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’.

The international trade fair, exhibition and festival jazzahead! is one of the most important events in the jazz community. Hosted annually in Bremen, Germany, it brings together musicians, bookers, agents, organizers, jazz experts, and music enthusiasts. In 2019, jazzahead! pays special attention to Norway by selecting 40 jazz acts from all over the world and inviting them to perform over the course of three days. One of them is the Emie R. Roussel Trio. The trio delivers creative and bewitching jazz with undeniable ardor and chemistry. Roussel has been experiencing a meteoric rise since 2010, establishing herself as an essential part of the current Canadian jazz scene. Her sidemen are Nicolas Bédard on bass and Dominic Cloutier on drums.

The international trade fair, exhibition, and festival, jazzahead!, is one of the most important events in the jazz community. Hosted annually in Bremen, Germany, it brings together musicians, bookers, agents, organizers, jazz experts, and music enthusiasts. This year, jazzahead! pays special attention to Poland by selecting 40 jazz acts from all over the world and inviting them to perform over the course of three days. One of them, Freedoms Trio, is an international project consisting of Norwegian Steinar Aadnekvam, Brazilian Rubem Farias, and Deodato Siquir from Mozambique. Presenting the best of their cultures as a coherent unit, the trio is part of the 13th edition of the jazzahead! lineup.

The MotorMusic Studios in Mechelen, Belgium, attract many great musicians to the city. A wide variety of visiting international jazz musicians share their art of making jazz music with us in the DJAZZ series ‘Belgium Sessions’. In these sessions, some of Europe’s finest musicians perform their own, original music. Trumpeter Carlo Nardozza and pianist Michel Bisceglia combine their talents to create wonderful music with haunting melodies and beautiful themes. The Belgian musicians, with Italian roots, have joined forces on several projects during the last few years. This MotorMusic session reflects the combination of two different identities and the beautiful blend of an intimate collaboration between piano and trumpet.

Last year Alabama Shakes' debut record 'Boys & Girls' arrived like a lightning bolt, seducing us with its blues-infused rock 'n' roots and Southern soul charms. It earned them gushing reviews, three Grammy nominations and high-profile fans like Robert Plant and Jack White. Watching them on stage, it's easy to see why. At their sold out Sydney gig, the Shakes were powerful, playful and gut-wrenchingly good. At the centre of it all lies Howard, a howling storm of soul and swagger, who proved as charming as she is cheeky. Your front row seat to this sublime show awaits... get comfy.

Biréli Lagrène is a French jazz guitarist born on September 4, 1966 in a family of gypsy tradition. His brother and his father introduced him from an early age to the repertoire of Django Reinhardt, whose influence is still felt in the style of Lagrène. In this performance, Lagrène pays homage to Django Reinhardt with his son, Babik Reinhardt.

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.

When you say Charlie Byrd, you say bossa nova. The man who popularized Brazilian music all over the world with his Stan Getz collaboration Jazz Samba in 1962, plays an intimate New Orleans club date with his trio, consisting of his brother, Joe Byrd, on the bass, and Chuck Redd on drums. Byrd manages to make his nylon-stringed Spanish guitar sound like an electric hollowbody, while he applies his acoustic classical guitar techniques to jazz and popular music. The trio covers a range of material written by the old jazz masters Duke Ellington and Fats Waller, but also bossa nova classics by Jobim: “Corcovado” and “Wave”. This broadcast offers the first part of the performance.

The bustling streets of Tel Aviv resonate in the music of the new generation of Israeli jazz artists, who are making a big impression in the jazz scene. The DJAZZ series ‘Tel Aviv Sessions’ is the thermometer of jazz in Israel in the first decade of the 2000s.The concerts featured in this series were recorded at several Tel Aviv jazz clubs, featuring some of the very best and freshest jazz bands. The series offers an eye-witness account of the incredible inventiveness and diversity of the Israeli jazz scene. Eli Degibri played during this concert with the prodigy Gadi Lehavi at the Enav Cultural Center. This duo is a great tribute to the music and produces an incredible emotion in this unique encounter between saxophone and piano.

‘Ella Fitzgerald: Live in '57’ features ‘The First Lady Of Song’ in a distinct performance. It's the earliest known complete concert of Ella to be captured on film. Shot in Belgium, this 1957 concert sees her performing with jazz greats Ray Brown, Herb Ellis, Jo Jones and the legendary Oscar Peterson on classics such as ‘Lullaby Of Birdland’ and ‘It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)’. Although she wanted to be a dancer at first, Ella Fitzgerald already listened to recordings of Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby and The Boswell Sisters at an early age. After her debut at an amateur talent show in 1934, Ella joined Chick Webb’s Orchestra with which she recorded several hits; after Webb died, she became the leader of the orchestra. In the late 1940s, Ella Fitzgerald became known as the ‘First Lady of Song’, with her wide vocal range of three octaves. The American jazz singer was particularly appreciated for her pure tone, intonation and phrasing, and unparalleled improvisational abilities. In a career that spanned close to 60 years, Fitzgerald sold 40 million albums and won 13 Grammy Awards, mainly for her definitive interpretations of the Great American Songbook.

‘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 vocalist Gregory Porter transcends the jazz bubble. His magnificent, burnished baritone can sink into a lyric with luxurious ease, the melody gently sculpted into new shapes at every turn, with the rhythm tugging subtly back and forth across the bar line.

The international trade fair, exhibition, and festival, jazzahead!, is one of the most important events in the jazz community. Hosted annually in Bremen, Germany, it brings together musicians, bookers, agents, organizers, jazz experts, and music enthusiasts. This year, jazzahead! pays special attention to Poland by selecting 40 different jazz acts from all over the world and inviting them to perform over the course of three days. One of them, Power of Horns, is a free jazz ensemble, created in 2007, and led by the multi-instrumentalist, composer Piotr Damasiewicz. Performing highly energetic and turbulent music, the ensemble is part of the 13th edition of the jazzahead! lineup.

The international trade fair, exhibition, and festival, jazzahead!, is one of the most important events in the jazz community. Hosted annually in Bremen, Germany, it brings together musicians, bookers, agents, organizers, jazz experts, and music enthusiasts. This year, jazzahead! pays special attention to Norway by selecting 40 jazz acts from all over the world and inviting them to perform over the course of three days. One of them is Espen Berg, who received Norway’s prestigious music award “JazZtipendiatet” in 2016 and has been declared “a true master of the piano” by All About Jazz. Since the mid-2010s, he has released several albums and toured extensively with his trio. The trio's ability to play melodic and rhythmically complex music with ease mesmerizes audiences all over the world.

All of Poland anticipated the event: Stéphane Grappelli was coming to perform in Warsaw for the first time in his long and impressive career. It was October 1991, the weather was already cold but the thought of the maestro actually playing for the citizens of Poland warmed the hearts of jazz enthusiasts throughout the country. The French jazz violinist began his career in Paris playing with Django Reinhadt as the principal member of the "Quintette du Hot Club de France". Later, Grappelli had a long association with George Shearing touring throughout Europe. The violin virtuoso has recorded with many of the world's greatest jazz stars including Gary Burton, Earl Hines and Joe Venuti. His playing was rooted in the swing idiom and has always been characterized by his sweet tone. This programme, recorded live in October 1991 to a packed Opera House in Warsaw, concludes with a thunderous ten minute standing ovation. The press confirmed the success of the historic event when they called the concert you are about to see, "the greatest event in Polish jazz history".