Schedule

Big hits, booty dancing, stage dives, fan freestyles and of course, controversy, A$AP Rocky's debut Down Under tour had it all! At his sold-out Sydney show, hip hop's hottest star and 5000 rowdy fans got wild for the night at the Hordern Pavilion and we captured it all exclusively.

‘The legend of the groove’ is a series of documentaries devoted to the musicians who were most influential on contemporary hip hop, soul, rhythm 'n' blues, and on the course of history. Between the late 1950s and now, these musicians radically changed music. Although sometimes hardly in the public eye, they have all been major sources of inspiration for today's major artists: Prince, Erykah Badu, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix.

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.

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.

Swedish pianist Jacob Karlzon is joined by Danish bassist Morten Ramsbøl and Swedish drummer Rasmus Kihlberg at the Steinway piano factory in Hamburg to present their album ‘Open Waters’. Karlzon, a classically trained pianist who shared a stage with Kenny Wheeler, Norma Winstone, and Billy Cobham keeps the rich tradition of Swedish jazz eclecticism alive. Back in 2012, Karlzon explored the world of heavy metal, after that allowing electronic elements to set the pulse.

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 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, smooth jazz saxophonist and crowd-favorite Kenny G serenaded those attending the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague. After beginning his career in the Love Unlimited Orchestra, he now brings his own band for this hypnotic performance.

This assemblage of authentic luminaries recreates the sound of Paris in the 50's and 60's when the City of Light was Europe's mecca for American jazz musicians. The Paris Reunion Band was formed as homage to Kenny Clarke and the spirit of his fellow Paris jazzmen.

Instead of children’s songs, the sound of jazz standards was always present. They practiced intricate drum rhythms instead of Bach etudes: Simon Oslender and Jérôme Cardynaals have jazz running through their veins! Under the name ‘Twogether’ both youngsters celebrate a very unique and soulful style of funky blues-jazz. They create a sound that leaves even renowned jazz artists speechless. The two, exceptionally talented boys met in a youth big band, and before long they became a musical team. Immediately after that, they won the first prize in the Prinses Christina Jazz Concours in Amsterdam, which got the whole thing started. In this concert, they perform with wonderful artists such as the Dutch saxophonist Benjamin Herman and the American vocalist Madeline Bell.

In this recording, the Portuguese singer Maria João makes her appearance at the Bayerischer Hof Night Club during the 1999 Münchner Klaviersommer. She is accompanied by Marcio Doctor (percussion), Miroslav Tadic (guitar), and her long-standing partner, the brilliant pianist Mário Laginha. Maria is known for her vocal flexibility and improvisational skills. While normally considered a jazz artist, her music incorporates a mix of folk, ethnic music, modern jazz, avant-garde, electronica, symphonic and other genres. In this intimate venue, João's vocally and physically dynamic performance creates an electrifying atmosphere.

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 multi-ethnic ensemble Hijaz. This band explores the dialogue between piano and the oud, a pear-shaped stringed instrument from the East. Hijaz is a close-knit quartet that explores the differences and similarities between Mediterranean cultures in order to create moments of harmony, warmth, and great musical beauty.

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.

Formed in 1952 from the rhythm section of Dizzy Gillespie's big band, the Modern Jazz Quartet took its inspiration from classical chamber music as well as jazz's blues roots. The group enjoyed a decades-long career with multiple critically acclaimed albums, cementing their place in the history of the genre. Following concerts in Rotterdam and Amsterdam the days before, the Modern Jazz Quartet performed at Singer Concertzaal in Laren for Dutch TV on March 31, 1969. Composed of Milt Jackson on vibraphone, John Lewis on piano, Percy Heath on bass, and Connie Kay on drums, the foursome plays with elegance and style.

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 2022, jazzahead! paid special attention to Canada’s jazz scene and invited forty jazz acts from all over the world to perform over the course of three days. Among the bands performing at jazzahead! 2022 is the Antoine Boyer & Yeore Kim Quartet. French guitarist extraordinaire Antoine Boyer and dazzling Korean harmonica player Yeore Kim met in 2018 at the Gypsy Jazz Festival of Taipei. The two quickly devised a guitar and harmonica duet based on jazz and pop standards, following in the footsteps of Django Reinhardt, Toots Thielemans and many others. In 2022, they team up with double bassist William Brunard and drummer Jonathan Gomis for a multifaceted journey from jazz to gypsy, and from rock to classical music.

The group Altin Gün came to existence when bassist Jasper Verhulst made an inspiring journey to Turkey. After his show in Istanbul, he felt greatly attracted to the Turkish sound from the 1970s. With band members Ben Rider (guitar) and Nic Mauskovic (drums), he went looking for other Turkish musicians to join the band. Soon after, Merve Dasdemir (vocals) and Erdinc Yildiz Ecevit (vocals, saxophone, keys) joined the group. With the energetic Jungle by Night percussionist, Gino Groeneveld, the band was complete. During their 2018 show at BIRD Rotterdam, Altin Gün released their new album “On.” Enjoy a new interpretation of Turkish traditional music, with a unique blend of Turkish folk, psychedelics, funk and rock. The show guarantees to make you dance around the campfire!