Jul 17, 2025 12:44 PM
DownBeat’s 73rd Annual Critics Poll: One for the Record Books
You see before you what we believe is the largest and most comprehensive Critics Poll in the history of jazz. DownBeat…
A photo collage promoting artists slated to perform at this year’s jazzahead! showcase concerts.
(Photo: Courtesy jazzahead.de)Full details of the showcase concerts for the 19th edition of jazzahead!, the world’s largest annual jazz industry gathering, have been released. The combination trade fair, industry conference and artistic showcase will be held April 24–26 at the Congress Centrum in Bremen, Germany.
Each year, the showcase features artists from a partner country. This year, however, jazzahead! for the first time has engaged a partner region, including the three former partner countries of Spain (2012), France (2015) and Switzerland (2016) in an effort to spotlight ongoing developments in European jazz scenes and forge new personal connections. (jazzahead! refers to this first-time arrangement as a “RECONNECT” edition.)
While the showcase begins in earnest on Thursday, April 24, it will host a grand opening gala and concert on Wednesday evening (April 23) with a performance that brings together the three countries that constitute the new partner region. Swiss guitarist Louis Matute will lead his Large Ensemble, featuring Spanish trumpeter Yelfris Valdés, with French singer Célia Kameni serving as guest vocalist.
While Spain, France and Switzerland are the primary emphasis of this year’s showcase, they are far from its only participants. In addition to the RECONNECT showcase, the program also features individual expositions for Europe, Africa and Overseas, and the host country of Germany. All told, the showcase will feature 40 jazz artists from 23 countries across five continents.
In addition, jazzahead! on April 25 will present its annual CLUBNIGHT feature. About three dozen venues — clubs, bars, theaters, museums and other locations in Bremen’s city center — will present live jazz and jazz-adjacent music in an all-night extravaganza. (The full schedule will be released soon.)
Tickets are available for the trade show, the showcase, CLUBNIGHT and packages featuring all three. For more information on jazzahead!, CLICK HERE. DB
James Brandon Lewis earned honors for Artist of the Year and Tenor Saxophonist of the Year. Three of his recordings placed in the Albums of the Year category.
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