Music for both mind and heart – jazzahead! 2026 reaches a successful close

“jazzahead?!” exclaimed Senegalese singer/guitarist Sahad. “Jazz isn’t for the head, jazz is for the heart!” His band was one of the highlights of the jazzahead! concert programme. More than 1,000 audience members danced, jumped and sang along in Hall 7 of Messe Bremen to a sizzling mix of Afrobeat, rock, funk, and soul.

For the many international visitors to Bremen, Saturday at jazzahead!, rose inexorably towards its peak with a final evening of showcase concerts. But for those involved in Germany’s jazz scene, the final evening had a different focus: the sixth edition of the German Jazz Prize ceremony, taking place at the same time, is one of the key events in the annual jazz calendar.

Earlier in the day, the torch had been passed on by this year’s partner country (Sweden) to the 2027 partner region, the Baltic States. The programme of music from Sweden had opened on Thursday with the sublime piano trio of Joel Lyssarides. The spectacular, extrovert finale in the early hours of Sunday morning was provided by trombonist Kristian Persson with his funk-jazz band Nine Sparks Riots.

38 international showcase concerts provided a unique platform for both up-and-coming talents and established names alike. German acts such as singer Sara Decker with her all-female quintet Expand were in fine form. The New York-based Berliner Sorvina caused a sensation at the Schlachthof cultural centre – with poetic storytelling and intense gospel-soul, she captivated the entire audience. Swiss bassist/vocalist Knobil displayed a witty charisma; South African Sydney Mavundla provided ballad-style trumpet sounds – just four names in the impressive anniversary programme.

Clubnight in Bremen and Bremerhaven
Over 11,000 visitors celebrated at the first-ever CLUBNIGHT to be spread over two days in Bremen and Bremerhaven. 120 concerts, including Mazaratee’s funk party at the Pferdestall in Bremerhaven, filled the clubs, bars and museums. For the first time, jazzahead! produced a performance at St. Petri Cathedral featuring the Ukrainian-Swedish duo of Andrii Pokaz and Magnus Öström. To mark Bremerhaven’s 200th anniversary in 2027, the programme in the seaside town is set to be expanded further next year.

Partner region 2027 – the Baltic States
The fair concluded on Saturday afternoon with the handover of the baton to jazzahead!’s future partner region. In 2027, the focus will be on countries that are closely intertwined geographically, historically and culturally: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The Baltics aim to present themselves as a “unified export force in jazz” – whilst emphasising their unique characteristics. “The real issue today isn’t creating music, it’s getting noticed,” said Dorotėja Būdaitė, Chair of the Lithuanian Jazz Union. “But if you want real impact, you need partnerships”.
jazzahead! is expanding such collaborations – including in the area of sustainability with the green touring platform cooprog.eu/

German Jazz Prize in Bremen
On Saturday evening, the 6th German Jazz Prize was awarded as part of jazzahead!.
Bremen’s Mayor and Senator for Culture, Dr. Andreas Bovenschulte, delivered an impassioned speech which received vociferous approval from the audience.
“This event is an inspiration to me,” said Bovenschulte. “Jazz challenges listening habits whilst also being fun. There are many genres of music that can find themselves appropriated by authoritarians; jazz stands in the face of that. Bremen is tolerant; we are for internationalism and against isolationism. That is why the Jazz Prize and jazzahead! are in such good hands here – today and in the future.” The three-hour show featuring many live acts can be watched here.           

Dedicated programme for industry professionals
“I’m measuring years from April to April,” said Aleksandra Line of the Latvian Music Information Centre. That principle holds true for many of the approximately 3,000 industry professionals in attendance. jazzahead! is one of the most important marketplaces for jazz professionals worldwide. Topics such as AI and touring trends were covered in 50 discussions and workshops.

The demand to attend the speaking panels was sometimes so great this year that there was pressure on the supply of headphones – particularly for the “Anyone can book a gig” meeting (with top US agent Katherine McVicker) and also the talk with Genevieve Artadi and Louis Cole of Knower. Another in-demand event was the preview of the Pacific Region – from 2027 to 2029, jazzahead! is going to be focusing on the Asia-Pacific region.

German TV channel 3Sat summed it up perfectly: “For anyone who wants to find their groove – or swing or shuffle – there is jazzahead!”

jazzahead! statistics: the trade fair attracted a total of 2,984 trade visitors from 62 countries. In total including the concerts, the mark of 20,000 festival visitors was surpassed once again.

Livestreams of the showcase concerts will be available in due course on the new ARD Jazz platform. From June on the jazzahead! YouTube channel. A selection of videos representing highlights of the past 20 years of jazzahead! are already available at ardjazz.de.

Current photos from the concerts can be found here:
ja!26_Press_kit 
Password: ja!26_Press_kit

Date for the diary: the next jazzahead! will take place from 21 to 24 April 2027.
Sybille Kornitschky, Director of jazzahead! and Götz Bühler, Artistic Advisor, are available for interviews.

You can download images from the following links:
Photo 1: Andrii Pokaz & Magnus Öström ©M3B GmbH / Jens Schlenker
Photo 2: Andrii Pokaz & Magnus Öström ©M3B GmbH / Jens Schlenker
Photo 3: Mazaratee © M3B GmbH / Jens Schlenker
Photo 4: Joel Lyssarides Trio © M3B GmbH / Jens Schlenker
Photo 5: Sara Decker © M3B GmbH / Jens Schlenker
Photo 6: Sorvina © M3B GmbH / Jens Schlenker
Photo 7: Michael Pipoquinha © M3B GmbH / Jens Schlenker
Photo 8: Sydney Mavundla © M3B GmbH / Jens Schlenker

Copyright press photos:
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More information:
MESSE BREMEN · M3B GmbH
Jan Paersch | T +49 173 3250836
press@jazzahead.de
Web: jazzahead.de
www.messe-bremen.de