Friends of jazz found their way to Tampere Jazz Happening on the first weekend of November. Majority of the concerts were sold out.
The 31st Happening featured 26 bands, more than 120 musicians, and 17 different nationalities. The programme presented a broad range of jazz and numerous international stars took the stage.
The Gerry Hemingway Quintet opened the Old Customs House Hall venue on Friday evening. The Vijay Iyer Trio fulfilled the audience’s expectations brilliantly, and Ibrahim Maalouf enchanted the audience with his Lebanese trumpet.
Saturday evening brought with it one acclaimed line-up after another. Percussionist Adam Rudolph was full of surprises with his Moving Pictures Octet, and The Jazz Passengers’ performance reflected their long history of playing together. The evening was concluded loudly and freely by Peter Brötzmann’s Chicago Tentet.
The Finnish artists proved to be just as exciting as their international fellows: both the Friday and Saturday concerts at Telakka were sold out.
According to early estimates, Tampere Jazz Happening attracted approximately 11,000 visits, and about 97 % of the available seats were taken.
In addition to dozens of musicians, 23 international journalists and promoters joined the festival to celebrate its recognition as Festival of the Year by Finland Festivals.
The event is organized by Tampere Music Festivals, part of the Cultural Affairs department of the City of Tampere. The Executive Producer of the festival is Minnakaisa Kuivalainen, and the Artistic Director is Juhamatti Kauppinen. The next Happening will be held 31 October – 3 November, 2013.
