The Nordic Jazz Comets showcase brings together the who-is-who and what-is-new in the buzzing Kreuzberg area in Berlin. Five Nordic acts bring their best show to the prime indie music mecca, Privatclub, for the opening night of the Scope festival.
The Nordic jazz organizations in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden have worked together since year 2000 to create pathways to the international stages for the emerging Nordic jazz bands. This year the network has invited a group of German and British jazz professionals to join the event in Berlin, to see the talent that the young artists have to offer and to build bridges within the European jazz community.
Connecting people and providing opportunities for inspiration have always been in the core of the Nordic Jazz Comets project. In Berlin the new wave of European jazz professionals meet the seasoned troupers, the young musicians meet their colleagues and their future work-buddies, and all get happily mixed with the local audience and musicians. How is this done, then?
The public showcase takes place on Wednesday the 18th of October, featuring Alex Jønsson Trio, Charlottas Burnin' Trio, Simple Minds, Monkey Plot and VIRTA. The bands perform their half-an-hour sets on the Privatclub stage, and the night continues with a late-night DJ and jam session at a closeby venue. As it is the opening of the 2nd edition of the cool-cat festival Scope, both of the clubs are expected to be packed with local artists and music-lovers, maybe a few hipsters too.
On Thursday the 19th, the group of musicians and guests gather together to chat about the showcase, about music, about life and love. The casual seminar day features also two guest speakers, Daniel Best, a DJ who runs his own company Best-Works and Matt Fripp, who, in addition to running his own agency, coaches agents and artists in live business. Best and Fripp lead the way to a discussion about the future of live jazz business in Germany and in the UK, and their respective hubs, Berlin and London. Later in the day, the musicians have a chance to participate in an improv workshop, led by the incredible bass-player Greg Cohen. When the musicians retreat back to their art, the guests return to Privatclub to hear the second show at the Scope festival, which happens to be the Norwegian soul-jazz ambassador Rohey - some more Nordic sounds.
The Nordic Jazz Comets project is supported by the Nordic jazz organizations and the Nordic Culture Point (years 2017 - 2018). The NJC showcase/summit is planned to take place in the UK next year. Want to be take part in the Nordic madness? Join us in Berlin or contact our Project Manager Raisa Siivola in Jazz Finland: raisa.siivola (at) jazzfinland.fi.
Photo: VIRTA by Tero Ahonen
