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. McCoy Tyner’s first main exposure came with Benny Golson, being the first pianist in Golson’s and Art Farmer’s Jazztet. He’s also known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet. Tyner’s style is easily comparable to Coltrane’s maximalist style of saxophone. Though a member of Coltrane’s group, he was never overshadowed by the saxophonist, but complemented and even inspired Coltrane’s open-minded approach. McCoy Tyner is considered one of the most influential jazz pianists of the 20th century, an honour he earned both with Coltrane and in his years of performing following Coltrane’s death.

Aki Rissanen's interest in jazz came after he started taking classical piano lessons. His deep interest in improvised music placed him among top jazz pianist in his home country - Finland. While composing and performing his own music, Rissanen has also collaborated with Verneri Pohjola and Dave Liebman, and today his name appears among the top European jazz musicians. Live from 'Jazzclub Unterfahrt' in Munich, Germany, together with Antti Lotjonen on bass and Teppo Makynen on drums, Rissanen showcases the best of Scandinavian jazz and its DNA - the Nordic Tone.

Vocalist Jazzmeia Horn’s 2019 Malta Jazz Festival appearance was a celebration of jazz’s future, infused with the soul of its past. Featuring Keith Brown (piano), Rashaan Carter (bass), Irwin Hall (flute and saxophone), and Anwar Marshall (drums), the young singer’s performance was a reminder of jazz’s enduring power to speak to the heart. Situated at the Valletta waterfront outside Our Lady of Liesse Church, Horn’s concert was a truly spellbinding experience.

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 1987, prominent guitarist George Benson brought his band to kick off day three of the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague. Joining him to play songs from their joint album "Collaborations" was Grammy award–winning acoustic guitarist Earl Klugh.

Recorded in 1971 in Paris, France, Brazilian, classically trained bossa nova guitarist Baden Powell and his quartet play Pai, Lotus (written by Baden Powell), Tristeza (by Haroldo Lobo/Niltinho), Round Midnight (by Thelonious Monk), Nega do cabelo duro (by David Nasser/Rubens Soares), and Aos pes da cruz (by Zé da Zilda/Marino Pinto). Powell is joined by Ernesto Ribeiro-Gonçalves on double bass, Helio Schiavo on drums, and Alfredo Bessa on percussion.

Known outside jazz circles mainly for his film scores, French composer, arranger and pianist Michel Legrand has had a long and storied career in music. Interpreters of his compositions include jazz legends such as Sarah Vaughan, Stan Getz, and Bill Evans, as well as pop stars such as Barbra Streisand and Frank Sinatra. During this 1982 performance in the Belgian town of Spa, Legrand leads his orchestra through a number of original songs, including “The Summer Knows,” “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?” and “Les Moulins de mon Cœur.” Singing either in English or French, Legrand delivers a spirited performance with plenty of romantic flair that is sure to capture your heart.

One vocalist from Paris and the other from Bern, and two contrasting personalities. Brought together by a chance encounter in 2014, the two singers were surprised to discover how much they had in common: they both do more than just sing well. Leïla Martial and Andreas Schaerer intend to explore and experiment, stretching their vocal boundaries. From the deepest abyss to the most exquisite tones the human voice can produce, they leave no stone unturned in their quest to express themselves, each in their own individual way and always with a generous dose of humour and zest.

The Da Pá Virada Sessions series presents the best musicians of contemporary Brazilian jazz, and beyond. Filmed and curated in São Paulo by director and presenter Dani Gurgel and producer and engineer Thiago Rabello, each session offers a unique experience by giving a fresh look into Brazil's music scene. The artists for each session are selected in consultation with Stingray DJAZZ's music editor. Influenced by the music of the past and present, samba collective Samba pros Orixás bridges the gap between tradition and modernity. Naturally, Samba pros Orixás’ repertoire is dominated by sambas, alongside ijexás, jongos, samba de roda, and numerous other infectious Brazilian rhythms that will make you want to move. Don’t miss out their tour-de-force performance!

In just a few years, young trumpet player Christian Scott has become synonymous with a new jazz generation. He shakes up the conventions of jazz by taking the genre to new horizons and reaching a wider audience. No doubt, at 33 years old, Christian Scott is already forging his own path. After each record release, he seems even more determined to challenge the rules of jazz with his own avant-garde style. At his 2018 show at La Coopérative de Mai, Christian Scott celebrates 100 years of jazz with the program “The Centennial Trilogy.” Expect a unique performance in an intimate theatre setting, shot in native 4K!

In the 1960s, composer Michel Magne transformed the Château d'Hérouville, an 18th-century country house north of Paris and former home of lovers George Sand and Frédéric Chopin, into the first residential recording studio. In addition to its excellent facilities, the complex featured a swimming pool and a beautiful garden, allowing artists to stay for weeks or months at a time. From David Bowie and Iggy Pop to Pink Floyd and Chet Baker, countless stars recorded unforgettable music here until the studio closed in the 1980s. Three decades later, Château d'Hérouville has reopened its doors. This program follows American singer-songwriter Melody Gardot as she visits the legendary studio. After an accident in 2003 left her hypersensitive to light and sound, Gardot discovered the healing power of music. At Hérouville, she gives an interview and plays a breathtaking live set. Her performance opens with a beautiful version of ‘Baby I’m a Fool’ and includes ‘If The Stars Were Mine’ and ‘Les Étoiles,’ before concluding with the Chet Baker hit ‘You Don’t Know What Love Is.’ Melody Gardot (piano, guitar, vocals) is accompanied by Charles Staab (drums), Sam Minaie (double bass), Mitchell Long (guitar), Sylvain Gontard (trumpet), Ludovic Beier (accordion), Artyom Manoukyan (cello), and Guillaume Latour, Alexandra Kondo, and Benjamin Ducasse (violin).

This broadcast shows a rare appearance at the 1996 Germeringer Jazztage by the legendary flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía and his sextet. Some may question the inclusion of a flamenco guitarist within a jazz festival. However, the similarities between flamenco and blues have been well documented: both are the outlet for a poor, disenfranchised minority, with a primitive strength, boundless capabilities for improvisation and a requirement for breathtaking virtuosity - all qualities shown by Paco de Lucía in this performance. Moreover, he has long been experimenting with jazz forms (evident even from his inclusion of bass, drums, and saxophone in his sextet), while still retaining the essence of the flamenco tradition. In his own words: “What I have tried to do is have a hand holding onto tradition and the other scratching, digging in other places trying to find new things I can bring into flamenco”.

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 "Free & Afro Jazz," this episode hosted by Eddy King features unique performances by artists playing together for the first time, and interviews with Fantazio, Eddy Lopez, Banoit Savard, and many others.

For 20 years, Sly Johnson, author, composer and performer of the Saïan Supa Crew, has been touring the French music scene with his soul, hip-hop and beat-box vocals. He leaves his machines in the studio for a tribute concert to one of the leading voices of the famous Motown label, Marvin Gaye. The singer was killed by his father, a pastor, the day before his 45th birthday. In 1971, Marvin Gaye released a major record in the history of soul music "What's Going On". Sly Johnson, accompanied by Nicholas Vella's keyboard, makes the hot music of this album groove, a monument of soul and rhythm'n'blues. A true message of love delivered by MarvinGaye, through the story of a Vietnam war veteran who returns home and sees only injustice, suffering and hatred. The abrasive groove of Sly Johnson and Nicholas Vella is a rich music at the crossroads of hip-hop, funk and jazz. Sly Johnson, a great regular of the stage, embarks with extreme generosity the audience in his musical universe, an irresistible performance.

Misha Mengelberg, the forgetting has begun. He is waiting for a taxi he didn’t call to go to a performance that won’t take place. Dutch composer/pianist and grand duke of jazz Misha Mengelberg (1935) has been submerged in the shadow of dementia, ending his life as a musician. At the London jazz club Vortex in 2013 he impressively says his goodbyes to the international stage. It’s also his last major performance with his band, the Instant Composers Pool Orchestra. The musicians find it hard to let him go, but Misha’s decline is constant, and he slowly fades away from their midst. A film about exceptional loyalty, dilemmas, respect and dedication. And about music, the music of Misha Mengelberg.

30 minutes of... Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos and Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música conducted by Dirk Brossé. Casa da Música is a performance hall located in Porto, in northern Portugal. Brossé, born in Ghent, Belgium in 1960, is a versatile composer and a respected conductor on the international music scene. Pianist Jason Moran and cellist J.A. Pereira de Sousa accompany both sets.

Jazz in Duketown is the largest free outdoor jazz festival in the Netherlands. It's a real gathering for jazz addicts, inviting internationally renowned artists. One of them is Dutch singer, pianist, composer and bandleader Ruben Hein. Widely praised for his warm and characteristic voice and his offbeat piano playing, Ruben Hein is the artistic director and conductor of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NJJO). At Jazz in Duketown he performs a jazzy set, accompanied by his 18 finest proteges.