Transcending all borders: full details of the showcase concerts announced

‘Good music is good no matter what kind of music it is,’ said Miles Davis. And jazzahead! has always had the mission to track down and to help people discover outstanding bands – increasingly to be found beyond the boundaries of jazz.

38 international acts will perform on three stages at the world’s largest industry gathering in Bremen on the last weekend in April, where jazz also rubs shoulders with folk, electronica, chamber music, afrobeat, punk, funk, outernational music, Afro-Cuban sounds…

The showcases have been put together by international juries over the past few months, under the direction of Götz Bühler, jazzahead!’s Artistic Advisor. One focus is on bands from the partner region for 2025, the countries of Spain, France and Switzerland. In addition to Europe, Central and South America as well as Africa are also set to play a major role.

The jazzahead! showcase selection reflects another feature of the times in which we live, artists who have more than just one home country. Bassist/composer Carlos Bica, who has been at the top of European jazz for decades, is a case in point: born in Lisbon, he now makes his home mostly in Berlin. On Thursday, 24 April at 2 pm, he will step forward as the opening act of the showcase programme at the Kulturzentrum Schlachthof, playing lyrical modern jazz with a Portuguese multi-generational band. “Like the blues, his music is not just about sadness, but the beauty of the human condition.” (Allaboutjazz). What a great start!

On Thursday evening, singer/kora player Momi Maiga will be performing. The artist, born in Senegal and now living in Spain, ‘is the fascinating bridge between ancestral traditions and contemporary rhythms.’ Maiga combines West African elements with jazz, flamenco and contemporary classical music; a combination which led the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung to praise the ‘magical intensity’ of his concerts.

On Friday, 25 April, one of the true rising stars of the young German music scene brings the band he leads to Bremen. The Nils Kugelmann Trio is becoming known for dynamic interplay and appealing and memorable tunes. In 2023, the trio’s debut CD (‘A brilliant album by one of Germany’s most universal musicians,’ Süddeutsche Zeitung) appeared, and since then Kugelmann has won numerous prizes and is already widely regarded as one of the top bassists in Germany.

Friday night promises to be particularly intense, with performances from Scottish folklore/electronica duo Norman&Corrie and the unique vibe of German-Mongolian singer Enji. Violinist and singer Yilian Cañizares represents a new generation of Cuban musicians. Born in Havana, she now lives in Switzerland, but also celebrates the connection between Brazil and Cuba in her songs. Cañizares skilfully combines jazz, classical and Afro-Cuban rhythms with an ethereal voice.

Kasiva Mutua is one of the showcase Festival’s African acts which are bound to make a mark with a fully-formed and self-confident sense of identity and distinctiveness. The Kenyan drummer and percussionist has been steadily building an international profile, fusing traditional music with modern influences from funk, reggae and other styles.

The floor will rock for the final concert of the Friday evening from Smag På Dig Selv from Denmark, who describe themselves as a ‘three-piece punk jazz machine’. The trio (a drummer and two saxophonists) thrilled an audience of more than 10,000 people when they appeared at the Roskilde Festival with their raw, danceable melting-pot of genres – and the night crowd at the Schlachthof in Bremen can be expected (literally!) to rise to the occasion too.

The performance of the Adèle Viret Quartet is set to be one of the highlights of Saturday. Cellist/ bandleader Viret, from Paris and in her mid-20s, has already won numerous prizes. Classically trained, she has made a big impression with elegant, modern jazz influenced by chamber music, with a special chemistry when she plays alongside trumpeter Oscar Viret, her brother.

Save the date: the last weekend in April is the next edition of jazzahead in Bremen, Germany!

From Thursday afternoon until Saturday night, the city will once again become the focal point of the jazz world, with another cohort of impressive artists on the road to being discovered – for more information and links open the attached document which forms part of this press release.

You can already listen to a Spotify playlist with songs by all the participating acts.

We are happy to arrange interviews with the participating artists.

Meet artistic director Götz Bühler this week at Winterjazz in New York City – between January 8 and January 12. Drop us a line!

Please register using the accreditation form.

Interviews with the artists participating are available on request.

Best regards

MESSE BREMEN | M3B GmbH

jazzahead! Press Office
Jan Paersch
press@jazzahead.de