Schedule

Jazz festival slash conference inJazz brings together the supply and demand sides of the Dutch jazz scene, helping artists share knowledge and experiences and stimulating the development of international relationships. The conference program includes inspiring panel discussions, workshops, networking sessions and presentations. During the night, promising Dutch jazz acts as well as more seasoned groups hit the stage to show what they’re capable of. One of the bands performing at inJazz is Ponyland, a UK-based ensemble that brings together professional musicians from across Newcastle and Cumbria to create a unique sound. Two drummers, vocals, lead and bass guitar and a mighty horn section create a heady, energetic mix of samba-reggae, drum and bass, Afrobeat and jazz.

This recording brings a great performance by Larry Graham & Graham Central Station from the intimate Trianon in Paris. Six hundred ‘funkateers’ came together to cheer the bass player and funk hero. In the sixties, Graham was mainly known for his work with Sly and the Family Stone, the popular and influential psychedelic soul and funk band. As founder and front man of Graham Central Station he has also enjoyed a successful solo career. It is often said that Graham pioneered the art of slap-pop playing on the electric bass, which has become a staple of modern funk. During this Paris performance, Graham shows he is one of the heroes of funk!

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. Belgium singer David Linx and Dutch pianist Mike del Ferro’s distinctive voices are expressed through polyphonic contemporary musical pieces, inspired by their travels and music tours. The performance exemplifies European jazz.

This broadcast is the second part of a concert performed by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, recorded at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris in December 1959. Co-founded in the early 1950s by American jazz drummer Art Blakey and pianist Horace Silver, this hard bop ensemble performed and recorded until Blakey died in 1990. Many jazz greats got their start in this band, including trumpeters Lee Morgan and Wynton Marsalis, saxophonists Benny Golson and Wayne Shorter, pianists Joanne Brackeen and Keith Jarrett.

The Dutch world-class jazz pianist Peter Beets has shared the stage with jazz greats like Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis, “Toots” Thielemans, Elvin Jones, George Coleman, Johnny Griffin, Benny Golson and John Clayton. From birth, Beets was surrounded by music: he heard classical music from his mother, who is a music pedagogue, and he heard jazz from his father, who has a great fan of Oscar Peterson and Art Blakey. Although Beets’ parents originally did not associate the word “musician” with the word “career”, music is definitely in the family’s blood. At this concert at the Kurhaus in Scheveningen, the Netherlands, Peter Beets teams up with the world-famous guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel. With a career spanning almost twenty-five years and including collaborating with dynamic peers like Brad Mehldau, Brian Blade, Mark Turner, Joshua Redman, Chris Potter, as well as esteemed jazz legends like Joe Henderson, Paul Motian and Gary Burton, Rosenwinkel’s indelible mark in music is the consummation of being steeped in the rich and deep traditions of jazz, springing off of the shoulders of such vital underpinnings to elevate his own art to new heights, evolving the language in a way no other guitarist has since his arrival. This collaboration between Beets and Rosenwinkel guarantees brilliant 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”.

"One Of These Nights" was a very special event for Al Di Meola - a night like his legendary "Friday Night In San Francisco", recorded almost a quarter of a century ago. Al Di Meola assembled a thoroughly excellent group of musicians for this review of the highlights of a career spanning almost three decades - a fantastic combination of romantic chamber music, traditional Latin American music and free jazz, constantly switching between off-the-cuff improvisation and intricate set-pieces. Time and again the musicians manage to vary familiar pieces with surprising rhythm changes and brilliant soundscapes. Pianist Mario Parmisano and the two master drummers Ernie Adams and Gumbi Ortiz are always congenial partners, and Hungary's Sturcz String Quartet give the music an unusual flavor. Masterful solos, riveting, sometimes humorous dialogs and fascinating group playing round off this live recording, a stroll through Al Di Meola's rich repertoire of classics in a new, attractive sound. A truly magical concert.

‘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.

Thelonious Monk: Live in '65 features an intimate concert filmed in Belgium in the winter of 1965 with a legendary quartet that includes drummer Frankie Dunlop, bassist John Ore and tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse. Thelonious Monk revolutionized jazz with his innovative musical approach and these remarkable performances allow viewers the rare opportunity to experience Monk’s genius up close as he performs his classic compositions Monk's Dream, Epistrophy and Rhythm-a-Ning.

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. This concert of Freddie Hubbard and the Satchmo Legacy in 1987, highlights the bebop legend's classic style and silky tone. Hubbard is an American jazz trumpeter whose unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives for modern jazz and bebop. He was also a well-known part of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers and is primarily known for playing bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early '60s onwards.

Since its opening in 1992, jazz club Moods has developed into one of Zurich’s largest and most prominent cultural venues. At the same time, it has become one of Europe’s prominent jazz clubs which today enjoys a well-deserved worldwide reputation among musicians and critics. The venue books a large variety of genres, ranging from jazz and soul to electronic and international music. Guitarist Silvan Jeger expanded his solo project Ornithology into a trio with bassist Jan Roder and drummer Dieter Ulrich. At Moods, Ornithology explores various approaches to spontaneous improvisation.

Blue Note Records is arguably the most prestigious jazz label. Since its foundation in 1939, it has continued to attract young talent. To celebrate the label's 75th anniversary in 2014, young musicians formed the 2014 Blue Note All Stars and appeared at the Blue Note Jazz Festival at the Gaîté Lyrique in Paris. Pianist Robert Glasper, guitarist Lionel Loueke, virtuoso trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, bassist Derrick Hodge, saxophonist Marcus Strickland and drummer Kendrick Scott constituted the dream line-up. United for the concert, they played songs from their respective albums, as well as great standards revisited for the occasion and to bring you the next level of jazz!

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.

Documentary film 'Afrobeats' explores the development of a contemporary pop music style that has become Africa's successful cultural export in the new millennium: Afrobeats, a fusion of sounds that is flowing out of Nigeria and Ghana and into the world. This film by Hugo Claveau explores the difference between Afrobeat and Afrobeats by means of insightful commentary from various celebrities within the Afrobeats scene, who provide valuable explanations on the life of the musical genre from its birth to the present.

Since 1993, the Dutch band New Cool Collective has been happily grooving thanks to its unique mix of jazz, dance, latin, salsa, afrobeat and boogaloo. They are always funky, energetic and dance-worthy. As pioneers in the Dutch jazz scene, NCC has received many awards and the band has toured the great expanses of Europe, Asia and North America. Besides hipster jazz clubs, the band plays huge pop and rock festivals, such as Sziget, Lowlands (Netherlands) and the Aberdeen Alternative Festival. Its members have also collaborated with many Dutch and international artists on tour and in the studio. This concert shows New Cool Collective with special guests Jules Deelder and Anton Goudsmit, live at the Rotterdam Luxor Theatre. Expect energetic, danceable and great music!