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. Discover the special bond between pianist Carla Bley and bassist Steve Swallow. The two have performed in the same bands since the '60s and have been romantic partners for more than two decades. Watching them perform is the definition of musical telepathy. Together with musicians Wayne Krantz, Victor Lewis, Larry Willis, and Don Alias, they form an amazing sextet at Estival in 1986.

As a twenty-five year old saxophone player, Maceo Parker played in the band James Brown, but is also known for his collaborations with P. Funk, "Parliament" George Clinton and the "Rubber Band" by Bootsy Collins. Maceo has proven to be star by creating a special chemistry between all the different styles of American black music. As a pioneer in the ‘groove’, he blends funky jazz with roots and blues with gospel. The result is an overheated concert hall with a very enthusiastic audience that completely surrender to the energy of the music. Full conviction he drags his audience along his world and plays his memorable songs, among which the funky song ‘Southwick’.

You can’t help but be carried away by the powerful voice Marion Williams, who, with backing from Tommy Brown (piano), Joe Washington (organ), Billy Tuliver (drums), and singers Barbara White and Ann Bolden, sings gospel songs and spirituals as if she has lived them a thousand times over. The repertoire includes such familiar tunes as “Peace in the Valley,” “We Shall Overcome,” and “Michael, Row the Boat Ashore.”

Lionel Hampton (1908-2002) is one of the best-known swing-era orchestra leaders. He formed his own big band after playing the vibraphone in bands led by Les Hite and Benny Goodman. Hampton was not the first jazz musician to take up the vibraphone, but he was the first to give the instrument an identity in jazz, applying a wide range of attacks and generating remarkable swing. Hampton's band played a major role in shaping American jazz and was the launching pad for such stellar performers as Dinah Washington, Charlie Parker, and Quincy Jones. In this February 17, 1958 concert, Lionel Hampton's big band offers an explosive performance at the Théâtre Royal in Liège, Belgium.

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. Afrobeat founder Fela Kuti's youngest son Seun performs at Moods. The singer and saxophonist combines his father's political engagement with the charisma and wit of a great entertainer.

American trumpeter Miles Davis (1926-1991) was a pioneering jazz musician from the late 1940s to the late 1980s. His influence on 20th century music is hard to overstate, as he trailblazed bebop, cool jazz, hardbop, modal jazz, and electronic music. On October 11, 1964, Miles Davis performed at Teatro Dell’Arte in Milan. With tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams, Davis performed Autumn Leaves, My Funny Valentine, All Blues, All of You, and Joshua.

Recorded at the Amsterdam Arena during the Amsterdam South East Jazz Festival, Michiel Borstlap tickles the ivories of his Steinway in performances of all his favourite songs on his solo albums ‘Blue’, ‘Reflective’, and ‘Frames’. An unprecedented event: a solo piano concert at the home base of football club Ajax Amsterdam! During the concert, the sound of a seagull or an aeroplane might mingle with the gentle touch of the Dutch master pianist. A must-see concert for all fans of piano music, with a wonderful encore: a performance of Thelonious Monk’s famous standard ‘Round Midnight’.

After jazz reached Istanbul, it firmly took root there. Quite a few jazz bars have sprung up to cater to the genre’s fans. The DJAZZ series ‘Istanbul Sessions’ is the thermometer of Istanbul jazz in the first decade of the 2000s. The concerts featured in this series were recorded at several Istanbul 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 Istanbul’s jazz scene. Recognized as a composer of great talent in the tradition of Bill Evans, Kerem Görsev is one of the most gifted Turkish pianists of his generation. His trio, completed by Kagan Yildiz on bass and Ferit Odman on drums, plays an amazing concert in the Turkish jazz capital.

Chet Baker Quintet: Live in '64 features a great concert by the foremost interpreter of West Coast jazz in the early and mid-'50s. Chet Baker had a generally restrained, intimate playing style and attracted attention beyond jazz for his photogenic looks and great singing. However, his career was marred by drug addiction. This show is a haunting 1964 performance in a Belgian TV studio with a quartet including long-time sidemen and saxophonist Jacques Pelzer and French pianist René Urtreger. Songs include the Miles Davis classic “So What”, and a very rare rendition of jazz standard “Time After Time” featuring Chet’s cool vocal style.

The documentary "Django's Children" follows five Gypsy jazz musicians, who meet near Le Mans to have a jam session into the early hours of the morning. Their journey continues at dawn, new adventures and encounters awaiting them. Their mentality seems to run counter to that of society at large, with its focus on conformity, profitability, property and the current state of the stock markets. Their journey serves as the focus of this documentary, which, like the music it portrays, is filled with adventure and unexpected events. Freedom!

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. Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness (BCUC) is a South African afro-psychedelic funk collective. At Moods, BCUC combines traditional and modern sounds in a feast of choral singing, drums, guitars and vuvuzelas, ancient Zulu music and hip hop influences.

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. The Dave Brubeck Quartet gave an unforgettable performance at the North Sea Jazz Festival of 1982. The open-eared American pianist was one of the first to weave elements from both classical and African music into his improvisations and compositions. Known the world over for the million-selling 1961 crossover hit ‘Take Five’, the earlier, third stream-like output of his late 1940s Octet shows the origins of this ever-adventurous artist. Original Dave Brubeck Octet clarinettist Bill Smith (1926-2020) joined Brubeck for his 1982 North Sea Jazz Festival concert.

By the time this set was recorded at Brussels Jazz Club in the summer of 1980, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard had already built an impressive resume. During the 1960s he became a leading voice in the hard bop movement while not shying away from avant-garde sessions with the likes of John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy. In the 1970s, Hubbard expanded his palette by recording in more diverse settings that included electric instruments and orchestral arrangements. On this club date, Hubbard showcases all of the experience he had accumulated up to this point. The working group consists includes David Schnitter on tenor saxophone, Billy Childs on keyboards, Larry Klein on bass, and Sinclair Lott on drums. Watch as the quintet deftly switches between acoustic and electric instruments and Hubbard entertains the crowd with his onstage antics.

Nicknamed 'the father of Congolese rumba', Papa Wemba (1949-2016) became a legend despite himself. He was a member of well-known Congolese and African rumba groups such as ‘Zaïko Langa Langa’, and became one of Africa's most popular musicians in his day. The documentary film 'History of Papa Wemba' traces the story of this iconic, trailblazing and intergenerational music artist, who was a true heir to Elvis, Fela, and Tabu Ley.

While always keeping one foot firmly anchored in the traditions of his home country, Cuba, Omar Sosa tirelessly explores music from the Caribbean to India, and West Africa to the Arab world. Since he left Cuba in 1993, the pianist has been blending his Afro-Cuban roots with jazz, hip hop, electro and world music. For his 2018 performance at Théâtre de Villefranche-sur-Saône, he brings to stage his Quarteto Afrocubano members Childo Tomas (electric bass & vocals), Ernesto Simpson (drums), and Leandro Saint-Hill (saxophones, flute, percussion & vocals). Together, they create a riveting instrumental dialogue. Celebrating rhythm in all its forms, this Omar Sosa concert is an intense and mystical experience.