Schedule

Raul Midón appeared at 2017’s Sing Jazz Festival in Singapore with double bassist Romeir Mendez and drummer Billy Williams. Blind since birth, Raul Midón is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter from New Mexico. With a vocal range as dynamic as his guitar playing and a remarkable talent for trumpet mimicry, Midón’s performances transcend musical boundaries, effortlessly blending rock, jazz, folk, and Latin pop into his unique sound. He has worked with numerous legends, including Bill Withers, Herbie Hancock, Sting, and Dianne Reeves, and his album ‘Bad Ass and Blind’ was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2018. No wonder the Sing Jazz audience were ecstatic!

Unlike many of his fellow jazz cats, vocalist Gregory Porter transcends the jazz bubble. After sustaining a shoulder injury, this former American football player turned to jazz singing. He was discovered in a Californian jazz club by pianist, saxophonist and composer Kamau Kenyatta. Porter lent his vocal skills to gospel choirs across the country and a string of successful musicals before turning his talent to his own compositions. His rise since then has been meteoric. Porter’s 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. This live performance at the Olympia showcases this man's worth, and is a truly amazing experience!

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).

'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 1995, vibraphonist Gary Burton and pianist Makoto Ozone, both great jazz players noted for their virtuoso technique and innovative style, came together to give a concert of improvised music. They delighted the audience with their fluid, poetic artistry, which was expressed in a performance of the highest order.

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!

Maria Ana Bobone (Portugal) is one of the best fado singers of her generation. She started singing fado when she was 16. Her debut album is called ‘Alma Nova’ and marked the beginning of her amazing career. For the recordings of her next two albums, ‘Luz Destino’ and ‘Senhora da Lapa’ Maria Ana welcomed instruments that are usually not present in fado music: the harpsichord and saxophone. After that, she continued her career with the release of ‘Nome de Mar’, which received many positive reviews. At the moment, Maria Ana is performing at all Portugal’s major venues, as well as many festivals and concert halls throughout the world, with the aim to present fado music and Portuguese culture to other cultures. Bobone’s latest album, ‘Fado & Piano’, shows her diversity as an artist, composer and arranger. By including the piano she re-innovates the tradition of the early 20th century. This portrait shows Maria Ana’s performances and interviews in which she explains her passion for fado music and culture.

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. Jimmy Witherspoon and Rozaa Wortham, two incredible brilliant jazz musicians. Rozaa Wortham starts off the show with the Jimmy Witherspoon Quartet. Swinging and full of energy she performs ‘It Don’t Mean A Thing’. Jimmy Witherspoon, known for the song “Ain’t Nobody’s Business” ends the show with some astounding lean-back blues.

Jazz in Duketown is the largest free outdoor jazz festival in the Netherlands. It's a real gathering for jazz addicts, inviting internationally renowned bands. In 2019, one of them is the Amsterdam-based Dutch instrumental collective Jungle by Night. The band plays a mix of various styles, inspired by funk, jazz, dub, rock, and others. The ensemble made its debut in 2010 and has played at numerous festivals. Their December 2010 performance with former backing musicians of Afrobeat founder Fela Kuti in Paris saw them hailed as "the future of Afrobeat".

Jazzed Out proves that a jazz session can take place anywhere. Unusual locations, such as garage buildings, multi-storey car parks, street corners, subway trains, and parks, in several of the world’s metropoles, provide the setting for brief jazz performances. The sheer rawness of the metropoles merge with the musical creations of various artists in search of the perfect ‘urban stage’. In this episode, London serves as a backdrop for sets by trumpeter Matthew Halsall, saxophonist Soweto Kinch, and pianist Neil Cowley.

The Da Pá Virada Sessions series presents the best musicians of contemporary Brazilian jazz, and beyond. Filmed in São Paulo, 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. One of the bands taking part in this episode is a foursome that pays tribute to pioneering música popular brasileira vocalist Elis Regina: vocalist Vanessa Moreno, bassist Fi Marostica, Rhodes and keyboard player Tiago Costa, and drummer Jonatas Sansao honor the legendary Brazilian singer by performing famous pieces and hidden gems from her repertoire.

The use of the harp in jazz is quite rare, especially in modern groups that also incorporate electronic effects. The combination of a harp with more conventional jazz instruments and electronic manipulation makes the Julie Campiche Quartet a unique ensemble in today’s jazz world. On August 3, 2016, at the Hafensommer Festival in Würzburg, Germany, the group, which also includes saxophonist Leo Fumagalli, bassist Manu Hagmann, and drummer Clemens Kuratle, played extended versions of group originals “Onkalo,” “Datstet Dar Nakoneh,” and “Flash Info.” The group has yet to release a full album, making these performances especially welcome.

Jong Metropole (Young Metropole) is a unique collaboration between the Dutch Metropole Orchestra, the National Youth Orchestra of the Netherlands and the National Jazz Youth Orchestra of the Netherlands. It aims to prepare talented, young musicians in classical and light music for a professional career. Jong Metropole blends the best of different music genres, borrowing from the performance strength of classical strings to the swing, improvisation, and timing of jazz, and more. Conducted by Christian Elsässer, this special performance was recorded at the former radio transmission station, Kootwijk.

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 the DJAZZ series ‘Belgium Sessions’. In these sessions, some of Europe’s finest musicians perform their own, original music. This episode presents ‘Linus’, a duo of two composers and improvisers: baritone guitar player Ruben Machtelinckx and tenor saxophonist Thomas Jillings. The intense sound produced by the tenor saxophone and the acoustic baritone guitar yields melodies that take you on a journey through a world of simplicity, purity, and longing.

Although its music might sound like the sound track of any 1970s American car chase movie, the band Sven Hammond Soul is from the Netherlands. This steaming soul machine is headed by Sven Figee, who prefers to attack rather than play his Hammond organ. In April 2012, the band was augmented with vocalist Jenny Lane. Today’s recordings were made at a steaming live performance at Utrecht’s Tivoli in 2012.

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 2005, the Morgenland Festival, held in Osnabrueck, has dedicated itself to the fascinating music culture of the Near and Middle East. From traditional and classical music to avant-garde, jazz, and rock, the festival program also features art, such as visual arts, dance, and theatre of interdisciplinary projects. Jivan Gasparyan Jr has always been inspired by the folk melodies of his native Armenia. His grandfather, also a musician, taught him the art of duduk, an instrument of Armenian origin.

George Shearing, blind since birth, is one of the world's greatest jazz pianists. Filmed on both sides of the Atlantic, this tribute to Shearing showcases the music which took the jazz world by storm. Specially-shot performances and archive clips feature music spanning the six decades of his remarkable career and classics such as ‘September in the Rain’, ‘Lullaby of Birdland’, ‘Greensleeves’, ‘Donna Lee’ and ‘Freedom Jazz Dance’ are included, as well as many other recent compositions.

The Da Pá Virada Sessions series presents the best musicians of contemporary Brazilian jazz, and beyond. Filmed in São Paulo, 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. One of the bands taking part in this series is Os Capoeira. This ensemble practices the traditional Brazilian martial art from Bahia it is named after, combining elements of dance, acrobatics, and percussive music. Moreover, Os Capoeira runs a cultural center in São Paulo. Let yourself be inspired by Os Capoeira's unique take on Brazilian culture!

Legendary African-American folk singer Odetta (1930-2008) sang her spirituals with immeasurable sorrow and anguish. Her spiritual music expresses the horrific impact of slavery on millions of African people stolen from their homeland. For Odetta, folk music—be it spirituals, blues or field songs—was a vehicle for expressing the racism and injustice experienced by black people dating back to the days of slavery. This 1964 episode of Face au Public shows the melancholy of the era.

The audience at the Montreal Jazz Festival in Canada was in for a treat on July 3, 1982, as a true musical innovator hit the stage: Jaco Pastorius, who transformed the electric bass into a formidable solo instrument. Combining intricate harmonics, fluid melodies, and unparalleled technical skill, Pastorius left a lasting impact on the music world. In this concert, he is accompanied by Peter Erskine (drums), Don Alias (percussion), Othello Molineaux (steel drums), Bob Mintzer (tenor sax and bass clarinet), and Randy Brecker (trumpet and electronics). They perform “Chicken”, “Donna Lee”, “Mr. Phone Bone”, and “Fannie Mae”. Don't miss this extraordinary opportunity to experience Jaco Pastorius’s electrifying performance at the Montreal Jazz Festival 1982!

Embark on a remarkable journey through the world of jazz piano as we showcase some of the most iconic and influential pianists in history. This collection of extraordinary performances captures the unique essence and brilliance of legendary pianists Art Tatum, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, and others. Revel in Oscar Peterson’s virtuosity as his trio plays “C-Jam Blues” in Holbaek, Denmark, on May 2, 1964. Let the sublime artistry of Art Tatum captivate you as he interprets Antonín Dvořák's “Humoresque” in 1953. Discover Thelonious Monk’s enigmatic genius as his quartet performs his iconic composition “Round About Midnight” in Poland on April 4, 1966. Experience the timeless appeal of the Dave Brubeck Quartet's odd-metered “Take Five", recorded live in Brussels, Belgium, on October 10, 1964. Delight in the lyrical beauty of Bud Powell's solo performance of “Sweet and Lovely” at the Antibes Jazz Festival of July 13, 1960. Witness the fusion of jazz and funk in Herbie Hancock & The Headhunters' exhilarating studio performance of “Sly” in Bremen, Germany, recorded on November 6, 1974. Lastly, enjoy the soulful grooves of Horace Silver's “Song for my Father” performed by his quintet at the Umbria Jazz Festival of July 20, 1976. Tune in and let these legendary jazz pianists transport you on unforgettable musical adventures!