Focus: Europe

Programme 2018

With 15 projects from 10 countries, Jazzfest Berlin will provide a distinguished platform for Europe’s aspiring and diverse jazz scene: The first is “melting pot: made in Berlin”, an international cooperation project that brings together artists from Belgium, Norway, Poland and Berlin.

The KIM Collective – a conspiracy of young Berlin musicians of diverse origins – creates an un(der)world that exemplifies the music the city Berlin stands for: free dynamics and high creativity, the encounter of musicians from a wide range of styles and cultures. Furthermore, the rising star of soul jazz, Nubya Garcia and the punk jazzers of the WorldService Project will come from London; Estonian saxopho nist Maria Faust will travel to Berlin with a chamber music ensemble and will capture the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche in a double-bill featuring Kara-Lis Coverdale, electronic musician and organist from Montreal, with works inspired by Estonian church music; and French violinist Théo Ceccaldi and his “Freaks” will serve a compulsively danceable, extravagant musical cocktail.

Musical antipodes will be represented by guitarists Julien Desprez (Abacaxi) from France and Kim Myhr (“You | me”) from Norway – one of them experimental, noisy, the other mini malist and melancholy. They are both original artists in a class of their own, as are Austrian pianist Elias Stemeseder, the French-Belgian free experimenters of unit Hermia/ Darrifourcq/Ceccaldi, alto saxophonist Maciej Obara and his Polish-Norwegian quartet and Greek pianist Tania Gianouli and her Byzant-influenced trio featuring oud and trumpet. The Swiss threesome called Trio Heinz Herbert presents clearly distinguished elements with technoid, spacy influences, and Tin Men and the Telephone will invite audiences of all ages to join their galactic, interactive performance. Finally, the Polish duo of pianist Marcin Masecki and drummer Jerzy Rogiewicz and their Polonised ragtime will build the bridge back to the African-American beginnings of jazz in Europe.