jazzahead! Spotlights Continental Talent at European Jazz Meeting

By DownBeat I Feb. 28, 2018

The Beats & Pieces Big Band is set to play the European Jazz Meeting showcase at jazzahead!
(Photo: Emile Holba)

As a part of jazzahead!, a Bremen, Germany, festival, 16 acts will be showcased April 20 as part of the European Jazz Meeting.

Amid the 12-year-old festival’s programming and exhibitors, a series of jury-selected concerts will highlight the continent’s established and blossoming jazz talent. For the European Jazz Meeting, which had 335 acts vying for those slots, a healthy range across jazz sub-genres should be represented.

Part of what made the selection process difficult was the 17.5-percent increase in submissions compared with 2017.

“This year, the many high-quality applicants also included surprisingly many large acts—not only big bands but also even symphony orchestras,” said Peter Schulze, a jury member and one of jazzahead!’s artistic directors. “The Beats & Pieces Big Band from the UK stand for a strong British presence this year. A wide range of styles is represented from elegiac melodic jazz from Iceland and robust improvisations from Belgium and Finland to driving groove jazz from Switzerland.”

Among the scheduled performers is a trio comprising saxophonist Manuel Hermia, cellist Valentin Ceccaldi and drummer Sylvain Darrifourcq, as well as the Einar Scheving Quartet and Pauli Lyytinen Magnetia Orkesteri.

The festival is scheduled to run April 6-22. For more information about jazzahead!, visit the festival’s website. DB