FESTIVAL REWIND: CELEBRATING ASIAN JAZZ HERITAGE

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 2023, jazzahead! paid special attention to Germany’s jazz scene and invited thirty jazz acts from all over the world to perform over the course of three days. Among the artists presenting themselves at jazzahead! 2023 is Belgian-Japanese piano wizard Alex Koo. In his brand new ‘Etudes for Piano’, composed for and commissioned by BOZAR Brussels, he shows how his passion for jazz and classical music merge perfectly, like a marriage between Debussy, Chopin, Reich, and Rachmaninov on the one hand, and Keith Jarrett, Craig Taborn, Brian Eno, and Philip Glass on the other.

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. Due to COVID-19, only half of the scheduled performances of the 2021 edition were actually recorded in Bremen. Among the performing artists is South-Korean drummer Sun-Mi Hong, who leads her own quintet. With a signature sound full of rooted grooves and well-tempered outbursts, Sun-Mi Hong has positioned herself firmly at the core of the Dutch jazz scene. She approaches the moment in a somewhat meditative fashion, bringing an entirely original attitude to the band stand. She is joined by tenor saxophonist Nicolò Ricci, trumpeter Alistair Payne, pianist Chaerin Im, and double bassist Alessandro Fongaro.

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. Due to COVID-19, only half of the scheduled performances of the 2021 edition were actually recorded in Bremen. The other performances were captured by the artists themselves on various locations of their own choosing. Among the performing artists is American jazz pianist, composer and Steinway artist Connie Han. She has been compared to legendary jazz pianists McCoy Tyner and Hank Jones, although her musical direction is associated with the 'Young Lions'-revolution of the late 1980s, which was spearheaded by the likes of the Marsalis Brothers, keyboardist Kenny Kirkland, and drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts. She plays a solo recital for jazzahead! 2021.

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. Due to COVID-19, only half of the scheduled performances of the 2021 edition were actually recorded in Bremen. The other performances were captured by the artists themselves on various locations of their own choosing. Among the performing artists is Seoul-based Korean drummer, composer, and artist Soojin Suh. She is joined by alto saxophonist Daniel Ko, tenor saxophonist Sunjae Lee, and double bassist Younghoo Kim. Soojin Suh has become known as one of Seoul's most promising drummers since she first made her mark on the professional scene in 2008.