Europe’s jazzahead! Goes Virtual April 23–May 2

By DownBeat I Apr. 9, 2021

The Rebecca Trescher Tentet kicks off jazzahead! on April 23.
(Photo: Cris Civitillo)

Jazzahead!, the European festival and trade fair for jazz, will celebrate its 15th anniversary digitally from April 23 to May 2 with 32 showcases for up-and-coming talent as well as four days of trade fair connecting jazz artists and fans with jazz labels and businesses.

“Despite the pandemic — and all of the imponderables which have resulted — it is clear to us is that we want to do is to celebrate music and culture together,” said Sybille Kornitschky, who runs jazzahead! for Messe Bremen in Germany.

Jazzahead! kicks off April 23 with a performance by the Rebecca Trescher Tentet. Trescher is a renowned clarinetist and composer from Nuremberg, Germany. Her 10-piece ensemble will play excerpts from her new CD, Paris Zyklus–The Spirit Of The Streets.

Other shows include German saxophonist Jakob Manz and his band The Jakob Manz Project, the Dutch band Tin Men & The Telephone and Jasmin Tabatabai and the David Klein Quartet. Tabatabai is a film and television star in Germany, as well as a well-known singer. David Klein is a Swiss composer and producer known for cutting across musical genres.

Jazzahead! also features three themed music showcases: German Jazz Expo, European Meeting and Overseas Night.

The event’s digital trade fair will take place April 29–May 2 under the motto, “Close Together from Afar,” with virtual booths for jazz fans and artists to check out.

All these evening events from the festival will be streamed via a special landing page on the jazzahead! website. For more information, click here. DB