Fri, 05/08/2009 - 8:59 pm

The last group for the Gent Jazz Festival (July 8th to 19th inclusive) is Lambchop. This American band completes the line-up of Friday, July 17th, featuring José James and Rodrigo y Gabriela. As we had already announced, BB King, Jamie Cullum, George Benson, Jamie Lidell, Marianne Faithfull, McCoy Tyner Trio feat. Bill Frisell and Joe Jackson will also be present.

Over the past 15 years, Lambchop has become one of the most exciting bands within the Americana genre. With their subtle mix of country, rock, pop, folk and soul, the group centered by Kurt Wagner has released 10 albums. Year by year, Lambchop has developed into a musical collective built around front man and creative mastermind Kurt Wagner, one of the best song writers of his generation. The driving force behind Lambchop has one of the most recognizable, warm and serene voices and at the same time. He writes ironic lyrics in which the melancholy is never far away and Wagner reveals himself as a wonderful narrator.

Info & tickets:www.gentjazz.com. Gent Jazz Festival from July 8th to 19 inclusive, Bijloke, Gent, Belgium. Tickets cost 27 euros per evening (excl. booking costs), except for those for July 8 (concert day with BB King) which cost 37 euros (excl. booking costs). A Three-Day Pass costs 68 euros (excl. booking costs). Tickets can be booked via www.gentjazz.com, via Uitbureau Gent (www.uitbureau.be or +32(0)9 233 77 88) or at FNAC. Just as it did last year, the final festival weekend coincides with the opening weekend of the Ghent Festivities.

Tue, 04/12/2011 - 9:23 pm

The line-up for the 10th edition of Gent Jazz Festival (July 7th – 17th, Bijloke) is complete, with bands such as Sonny Rollins, Daniel Lanois’ Black Dub feat. Trixie Whitley & Brian Blade, Return to Forever IV, Angus & Julia Stone, Absynthe Minded, Morcheeba, Al Di Meola World Sinfonia feat. Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Randy Brecker/Bill Evans Soulbop Band feat. Medeski, Martin & Wood, Michel Portal Quintet, Agnes Obel, Red Snapper, Dave Holland Quintet, Al Foster/George Mraz Quartet feat. Fred Hersch, Terence Blanchard Quintet and Nouvelle  Vague.

The following bands have already been announced: B.B. King, Gotan Project, Raphael Saadiq, Mavis Staples, Jef Neve Trio and Sing The Truth with Angelique Kidjo, Dianne Reeves & Lizz Wright.

The 10th edition of the Gent Jazz Festival will begin on Thursday July 7th with none other than Sonny Rollins as the Special Nights’ headliner. This jazz legend had been on the festival’s wish list for a very long time and the birthday edition is an excellent occasion. His concert is preceded by the Michel Portal Quintet. The Nathan Daems Quintet, opens the Special Night after having won Young Jazz Talent 2010, the youth contest held yearly on the festival’s fringes.

On Friday the 8th of July, Al Di Meola World Sinfonia, together with special guest Gonzalo Rubalcaba will perform, with Dave Holland Quintet and Al Foster/George Mraz Quartet feat. Fred Hersch. The day’s opener is a coaching project in co-operation with University College Conservatory Ghent called Quartet dal Cuore feat. Paolo Ghetti.

July 9th is the festival’s first Saturday and a Special Night as well. B.B. King, Mavis Staples and the trio of Steven De Bruyn, Tony Gyselinck & Roland will be present.

On Sunday July 10th, the festival’s first four days will be concluded by Return to Forever IV Hymn of the 7th Galaxy Tour (an excellent band with Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Lenny White, Jean-Luc Ponty and Frank Gambale). The Belgian Rêve D’ Éléphant Orchestra will open before Terence Blanchard Quintet and Randy Brecker/Bill Evans Soulbop Band with Medeski, Martin & Wood.

Thursday July 14th three jazz queens will line up with Sing The Truth: Angelique Kidjo, Dianne Reeves & Lizz Wright continue the legacies of Miriam Makeba, Abbey Lincoln and Odetta. Three current icons will pay tribute to the women of song from the last generation. They will be preceded by Jef Neve and his trio and Philip Catherine Plays Cole Porter.

Both revelations Agnes Obel and Agnus & Julia Stone are on stage Friday July 15th. This day will be supplemented by local band  Absynthe Minded. It’s a day dedicated to bands currently breaking through internationally and striving to meet high expectations in the future.

Gent Jazz Festival announces Gotan Project who are electro-tango masters and a retro-funk musician Raphael Saadiq on July 16th. Nouvelle Vague will be the first group to play on the initial day of the Gentse Feesten.

Daniel Lanois’ Black Dub feat. Trixie Whitley & Brian Blade will play on the closing day, July 17th. The festival organization looks forward to this concert after having cancelled Daniel Lanois’ Black Dub last year due to a motorcycle accident. But we are looking forward to vocalist Trixie Whitley as well. Last year her performance won hearts and minds with a special project. Later that day groups include: BackBack which is a local band, Red Snapper and Morcheeba with frontwoman Skye in the original line-up.

The music contest ‘Young Jazz Talent Ghent, an initiative in co-operation Duvel-Moortgat brewery will take place at the festival grounds’ entrance. Free entry every time right before the first concert on the main stage.

New!

Thanks to the co-operation with the city museums in Ghent it is now possible to get free access to one of the 9 museums in Ghent using your Gent Jazz Festival Ticket as an admission ticket. A nice extra for festival visitors. Up until the end of August visitors can be introduced free of charge to the permanent collections from De Wereld Van Kina, Design Museum, Huis Van Alijn, Kunsthal St.-Pietersabdij, MIAT, MSK Gent, Museum Dr. Guislain, SMAK and STAM.

The tickets will obviously remain valid as transportation ticket on De Lijn busses or trams. De Lijn will take you for free, safe and without parking concerns to Gent Jazz Festival and back!

The new online platform will become active on 30.03, the platform will inform festival enthusiasts thoroughly about the festival and about other information such as website, facebook, blog… In the coming weeks the website will be expanded with an archive containing past editions, blog messages, actions and cool extras. Moreover, written and photo reports will be published on this platform during the festival.

Info: www.gentjazz.com. Tickets: gentjazz.com or Fnac. Day Ticket early bird rate: 35 Euro – Special Night early bird rate: 42 Euro – July 15th: 25 Euro. Festival pass early bird rate: 212 Euro (limited number, early bird action up until April 30th). 3day pass early bird rate: 79 Euro (early bird action up until April 30th). The sales channels will add a 3 Euro reservation cost per ticket or pass. The prices for buying tickets on the spot is presale rate + 7 Euro.

Tue, 01/29/2013 - 6:49 pm

Gent Jazz Festival (11-21 July) announces new names today. Against the backdrop of music centre De Bijloke in Ghent, the summer festival will feature among others Diana Krall, Kurt Elling, Phronesis and Trixie Whitley (high res visuals of artists disposable).

Central guest on Saturday 13 July will be none other than Diana Krall. Not only gifted with a sensual and heartwarming voice, Krall is also widely recognised as one of the leading pianists in contemporary jazz. In 2012 the release of ‘Glad Rag Doll’, one of her best albums so far, was followed by a series of world-class concerts.

A second unique voice on this Special Night: Kurt Elling. This new-generation vocal virtuoso will be introducing his 1619 Broadway - The Brill Building Project’; standards with their own identity, original compositions and exceptional improvisations. After 6 albums on the Blue Note label and a live album, Kurt Elling seems to have found the perfect balance between his extraordinary talent and technique on the one hand and the tradition of songbooks and standards on the other. This concert will undoubtedly be a memorable one.

That same night, Phronesis will also take the stage, as part of the Jazz_21 project. Jazz_21 is an initiative of the IJFO (International Jazz Festivals Organization) that offers young and talented musicians the chance to perform at the participating festivals. Jazz_21 provides the perfect opportunity to get a glimpse of the greatest jazz talents of the 21st century, a look into the future if you will, but set in the here and now. The 2013 edition of the Gent Jazz Festival will be all eyes and ears for Phronesis, an exciting piano trio with Scandinavian/British roots, widely acclaimed by the press, inventive in every respect,  but at the same characterised by a warm and accessible sound.

On Saturday 20 July we welcome Trixie Whitley. After a few side projects, including the Black Dub project led by Daniel Lanois, the Belgian-American singer is releasing her first solo album ‘Fourth Corner’ on 11 February. Her upcoming club tour was sold out in no time, proving that there is definitely some electricity in the air. Given Whitley’s remarkable previous performances at Gent Jazz with Black Dub and in 2010 with her ‘Special Project’, and her outstanding live reputation, 20 July will most definitely be a night to remember.

As announced earlier, 14 July will be completely dedicated to the sixtieth birthday of John Zorn. Under the title ‘Zorn at 60’, New York jazz scene’s alchemist gathers a host of talented musicians including  Mike Patton, Jesse Harris, John Medeski, Marc Ribot, Trevor Dunn, Kenny Wollesen, Joey Baron, Cyro Baptista, Steve Gosling, Jamie Saft and Ikue Mori. We have many more interesting events planned for this day, the details of which will be announced soon.

Tickets are available as of today via www.gentjazz.com and at Fnac stores. Tickets for the 13 July Special Night with Diana Krall and Kurt Elling are available for € 47. A standard day ticket costs € 37. Three-day passes are € 92, full-festival passes € 240. This year we are also introducing gift vouchers, which can be redeemed online for day tickets.

Up until the summer, the Gent Jazz Festival is also putting on a concert once a month at the Gent Jazz Club,  a makeshift club at the Belfort City Café (Stadscafé) and Restaurant at the Emile Braunplein in Ghent. On Monday 25 February we present Bugge Wesseltoft Solo.

Programme:

·         25 February:      Bugge Wesseltoft Solo

·         18 March:           Nasheet Waits ‘Equality’

·         15 April:               Bojan Z (solo)

·         6 May:                 Eric Harland Quintet

Gent Jazz Club:
Belfort City Café (Stadscafé) and Restaurant, Emile Braunplein, Ghent
Tickets: € 12 per concert or € 20 for the next four concerts. 
Available via www.gentjazz.com or at Fnac.

Wed, 03/18/2015 - 3:20 pm

Gent Jazz Festival announces new names today. Gregory Porter, Snarky Puppy and GoGo Penguin are on the programme for 18 July. The Garden Stage, the festival's second stage, is that day being taken over by BRRZVLL feat. Anthony Joseph and STUFF.

Gregory Porter is one of the world's greatest contemporary vocalists, having mastered songsmanship like no other. Porter unmistakably creates jazz, yet his music just as much exudes the accomplished gospel and soul of legends such as Marvin Gaye and Bill Withers. His performance at the Ghent Jazz Festival is the ideal run-up to the long-awaited release of his new album later this year.

Snarky Puppy has garnered a cast-iron reputation worldwide. Through clinics, workshops and masterclasses, the group members retain the underground feel, intensely spread their love for music, and inspire a young generation. With a multi-faceted blend of raw funk, soul, jazz and R&B, in many respects Snarky Puppy has found the ideal balance, which the Brooklyn band itself calls 'music for the brain and booty'.

The Brits of GoGoPenguin are known as rising stars in the international jazz scene, and their future jazz proves the genre always manages to reinvent itself. The trio eagerly draws inspiration from both electronica and minimalistic and classical compositions.

There are two Belgian bands scheduled for the Garden Stage. BRZZVLL, one-time winner of the Gent Jazz Festival youth competition, is performing an infectious mix of grooves, jazz, fusion and afrobeat with British poet/musician Anthony Joseph. STUFF., the young instrumental improvisation collective around drummer Lander Gyselinck, is unleashing its long-awaited début onto the world in March, and is already tipped as the revelation of 2015. Their enthralling funk jazz with a wealth of electronica and hip-hop references should conclude the festival day on 18 July in style.

Gent Jazz Festival previously announced the arrival of Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga. They are performing on 12 July, with Stéphane Belmondo Trio and Bill Charlap Trio also appearing that day. More names for the Gent Jazz Festival will be made known later.

Tickets & info: www.gentjazz.com

Wed, 03/25/2015 - 11:02 am

The Gent Jazz Festival is announcing new names for its 14th year. Just like last year, the festival is offering an assortment of relevant music from jazz and related genres, with a balanced blend of young talent and established names on the main stage and the Garden Stage.

On Friday 10 July, the first day of the festival, attention is focusing on jazz and experiment; with acts to look forward to including Bill Laswell and his cult group Material, this time flanked by the legendary Master Musicians of Jajouka. With ‘Made in Chicago’, the mighty Jack DeJohnette surrounds himself with Muhal Richard Abrams, Larry Gray and Roscoe Mitchell, all pioneers in avant-garde jazz. Canadian pianist Kris Davis, recently a guest at Gent Jazz Club, is introducing her octet Infrasound for this event, with Joachim Badenhorst playing on her side. The Garden Stage is that day giving the stage over to interesting names such as David Virelles and the Trio Reijseger-Fraanje-Sylla.

With Abdullah Ibrahim Mukashi Trio and Charles Lloyd Quartet (feat. Gerald Clayton, Joe Sanders & Kendrick Scott), 11 July will see two giants in contemporary jazz on the programme. New York's rising star VijayIyer, last year artist in residence at Jazz Middelheim, will be back this summer with his Trio.Yuri Honing Acoustic Quartet and Toine Thys Trio are taking to the Garden Stage.

The festival already confirmed the unique jazz concert with Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga on 12 July, while also playing that day are Bill Charlap Trio and Stéphane Belmondo Trio with his project ‘Love For Chet’. Two new names are completing the day: Michel Bisceglia is performing in several sets and none other than Kurt Overbergh, artistic director at the AB, is honouring Billie Holiday with a DJ set marking her 100th birthday.

Following two rest days, the second part of the festival kicks off on 15 July with the arrival of French superstar Zaz. On her latest album Zaz sings of her love of Paris, with exuberant joie de vivre in a blend of jazz, chanson and swing. The remaining programme for this day is to be completed later.

Thursday 16 July is all about the guitar. The festival is looking forward to welcoming back the Cubans Rodrigo y Gabriela, an exceptional guitar duo who were already guests at the Gent Jazz Festival a few years back. More guitar-power that day with young blues god Gary Clark Jr. and Rhiannon Giddens, who primarily rose to fame as front woman of The Carolina Chocolate Drops and who now is following her own project. A home-grown big name on the Garden Stage: Nordmann.

The programme for Friday 17 July is to be announced soon.

On the closing day, the festival previously announced the appearance of Gregory Porter, Snarky Puppy, GoGoPenguin, STUFF.andBRZZVLL feat. Antony Joseph.

Gent Jazz Festival is also actively endeavouring to encourage young musicians and to help them grow. There is thus Jong Jazztalent Gent, a joint initiative with the Duvel Moortgat Brewery, which since last year has supported the winning group in elaborating a project. Keenroh won the jury over last year, and is now set to show the public the results of a year's hard work on the main stage, with numerous guests under the name Keenroh XL.

Furthermore, within the collaboration with HoGent School of Arts a guest musician is asked to elaborate a coaching project with a group of students from the conservatory. The coach for this year is to be announced later.

Tickets & info: www.gentjazz.com

Thu, 04/16/2015 - 11:36 am

The Gent Jazz Festival adds another series of names to this summer's line-up.

Van Morrison is without doubt the most notable new name. The legendary Northern Ireland singer will be the headlining act on Friday 17 July. Also playing that day will be the Ginger Baker Jazz Confusion. Baker became world-famous in the late sixties with his band Cream. Baker's current quartet, Jazz Confusion, combines influences from throughout his career ranging from jazz, rock, latin to afro-beat. On the same day, Flying Horseman, the band that revolves around frontman, Bert Dockx (also known from Dans Dans) will perform on the Garden Stage, which is the festival's second stage.

And Neneh Cherry will be the headlining act on 18 July. For decades, this Swedish singer has been a prominent figure in the British urban scene. Constantly reinventing herself, this time she is working with the electronics duo, RocketNumberNine. Already previously announced for this day were Gregory Porter, Snarky Puppy, STUFF., GoGo Penguin and BRRZVLL.

On Thursday July 16, the young Brit Laura Mvula – who performs a blend of soul, jazz and gospel – is joining the previously announced Rodrigo y Gabriela, Gary Clark Jr. and Nordmann. Ignatz, the alter-ego of Bram Devens, will perform three sets on the Garden Stage that day.

The programme on Wednesday 15 July with the French Zaz will be supplemented by Belgian bands - Little Dots and Isolde Lasoen's Isolde et les Bens XL.

Tickets & full programme: www.gentjazz.com.

Fri, 02/26/2016 - 11:42 am

Gent Jazz Festival is running from 7 to 16 July, and is today announcing the first names of the 15th summer edition at the Bijloke site. Thursday 7 July sees performances from Ibrahim Maalouf ‘Kalthoum’, Kamasi Washington, Wout Gooris Trio + Chisolm/Vann (Jong Jazztalent Gent winners) and Terence Blanchard feat. The E-Collective. Kneedelus (A Live Collaboration between Kneebody + Daedelus) are to play three sets on the Garden Stage, the second festival stage. The line-up on Friday 15 July includes St Germain and Ibeyi, and one band is already confirmed for the Garden Stage: Pomrad.

Thursday 7 July

Main Stage

Under the project title ‘Kalthoum’, with an ode to one of Egypt's great divas, Ibrahim Malouf succeeds like no other in reconciling the music traditions of East and West. At the same time, he once again provides the rich jazz scene a new stratification and a different colour palette. He is to perform at Gent Jazz Festival with renowned top musicians including Scott Colley on contrabass and Mark Turner on saxophone. Really getting down to brass tacks, and more relevant and up-to-date than ever before.

With ‘The Epic’, tenor saxophonist Kamasi Washington created one of the crucial jazz records of 2015; a monumental and ambitious opus brimming with gusto, intensity, virtuosity and enthusiasm. This young jazz master is also able more than ever to win over a crowd live. It should also be said that Kamasi Washington is one of the protagonists on that other masterpiece of 2015: To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar. He found a home for this at the renowned Brainfeeder label of Flying Lotus.

The Wout Gooris Trio debuted in 2014 with Current, an album brimming with contemporary, filmic jazz compositions with a subtle electronic touch. In 2015, the trio won ‘Jong Jazztalent Gent’, Gent Jazz Festival’s annual competition in collaboration with the Duvel Moortgat Brewery. This gives a band the opportunity to realise a special project. In this case, for the Wout Gooris Trio that was to become a new series of compositions, penned by Gooris himself, for an extensive line-up with saxophonists Erwin Vann (B) and Hayden Chisholm (NZ). The result is to be seen and heard live for the first time at Gent Jazz Festival.  

On Breathless, Terence Blanchard explores together with his E-Collective the world of grooves and funk for the first time. And the virtuoso and musical centipede is doing so in the ‘African fusion’ style, which makes him so unique and lauded as a trumpeter. Compositions, including reworkings from Blanchard’s oeuvre, a monumental work by pianist Fabian Almazan and a number of carefully selected covers once again reveal a different side to this creative spirit. What's more, he is to perform on stage at Gent Jazz Festival with the entire band that made Breathless into a unique opus.

Garden stage

The fact that jazz and electronica at times get on is old news. However, in collaborations such as these, electronica is often seen as a mere sonic supplementation rather than an integral component of the musical intent. This is not the case for instrumentalists Kneedbody and electronics wizard Alfred Darlington, AKA Deadelus. They jointly sought out a deeper synthesis of acoustic music and electronica, and thus created a many-headed musical beast seamlessly interweaving together jazz, rock and electronic music. The tight result is to be heard on the eclectic album ‘Kneedelus’  – released in 2015 on Flying Lotus’ renowned Brainfeeder label – and soon also during three undoubtedly intense sets on the Garden Stage of Gent Jazz Festival.

Friday 15 July

Main Stage

More than 15 after the huge success of ‘Tourist’, a record blending sultry deep house with jazz in an original way, Ludovic Navarra, AKA St Germain, is now going all West African. He is doing this with a seven-piece band with musicians from Mali, Senegal, Martinique and Brazil, delivering an entirely new sound pallet alongside the recognisable hypnotic grooves. It goes by the name of ‘good time music soaked in Afro-jazz’. Unadulterated joy of playing, and music your hips just won’t stay still to.

Ibeyi are the French-Cuban twin sisters Naomi and Lisa-Kaindé Diaz, daughters of the sorely missed Miguel ‘Anga’ Diaz, percussionist with Buena Vista Social Club. While Ibeyi’s music might have its roots in Cuban Yoruba culture, it has a contemporary sound and is peppered with elements from pop, hip-hop, electronica and jazz. Although with only one album– 14 tracks – to their name thus far, that's really all the sisters need to win over a live audience. Original, sincere and inventive music, performed with an almost tropical warmth.

Garden stage

Pomrad, the alter ego of the Antwerp keyboard player, producer and live performer Adriaan van de Velde, creates irresistibly colourful and danceable music. Steeped in 1980s’ funk, the hip-hop and R’n’B of the 90s, and seasoned with hints of house, dub and trap; Pomrad’s live sound is chunky, funky and sultry, especially since Van de Velde has been accompanied by guitarist Bert and his brother, drummer Stijn Cools. Pomrad has released two EPs in recent years, ‘Vlotjes’, and ‘This Day’, and in spring 2016 we can expect the band’s first LP.

More names for the Gent Jazz Festival will be made known later.

Tickets & info: www.gentjazz.com

Wed, 03/23/2016 - 2:09 pm

The Gent Jazz Festival is announcing new names for its 15th year. On Friday 8 July, Pat Metheny & Ron Carter, John Scofield – Brad Mehldau – Mark Guiliana and De Beren Gieren are coming to the Bijloke Site in Ghent. Saturday 9 July sees concerts performed by Max Richter: from Sleep & The Blue Notebook and Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra, with Jill Scott, Lianne La Havas and The James Hunter Six on Sunday 14 July. Closing the festival on Saturday 16th July is dEUS ‘Soft Electric’, among others.

Previously announced were Ibrahim Maalouf “Kalthoum”, Kamasi Washington, Balthazar, St Germain, Flat Earth Society feat. Mauro Pawlowski, Moondog by Roland & Friends and Ibeyi. Gent Jazz Festival is this year up to its 15th edition, which it is marking with a whole raft of Ghent bands on 10 July.

Friday 8 July, the second day of the festival, is all about superior guitar work. Pat Metheny and bass veteran Ron Carter are first to set to work. Metheny is well-known for his versatility and improvisation talent. He was also one of the first to set about modifying his guitar sound with guitar synths and electronica. Carter is a still-living legend from the Blue Note label who, on contrabass, has stood beside the likes of Miles Davis, Herbie HancockWayne Shorter and Tony Williams. The Main Stage is to be graced by another guitar legend at the end of the day. John Scofield has been playing with big names such as Chet Baker, Charles Mingus and Miles Davis from day one, and has a list of solo projects that would put a great many musicians to shame. He is forming a “power trio” with two other legends at Gent Jazz Festival: Brad Mehldau and Mark Guiliana. On 8 July, singer Hugh Coltman is performing an ode to Nat King Cole and Ghent's own De Beren Gieren are also joining the party. With Steven Delannoye on the Garden Stage, Gent Jazz Festival is once again drawing in the top Belgian ambassador of saxophone. He is to play three sets in different line-ups. France's Airelle Besson Quartet are closing the Garden Stage that day.

Gent Jazz Festival is completely changing musical tack on Saturday 9 July, with no less than Max Richter making an appearance. Richter is a classically trained musician and composer whose production profusion in no way compromises quality, complexity and certainly not pluck. He understands like no other the art of composing high-quality classical music that captivates a wide audience. He is performing work from two legendary albums at Gent Jazz Festival: ‘Sleep’ and ‘The Blue Notebooks’. Also confirmed for 9 July: Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra. With his open mind and eclectic energy, Halsall is an innovator within the Northern new-music movement, running his own record label and regularly delivering a musical gem of his own creation. With his Gondwana Orchestra, he is still shifting boundaries and throws a hint of the “Far East” into his band's sound.

Gent Jazz Festival is opening its second section, on Thursday 14 July, with a day devoted to soulful R&B. After a few years’ lull, Jill Scott made her comeback last year with the album ‘Woman’. She is thus going back to her roots of Soul, R&B and Blues yet without sounding one bit kitsch, and is also set to prove so at Gent Jazz Festival. Multifacetedness courses through the blood of half Jamaican, half Brit Lianna La Havas. Pigeon-holing the sounds on her latest album ‘Blood’ is a hopeless task, and La Havas is thus praised by all critics for making considerable headway. With The James Hunter Six, the voice of frontman Hunter is given centre stage. Inspired by his grandmother's collection of 78s, he performs the sort of soul deftly perching between sweet revival and the rawness Daptone fans are so enthralled with. For the Garden Stage, Gent Jazz Festival has managed to snare Con Brio, a band also trading better funk and soul.

Saturday 16 July is the festival’s closing day, and with dEUS ‘Soft Electric’ Gent Jazz Festival has already clinched a worthy final act. ‘Soft Electric’ reveals an entirely new side to the dEUS pop/rock phenomenon, with the profundity of Tom Barman's tracks being much better expressed during a seated listening concert, makes this the ideal thing for the invariably attentive audience at Gent Jazz Festival to listen to.

Gent Jazz Festival is also making active efforts to encourage young musicians and to help them grow with Jong Jazztalent Gent, a joint initiative with Duvel Moortgat Brewery. The Wout Gooris Trio won the competition in 2015, and the band was given one year to realise a special project. The result of this is to be seen and of course heard live for the first time during this edition of Gent Jazz Festival. Jong Jazztalent Gent is once again on the lookout for a laureate. Registration for the competition is through the popular VI.BE platform of Poppunt. The eventual winner is selected by a group of professionals from the sector.

Furthermore, within the collaboration project with HoGent Conservatorium School a guest musician is asked to elaborate a coaching project with a group of students from the conservatory. This year no less than three guest musicians are working on three different projects.

SABAM is once again handing out the SABAM JAZZ AWARDS on 8 July. An artist with a promising future is rewarded with €10,000, based on his or her track record, with another €5,000 going to a top young talent.

Tickets & info: www.gentjazz.com

Mon, 04/18/2016 - 7:53 am

The line-up for the 15th edition of Gent Jazz Festival (07.07-16.07.16) is almost finalised. Today sees the announcement of names such as John Cale, Dave Harrington Group, OakTree, Kamikaze, ALA.NI, Allen Stone, Day Fly and The Germans

The festival had previously announced artists such as Kamasi Wahington, Pat Metheny-Ron Carter, St Germain, dEUS ‘Soft Electric’, Ibrahim Maalouf, Jill Scott, Lianne La Havas, Balthazar, Ibeyi and Max Richter. Find the full programme enclosed.

On 9th July, John Cale and the Dave Harrington Group will complete the line-up on the main stage. Welsh musician and songwriter John Cale needs no introduction. From The Velvet Underground to his Music For A New Society, it’s been an impressive career. Most people know Dave Harrington as one half of Darkside, his electronica project with Nicolas Jaar, but this year he will debut his new band and album at the Ghent Jazz Festival. It’s an album that sits somewhere between improvisation, jazz and electronica. The OakTree trio will close the Garden Stage on 9th July.  Max Richter has made a few small changes to his concert repertoire and will present a combination of The Blue Notebooks and Infra, rather than Sleep as formerly publicised.

As previously stated, Sunday 10th July is given over entirely to bands from Ghent. Kamikaze (Bart Maris, Filip Wauters, Kristof Roseeuw and Tom Wouters) will reform just this once (?) to close the festival day.

On 14th July the Main Stage will play host to artists such as Jill Scott and Lianne La Havas, as well as London’s ALA.NI and the soul of Allen Stone. The following day Dutch band Day Fly will be at De Bijloke, with an act alternating somewhere between soul and hip-hop.

The final day of the 50th edition of the Ghent Jazz Festival will be closed by The Germans.

Gent Jazz Festival is also making active efforts to encourage young musicians and to help them grow with Jong Jazztalent Gent, a joint initiative with Duvel Moortgat Brewery. The Wout Gooris Trio won the competition in 2015, and the band was given one year to realise a special project. The result of this is to be seen and of course heard live for the first time during this edition of Gent Jazz Festival. Jong Jazztalent Gent is once again on the lookout for a laureate. Registration for the competition is through the popular VI.BE platform of Poppunt. The eventual winner is selected by a group of professionals from the sector.

Furthermore, within the collaboration project with HoGent Conservatorium School a guest musician is asked to elaborate a coaching project with a group of students from the conservatory. This year no less than three guest musicians are working on three different projects.

SABAM is once again handing out the SABAM JAZZ AWARDS on 8 July. An artist with a promising future is rewarded with €10,000, based on his or her track record, with another €5,000 going to a top young talent.

Tickets & info: www.gentjazz.com

Tue, 04/19/2016 - 2:41 pm

Jazz Middelheim, 12th to 15th AUGUST 2016 in Antwerp’s Den Brandt Park, today announced its full programme. Ludovico Einaudi, Melanie De Biasio, Pharoah Sanders/Zakir Hussain/Joachim Kühn, STUFF. Hybrid Love, Liberation Music Orchestra and Avishai Cohen are just some of the names in the line-up.

Friday 12th August 2016, the opening day of Jazz Middelheim 2016, is all about minimalism in all its forms. The day starts with a project by vibraphonist Pascal Schumacher, moves on to the  elegant and melodious jazz of the Marcin Wasilewski Trio, before artist in residence and trumpet player Avishai Cohen takes to the stage for the first time with his quartet. The day will end with a master of  minimalism, piano phenomenon Ludovico Einaudi.

Day two is given over to the legacy of recently passed, Ornette Coleman. Given that he performed at Jazz Middelheim in 2007 and that the man’s influence is still utterly tangible, Jazz Middelheim couldn’t miss the chance to dedicate a day to him. During his second concert, artist in residence Avishai Cohen will present his band 'The Big Vicious', followed later by the renowned, wild ICP Orchestra under the trusted leadership of Dutch drummer and 'éminence grise' Han Bennink. Finally, there will be a tribute to Ornette Coleman by musicians who played in his final line-up.

Sunday 14th August will celebrate almost exclusively Belgian musicians. One of the most important aims of Jazz Middelheim is to promote our own home-grown Belgian jazz musicians. The day will start with the final concert by Avishai Cohen, who has developed a project with students from the Antwerp Royal Conservatoire to be performed on stage at Jazz Middelheim. Hot on its heels comes a collaboration between  Jef Neve and Dutch rapper Typhoon, before the  modern fusion sound that is STUFF. Their 'Hybrid Love' is an ode to 50 years of development in music technology. The day will peak with Walloon singer, Melanie De Biasio, whose timeless voice and sober accompaniment forms an effortless bridge between jazz and pop.

The final day of Jazz Middelheim focuses on more engaged jazz. Craig Taborn, one of the most lauded  keyboardists of challenging improvisation, is on a solo mission. Dré Pallemaerts introduces his new album 'Coutances', along with a raft of musicians of equally high standing who have all worked together on countless projects. The Liberation Music Orchestra with Carla Bley and Steve Swallow will shine a spotlight on their recently passed leader, Charlie Haden. The final concert will be headed up by a former sideman of John Coltrane: saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, with percussionist Zakir Hussain and pianist Joachim Kühn.

Tue, 05/24/2016 - 6:22 am

The programme for Jazz Middelheim, from 12 through 15 August, in Antwerp’s Park Den Brandt, has been finalised. Patti Smith will end the day’s festivities with ‘An Evening of Words and Music’ on 13 August. On 15 August, Liberation Music Orchestra will be replaced by Power Trio: Murray, Allen & Carrington.   Ludovico Einaudi, Melanie De Biasio, Pharoah Sanders/Zakir Hussain/Joachim Kühn, STUFF. Hybrid Love, Jef Neve & Typhoon and Avishai Cohen had already been announced earlier this year.

It’s impossible to imagine contemporary music history without Patti Smith. She started singing ‘Horses’ on winged words and thus breathed life into the American punk movement. Throughout the years, the world got to know her as a musician, a poet, an activist, a sculptor, and an author. On Saturday, 13 August, she will be gifting us all with ‘An Evening of Words and Music’, an acoustic set in which the audience will hear the beseeching murmurs of the younger Patti Smith beyond all the grandiloquence.

On Monday, 15 August, the last day of Jazz Middelheim, Liberation Music Orchestra will be replaced by Power Trio: Murray, Allen & Carrington. ‘Perfection’, the debut album by this ‘all-star trio’ built around sax player David Murray, pianist Geri Allen and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, received the highest, unanimous praise. Not only will the trio be paying homage to the late jazz legend Ornette Coleman at Jazz Middelheim, they will also be commemorating the lives of several of their own personal heroes who passed in 2016, including Marcus Belgrave, Charlie Haden and Father Peter O’Brien.

Jazz Talks

Last year, Jazz Middelheim organised the very first Jazz Talks, at the start of each festival day, where jazz is discussed by jazz artists and enthusiasts. There is something to suit everyone, from jazz fans to those wanting to learn more about jazz and music. The specifics for the Jazz Talks programmes will follow later.

35th Edition of Jazz Middelheim Exhibition

Given that birthdays are something to be celebrated in style, Jazz Middelheim has put together a fantastic project to celebrate the 35th edition of Jazz Middelheim. The festival delved deep in to the archives and darkest cellars to collate materials from across the 35 years that Jazz Middelheim has been going and asked all Jazz Middelheim fans to do the same. From June the collection of ‘relics’ can be admired in 35 locations across Antwerp: from photos, prints, video and sound recordings, to last year’s lost tokens and unravelled wristbands. More information to follow.

Jazz Middelheim on Klara

Klara will be live throughout the festival. From Friday to Sunday, from 4 pm to midnight, and on Monday from noon to 9 pm. In between concerts, presenters Lies Steppe, Bart Vanhoudt and Karel Van Keymeulen will conduct interviews with musicians and festival-goers, report from ‘behind the scenes‘ and the festival grounds, as well as provide commentary from experts and music lovers. Klara reporters will spend four days at the festival, hunting for great stories and jazz lovers can also follow the entire festival on klara.be.  There will be a summer-long Jazz Middelheim programme, including a selection of the most noteworthy live moments from the festival’s history, as well as a look ahead to the 2016 edition. Klara will see Lies Steppe kick off Jazz Middelheim during the final episode of Take 7 this season. Every weekday from 11 pm to midnight there will be a series about notable figures from the jazz world: Best of Jazz. A whole summer of unmissable music. 

Information

Tickets are available via the www.jazzmiddelheim.be website and via Fnac. To meet the demand of many visitors for deals, we will also be offering festival passes as well as group and youth tickets.  Young jazz fans can enjoy free children’s animation at the festival.

Info: www.jazzmiddelheim.be 12-15 AUGUST 2016, Den Brandt Park, Antwerp