The Brussels Jazz Orchestra (BJO) celebrates its twentieth birthday with a series of concerts at a variety of European festivals, for which they have employed the talents of none other than American saxophonist Joe Lovano.

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Ever since the early 1970s, flamboyant singer and stage actress Dee Dee Bridgewater has been hailed as the successor to Ella Fitzgerald, not least because of her unmistakable sense of swing and impressive vocal talent. omposer, pianist, three-time Grammy Award winner and radio personality Ramsey Lewis combines dynamic piano playing with hints of soul and funk.

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With the album ‘Gouache’, Jacky Terrasson celebrates his 20-year career with a joyful, creative and profound album that comprises 14 solid tracks of Latin-inspired jazz, straight-ahead jazz and more experimental work; an album that seamlessly blends technicality with passion.

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The Unrevealed Society won last year's Young Jazz Talent Ghent contest. The jury was full of praise for the irresistible lightness of their rich and complex music.

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The release of her album ‘When I Look in Your Eyes’ in 1999 turned jazz singer and pianist Diana Krall into a true jazz superstar. A Grammy Award winner, Krall is widely recognised as one of the leading jazz pianists of her generation. Her romantic songs, jazz standards and excellent originals appeal to both wide audiences as well as to jazz purists.

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With his rich baritone voice spanning four octaves, master vocalist and Grammy award winner Kurt Elling delivers soft and refined ballads. Known as a vocal acrobat, Elling makes unexpected leaps and takes dazzling turns with the greatest ease. He effortlessly combines rhythm, texture, phrasing and dynamics, approaching every word with pinpoint precision. He captures both the cool of Frank Sinatra and the virtuosity of an instrumentalist. It comes as no surprise then that Elling has been voted Best Male Vocalist for several consecutive years by the critics, and in 2012 for the eighth time by the readers of Downbeat magazine.

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This London-based British-Danish jazz trio distinguishes itself through catchy themes, solid compositions and swinging grooves. Their second album ‘Green Delay’ (2009) received wide critical acclaim and ‘Alive’ (2010) was named album of the year by Mojo. With ‘Walking Dark’ (2012), Phronesis have confirmed their status as one of the most exciting bands on the British jazz scene today.

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The Dreamers is one of Zorn's most recent and popular ensembles. With The Dreamers, Zorn has made music that fuses exoticism, surf and world music, Latin jazz, rock, film music and other kinds into an entirely seductive new musical world. With the launch of Electric Masada, Zorn’s Masada project took a new turn and was pushed more into the direction of noise rock and jazz fusion. This downtown super group combines the raw power of Naked City with the improvisational madness of Cobra and the lyrical soul of the Masada songbook. It's an exciting band in which Zorn plays along and conducts the group with hand gestures, allowing him to develop new compositions on the spot.

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A year was spent working on this, the sixth CD in John Zorn’s Moonchild series, and it is a testimonial homage to the poor soldier followers of Christ and the temple of Salomon, the legendary, crusading warrior monks or Templars whose two-century ascent to power abruptly ended in 1307 due to accusations of heresy. With texts that open a new world of possibilities, the music exudes a powerful emotional intensity. Mike Patton’s versatility is fully utilised; he sings everything, ranging from Gregorian chants and atonal melodies to ominous hard-core screams and passionate whispers. The evocative organ of John Medeski adds a deeply religious tone to the drama, and the Dunn-Baron rhythm section meanders masterfully.

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The radical 19th-century French poet, Arthur Rimbaud, was the inspiration for a wild piano piece. Rimbaud’s quest to become a genuine visionary by way of a complete disorganisation of the senses led to the creation of the most personal and intense literature in history. This piece is performed by a trio, with an improvising free jazz rhythm section comprising bass and drums.

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To celebrate his sixtieth birthday, Zorn asked a number of his favourite songwriters such as Mike Patton, Jesse Harris, Sean Lennon and Laurie Anderson to create texts for the compositions from his catalogue. They are performed by an all-star ensemble comprising companions from over the many years and are sung by Mike Patton and Jesse Harris. The programme includes music from Naked City, Masada, The Dreamers, Moonchild, Nova Express and others. In their midst Zorn serves up his stunning instrumental pieces. This project is a very special retrospective that performs some of his most lyrical and memorable compositions from the past thirty years.

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On her latest album ‘The Blue Room’, Madeleine Peyroux successfully reinterprets iconic classics and makes them her own. Her dreamy, somewhat raw voice, lends depth and emotion to famous songs from Ray Charles’ classic album ‘Modern Sounds in Country & Western’.

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Last summer, bassist Avishai Cohen played yet another highly rated set at Jazz Middelheim. For the Gent Jazz Festival he will be bringing along his saxophonist Eli Degibri. Degibri played in 2011 at the Gent Jazz Festival in the quartet of drummer Al Foster and bassist George Mraz. In recent years he has made it as one of the absolutely must-follow jazz musicians.

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(Nl) Met Stefano Bollani (40) haal je een pianist op het podium die zijn enorme virtuositeit graag combineert met een aanstekelijk gevoel voor slapstick. De 85-jarige pianist Martial Solal is een legende die als muzikant al zeven decennia op de teller heeft.

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(Nl) Jamie Cullum kan je op 19 juli 2013 aan het werk zien op Gent Jazz Festival. Dit zal mede door zijn jazz, pop en rock combinaties ongetwijfeld weer een onvergetelijke avond worden vol energie en passie!

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(Nl) José James - de jazzzanger van de hiphopgeneratie noemen ze hem - is niet voor één gat te vangen. Met zijn prachtige stem en enorme inleving klinkt hij altijd elegant, ingehouden en verleidelijk. Een sensuele gentleman die met zijn stijlvolle voorkomen even goed past in een jazzclub van de jaren ’50 als in een gepolijste videoclip in HD. Na zijn concert met pianist Jef Neve op het Gent Jazz Festival in 2009 brachten ze samen het schitterende album 'For All We Know' uit. Een heerlijke, complexloze plaat als ode aan een mooie selectie iconische jazznummers.

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Valerie June makes ‘organic moonshine roots music’, or a blend of country, delta blues, folk, roots and gospel. Born and raised somewhere between Memphis and Nashville, June’s music reflects the rich tradition of Southern music. The singer accompanies herself on the guitar, banjo or ukulele, and to top that off, she is blessed with a beautiful and unique voice that will grab you by the throat.

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(Nl) Elvis Costello is een van de witte raven die zich staande houdt, meer nog, bovendrijft, in zowat alle muzikale wateren. Van angry Young man in de punk en New Wave scene van de jaren zeventig ontpopte hij zich als veelzijdig muzikant in country, soul, jazz, pop, rock, filmmuziek…

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Trixie Whitley est née à Gand mais a grandi à New York et en Belgique. Après une existence de nomade moderne, elle est aujourd'hui retournée s'installer à Brooklyn. Au printemps, elle présentera « Fourth Corner », son premier album tant attendu. Sur « Fourth Corner », Trixie Whitley alterne de solides morceaux de guitare avec des airs de piano plus doux. Avec sa voix blues émotionnelle désormais familière, elle impressionne d'un bout à l'autre de l'album. Trixie a formulé elle-même les thèmes de son œuvre comme : « Amour débordant, haine, joie enfantine et solitude. Tels sont les thèmes auxquels je semble toujours me raccrocher, tant sur le plan personnel que musical. »

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(Nl) Gitarist Rodrigo Fuentealba en Peter Vermeersch, de vermaarde voortrekker van Flat Earth Society en tal van andere creatieve projecten, bundelden hun krachten, obsessies en inspiratie en vormen met MannGold de Cobre een 13-koppige bigband.

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