scored a number one hit in 1983 in the UK Singles Chart with their version of 'Only You'. Performing live in Stuttgart, vocalists Hereward Kaye, Gary Howard, Michael Henry, Nick Godfrey and Ricky Payne have many surprises in store for their appreciative audience.

Guitarist Mike Stern and violin player Didier Lockwood sharing a stage: that promises a good show! After playing for years with Blood, Sweat & Tears, Mike Stern landed a gig with drummer Billy Cobham and then broke through with Miles Davis’ comeback band in the 1980s. Didier Lockwood played in jazz fusion band Magma during the 1970s and is known for his use of electric amplification and experimentation. Together they perform a unique duo concert at the beautiful antique theatre in Vienne, France.

American jazz tenor saxophonist Stan Getz (1927-1991) was nicknamed "The Sound" for his warm, lyrical tone. Performing in bebop and cool jazz groups, he popularized bossa nova in America with the hit 'The Girl from Ipanema'. In the summer of 1983, Getz brought his working quartet to the Robert Mondavi Winery, Napa Valley, California, for a set that included Over The Edge, Answer Without Question, Sippin' At Bells, Tempus Fugit, and a bossa nova medley of Desafinado and The Girl From Ipanema. Getz (tenor saxophone) is joined by bassist Marc Johnson, drummer Victor Lewis, and pianist Jim McNeely.

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).

The November Music festival in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands is the ultimate event for experiencing a broad range of music. It features a wonderful variety of contemporary and experimental pop, sound art, non-Western music, jazz and free improvisation. The closing concert for the 2016 edition offers a great example of this musical wealth - Dutch composer and pianist Rembrandt Frerichs’ fantastic trio play a wonderful set with Cello8ctet Amsterdam and renowned Iranian tar player Hossein Alizâdeh. Rembrandt Frerichs studied in New York and lived in Cairo for several years. His music has the drive of American jazz, the lyricism of Middle-Eastern music, and the sensitivity of the chamber music of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. The combination of Frerichs’ trio with Cello8ctet and Alizâdeh is unique. Their music is a miracle of organic creativity, and a shining fusion of old and new world music.

Lex Jasper Trio: Happy Days Are Here Again - the title says is all… After an automobile accident and 15 years of revalidation, he is back! Together with his musical pals Edwin Corzilius (double bass) and Frits Landesbergen (drums), pianist and composer Lex Jasper celebrates his return to jazz club The Duke in the Dutch village of Nistelrode. Following his car accident, Lex nearly joined the leagues of Netherland's “forgotten” jazz heroes, though he is still considered one of the most important artists and composers of his generation and Dutch jazz history. Jasper played and recorded with all the greats, including Toots Thielemans, Clark Terry, Joe Pass, and Rita Reys.

The Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) was composed of Milt 'Bags' Jackson on vibraphone, John Lewis on piano, Percy Heath on bass, and Connie Kay on drums. Milt Jackson and John Lewis were pioneer bebop musicians who had played together in Dizzy Gillespie's 1948 big band. They pursued separate careers before adding Heath and Lewis to form the Modern Jazz Quartet in the 1950s. Noted for its delicate percussion sonorities, innovative jazz forms, and high performance standards, the MJQ was an immensely popular jazz and “third stream” ensemble until its final concerts in the early 1990s.

You can’t help but be carried away by the powerful voice Marion Williams, who, with backing from Tommy Brown (piano), Joe Washington (organ), Billy Tuliver (drums), and singers Barbara White and Ann Bolden, sings gospel songs and spirituals as if she has lived them a thousand times over. The repertoire includes such familiar tunes as “Peace in the Valley,” “We Shall Overcome,” and “Michael, Row the Boat Ashore.”

Innovative contemporary jazz and improvised music, the search for modernity, mind blowing sounds, rock and pop… Indeed PARADOX Tilburg goes beyond jazz, crossing musical boundaries into the unknown soundscapes of electronic music. Indie artists, blues veterans and jazz superstars all pour their hearts and souls at the Paradox. From young, local talents to top national and international artists, PARADOX Tilburg is the most intimate jazz club in the Netherlands, with a devoted audience from all across Europe. In their TV show PARADOX LIVE you get a taste of the greatest concerts and interviews with artists from all around the world. This episode of PARADOX LIVE presents the amazing Dutch pianist and composer Harmen Fraanje.

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. Due to COVID-19, only half of the scheduled performances of the 2021 edition were actually recorded in Bremen. Among the performing bands is Red Kite. This band comprises some of the finest Norwegian jazz, prog, impro and rock musicians. The band’s music lies somewhere between 1970s psychedelic rock and experimental jazz. Red Kite have found a new, energetic musical expression infused with visceral grooves and roaring fuzz guitar. The musicians are trumpeter Fulvio Sigurta, keyboardist Esben Tjalve, bassist Adrian Christensen, and drummer Frederik Bülow.

Pianist Kenny Barron’s June 27, 2019 appearance at the Alfa Jazz Festival in Ukraine’s Lviv was a celebration of sublime jazz virtuosity. The revered elder statesmen of jazz piano brought his regular working trio of Kiyoshi Kitagawa (bass) and Jonathan Blake (drums), augmented by stellar jazzman Marcus Strickland (tenor saxophone) and young lion Riley Mulherkar (trumpet). Their seamless blend of classic bebop and modern explorations spoke of a deep, emotive connection to each note, captivating the Ukrainian audience with lyrical improvisations during this unforgettable concert.

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 July 1996, renowned American saxophonist Wayne Shorter and his quintet performed at Estival Jazz Lugano. Together with pianist Jim Beard, guitarist David Gilmore, bassist Alphonso Johnson, and drummer Rodney van Holmes, Shorter shows he is still at his best.

In 1988, Dee Dee Bridgewater was one of the first great jazz singers to perform at the Jazz Festival in Ramatuelle. In 2016, the story seems to repeat itself as her daughter China Moses took the stage at Ramatuelle. Over the years, China Moses has become a mature performer with a unique style: rocky voice, sharp sense of swing, and intense/energetic stage presence. After signing compilations dedicated to Dinah Washington and blues, Moses released in 2016 an album of his own compositions, entitled "Whatever". Get ready for a most entertaining performance combining jazz, soul, and hip-hop.

The Dutch Hammond organ player Rob Mostert develops, in cooperation with DJAZZ, the programme ‘Mostert Meets’. In this series, the Hammond B3 organ takes centre stage. Rob Mostert invites the world’s finest jazz musicians for a musical collaboration, in which the Hammond Organ plays a major role. The Hammond B3 is an electric organ, which generates sound by creating an electric current from rotating a metal tonewheel near an electromagnetic pickup. Initially, the Hammond B3 was at home in churches, until it entered the jazz scene in the mid-20th century. In this episode, Mostert performs with his band ‘The Preacher Men’, consisting of saxophonist Efraim Trujillo, drummer Chris Strik, and of course Hammon organist Rob Mostert himself!

In 2019, the vibrant city of Sofia, Bulgaria, hosted the International A to JazZ Festival. Among the featured acts was the trailblazing jazz trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah. This genre-defying artist captivated the audience with his eclectic “stretch music”; an approach that incorporates hip-hop and reaches back through the American canon into African percussion and its rich melodic content. Trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah’s quintet, which includes drummer Corey Fonville, percussionist Weedie Braimah, pianist Lawrence Fields, and bass guitarist Max Mucha, delivered a performance that defied boundaries and expectations.

Rotterdam’s ‘ BIRD’ is a club, café and restaurant with a live music programme that's deeply rooted in jazz, and also branches out towards soul, funk, hip-hop and electronic music as well. Its name ‘BIRD’ refers to the nickname of the legendary New York jazz saxophonist, bebop co-founder Charlie Parker (1920-1955). BIRD serves Neapolitan pizzas, good 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 programmes: ‘BIRD.tv’, allowing you to experience the best BIRD concerts and interviews as from a first row seat! This episode is reserved for ‘De Deeldeliers’, featuring poet and so-called ‘Night Mayor of Rotterdam’ Jules Deelder (*1944). His poems cover Rotterdam city life, drug use, and jazz. In De Deeldeliers, he is accompanied by Hammond organist Bas van Lier, tenor saxophonist Boris van der Lek, and drummer Erik Kooger.

The term "jam-session" was born in the 1920s, when black and white musicians gathered in smoke-filled bars after their respective concerts to enjoy the kind of jazz they could not play in traditional sets. Bing Crosby was a regular at these sessions, and had fun marking the first and third beats of musical phrases by clapping hands, which the musicians call "jammin' the beat". Today, the Seine Sessions revive the happy years of "jam sessions", while the cream of jazz, blues, gipsy and funk Parisian scenes occurs on the boards of the legendary restaurant and jazz club Le Réservoir. Entitled "World Music", this episode hosted by Eddy King features unique performances by artists playing together for the first time, and interviews with Teófilo Chantre, Tiwitine, Kinsy Ray, and many others.

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.

Since 1994, World Music Expo (WOMEX) has been attracting musicians, agents, a great number of press agencies, as well as media companies from all over the world. Its main exposition event has been held in various locations throughout Europe, including Berlin, Brussels, Marseille, Stockholm, Seville, Cardiff, and Budapest. In 2018, WOMEX was held in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. One of its showcase participants, Moonlight Benjamin, blends together Voodoo blues, Haitian rock and Creole roll into a riff-heavy, groove-laden sonic concoction built on the tension between her powerful voice and saturated electric guitars.

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 first of two sets recorded at the festival in 1979.

Despite his advanced age, the legendary jazz pianist Earl Hines was at the top of his game when he performed in the Belgian town of Spa in 1977. With a band consisting of Rudy Rutherford (reeds), Jimmy Leary (bass), and Eddie Graham (drums), Hines livens up the room with his interpretations of “I Can’t Believe That You’re In Love With Me” and “The Man I Love.” Marva Josie joins the group for soulful renditions of “A Sunday Kind of Love” and the well-known classic “Kansas City” before the set comes to a close with “Caravan,” which features a lengthy drum solo by Graham.

Patáx was heavily influenced by seminal fusion bands like Weather Report and Return to Forever. Don’t mistake this Spanish powerhouse for a carbon copy of either, however, as Patáx presents an accomplished mix of styles, including soul, jazz, funk and hip-hop. The group is led by the passionate Spanish-American percussionist Jorge Perez, who draws his musical influence from both sides of the Atlantic. The tight interplay between Perez and his bandmates as well as the audience’s enthusiasm at Teatro Calderón in Madrid make it a night to remember. This is the second of two parts.