The world’s biggest jazz meeting starts today

jazzahead!’s festival kicked off yesterday, Wednesday. Its trade fair – the two elements are closely interlinked – begins today. Between now and Saturday evening, more than 20,000 concert-goers will have attended no fewer than 160 concerts across 45 venues throughout the state of Bremen. Around 3,000 delegates from 60+ countries are making their way to the trade fair – the largest jazz industry gathering anywhere in the world.

Hall 7 at Messe Bremen was sold out Wednesday evening, and was completely alive to the beat of funk, pop and jazz during a very special Grand Opening concert. The 16-piece Norrbotten Big Band demonstrated brilliantly why it is one of the top Scandinavian jazz orchestras.

Saxophonist Lisen Rylander Löve opened the evening with a soulful solo. Other guests from partner country Sweden included Fredrik Ljungkvist, Josefine Cronholm, and the group Agnas Bros. The performance by Californian band KNOWER (Louis Cole & Genevieve Artadi) was wildly celebrated. Together with the Norrbotten Big Band, the duo played tight fusion grooves, ballads, and uptempo swing (Cole: “finally some fucking jazz”).

An audience of all ages celebrated a captivating two-and-a-half-hour show—progressive yet accessible music, as Big Band leader Joakim Milder emphasized.
In her speech, Swedish Ambassador Veronika Wand-Danielsson highlighted the importance of jazzahead! as a venue for networking: “Thank you, to the city of Bremen, for creating invaluable meeting places, and for welcoming “Weltmusikanten” to the city of “Stadtmusikanten”.

Opening concert FOMO? – No problem! The Norrbotten Big Band will be out playing again: at CLUBNIGHT on Friday 24 April, as part of Swedish Night at Lankenauer Höft. Also on the bill for that evening is trombonist Kristian Persson and his band (an anagram of his name) Nine Sparks Riots. The leader of this large neo-soul unit is looking forward to his first jazzahead!: “I hope to connect with new people and plant some seeds for the future.” His band will also perform on Saturday night at the closing showcase of jazzahead! at the Schlachthof Cultural Centre. What can you expect? “High energy, heavy grooves, dexterous horns and good vibes!”

This is just one of the 38 showcase bands from over 20 countries, showing that jazzahead! is a melting pot of genres. Electronica, soul and pop are alongside experimental and chamber music. Only a few advance tickets remain available online.

All showcases will be available as a live videostream, starting on the 23rd, 2 pm: ARDjazz.de

CLUBNIGHT: 2 nights, 1 ticket, 45 clubs

This weekend, the whole of Bremen will become a live music venue. Under the motto “Connecting Jazz Ports”, new venues along the River Weser will join the jazzahead! line-up, including – for the first time – Bremerhaven on Saturday 25 April. The brand new CLUBNIGHT-Double includes a total of 120 concerts in 45 venues.

For the occasion of jazzahead!’s 20th anniversary, the German Jazz Prize returns once again to Bremen. The award ceremony takes place on 25 April at 7.30 pm at the CCB.

From Thursday to Saturday night, Bremen is once again the epicentre of the jazz world!

Note for members of the press:
Journalists who are not yet accredited need to register on-site, at the counter in the entrance area of Hall 7.

Press breakfasts on all three days of the fair
At the start of each day of the fair, the jazzahead! team will provide an informal update on the latest news and highlights of the day. Thu, Fri, Sat from 10.15 am in the press area in Hall 6.

You can download images from the following links:
Photo 1: Norrbotten Big Band © M3B-GmbH / Jens Schlenker
Photo 2: Lisen Rylander Löve © M3B-GmbH / Jens Schlenker
Photo 3: jazzahead 26 Grand Opening © M3B-GmbH / Jens Schlenker
Photo 4: KNOWER © M3B-GmbH / Jens Schlenker

Copyright press photos:
Press photos may only be used for editorial purposes in connection with M3B GmbH events. The copyrights are held by M3B GmbH/photographer. Utilisation and exploitation rights are held by M3B GmbH. Press photos that are used for editorial purposes must be labelled with the corresponding source. Printing and publication of the press photos is free of charge. We ask print media for a specimen copy and electronic media (Internet) for a brief notification. Commercial use of the press photos requires prior written authorisation.

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