Independent, eccentric, wild and always unpredictable: the Südtirol Jazzfestival Alto Adige 2022 proudly presents a selection out of Europe’s contemporary jazz melting pot.
The musician who brought jazz to Europe carried the continent’s name in his own name. On New Year's Day 1918, Alabama-born ragtime composer and bandleader James Reese Europe lands in Brest with the US Army's 369th Infantry Regiment. The unit is entirely made up of African-American soldiers who volunteered for service in WWI. Reese Europe leads the regiment's military band, which gives its first concert on the waterfront in Bretagne. The "Hellfighters Band“–as the the were later called–played the Marseillaise so fast and in such a modern way that people just couldn't believe what they were hearing. 104 years later, jazz has not only established itself in Europe as a recognized art music. European jazz has emancipated itself from the U.S. scene thanks to its strong independence and cosmopolitanism. It crosses the boundaries to pop, rock, punk and folk without fear and both integrates and creates contemporary compositional styles and musical trends.
In its 40th edition, the Südtirol Jazzfestival Alto Adige celebrates European jazz, mobilizing a jazz network that has been spanned across the entire continent over the past ten years when several countries have been chosen to explore their experimental jazz scenes. This geographical focus began in 2012 with a journey through the jazz landscape of Switzerland and was continued in 2014 with a musical "Tour de France". In 2015, the Südtirol Jazzfestival Alto Adige highlighted the British avant-garde, in 2016 the scenes from Austria and Italy, and in 2017 contemporary jazz from Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. In 2018 the festival undertook a discovery tour of Scandinavia and in 2019 it paid a visit to the Iberian Peninsula. In 2021, the festival followed the Danube's course through southeastern Europe.
Solo-artists and bands who have shaped these musical explorations or who participated as artists in residence will return to South Tyrol this summer. The opening concert on June 24 at the Kapuzinerpark in Bolzano will be a European jazz meeting: On the festival base camp stage that evening, bassist Ruth Goller, a native South Tyrolean living in London, British saxophonist and rapper Soweto Kinch, French singer Leïla Martial, Dutch guitarist Reinier Baas, U.S.-born and Italy-based saxophonist Dan Kinzelman, Slovenian cellist Kristijan Krajnčan and Finnish saxophonist Pauli Lyytinen will perform together for the first time. In 2022, Kapuzinerpark will once again become the most important jazz venue in the region. Several concerts will take place at the so-called "Base Camp" on six days as part of the "Base Camp Sessions". The Base Camp including the jazz stage, a bar and a restaurant will be open daily from 6 p.m. to midnight.
New sounds and far-reaching views: The festival offers 56 concerts at over 30 venues throughout South Tyrol. At the end of each day's program, there are late-night concerts at the Batzen Sudwerk in Bolzano. Here musicians avoid already mapped terrain and stretch the jazz landscape far into the unknown. Simone Graziono (piano) and the dancer Claudia Caldarano open the nine "Night Pieces" with their performance "Embracing: Piano Solo Corpo Solo". This is followed by a concert series, ranging from the Finnish duo "Lampen", in which drummer Tatu Rönkkö plays together with guitarist Kalle Kalima, to the experimental arrangement with spoken word artist and political activist Camae Ayewa alias Moor Mother, drummer Lukas König and multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily.
The venues are just as remarkable as the concert arrangements. On July 2, for example, a jazz happening will begin with a guided museum tour, which will be accompanied by five duo formations at several locations in the Folklore Museum in Dietenheim. After the tour, a food stand opens on the open-air grounds and will provide fresh food and drinks. The musicians will finally cross the fertile fields of European jazz in a joint concert. On July 3, the jazz-rock trio Equally Stupid will perform in front of the Comici Hut in a breathtaking mountain landscape. From June 27 to 29, the jazz musicians Matthias Schriefl and Johannes Bär will lead a jazz hike in the Dolomites with two overnight stays in huts and three open-air concerts. On June 30, Soweto Kinch will present his composition "White Juju" on the history of the Anglo-African community in England, the Black Lives Matter movement and the pandemic at a "secret location" in Bressanone. His mix of jazz, hip-hop, baroque elements, folk music and the sound of the African diaspora is as eccentric as the location, that will be announced to all registered guests shortly before the concert starts.
What does young jazz sound like and who are the future stars? At the Base Camp in Bolzano, experienced musicians will be performing with fellow newcomers of their choice in three showcase concerts. Soweto Kinch plays with the 23-year-old British drummer and pianist Jas Kayser (June 27). Kristijan Krajncan joins 28-year-old Slovenian singer Ana Čop and together they will craete a mesmerizing combination of drums, voice, cello and effects (June 28). Latvian guitarist Ella Zirina performs with her teacher at the Conservatory in Amsterdam, Reinier Baas. They will be playing a program ranging from their own compositions and Gershwin arrangements to Radiohead (June 29).
Two jazz labs will also present their work at the Kapuzinerpark: Together with the Jazzwerkstatt Wien, the duo "Die Strottern“ will partially jazzify the Viennese folk song, while the EUREGIO Jazzwerkstatt, where usually musicians from Tyrol, South Tyrol and Trentino join, will play together with European guests. After several days of artist residence, on June 28, the Turkish singer Sanem Kalfa and the Mexican bassist Fuensanta Mendez will present their works at the Stanglerhof in Fiè. Overall, the 2022 edition of Südtirol Jazzfestival Alto Adige will hopefully be surprising it’s audience and inspiring for its musicians once more.
The concert calendar with schedules, locations, band descriptions and line-ups is available online.
www.suedtiroljazzfestival.com
The musician who brought jazz to Europe carried the continent’s name in his own name. On New Year's Day 1918, Alabama-born ragtime composer and bandleader James Reese Europe lands in Brest with the US Army's 369th Infantry Regiment. The unit is entirely made up of African-American soldiers who volunteered for service in WWI. Reese Europe leads the regiment's military band, which gives its first concert on the waterfront in Bretagne. The "Hellfighters Band“–as the the were later called–played the Marseillaise so fast and in such a modern way that people just couldn't believe what they were hearing. 104 years later, jazz has not only established itself in Europe as a recognized art music. European jazz has emancipated itself from the U.S. scene thanks to its strong independence and cosmopolitanism. It crosses the boundaries to pop, rock, punk and folk without fear and both integrates and creates contemporary compositional styles and musical trends.
In its 40th edition, the Südtirol Jazzfestival Alto Adige celebrates European jazz, mobilizing a jazz network that has been spanned across the entire continent over the past ten years when several countries have been chosen to explore their experimental jazz scenes. This geographical focus began in 2012 with a journey through the jazz landscape of Switzerland and was continued in 2014 with a musical "Tour de France". In 2015, the Südtirol Jazzfestival Alto Adige highlighted the British avant-garde, in 2016 the scenes from Austria and Italy, and in 2017 contemporary jazz from Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. In 2018 the festival undertook a discovery tour of Scandinavia and in 2019 it paid a visit to the Iberian Peninsula. In 2021, the festival followed the Danube's course through southeastern Europe.
Solo-artists and bands who have shaped these musical explorations or who participated as artists in residence will return to South Tyrol this summer. The opening concert on June 24 at the Kapuzinerpark in Bolzano will be a European jazz meeting: On the festival base camp stage that evening, bassist Ruth Goller, a native South Tyrolean living in London, British saxophonist and rapper Soweto Kinch, French singer Leïla Martial, Dutch guitarist Reinier Baas, U.S.-born and Italy-based saxophonist Dan Kinzelman, Slovenian cellist Kristijan Krajnčan and Finnish saxophonist Pauli Lyytinen will perform together for the first time. In 2022, Kapuzinerpark will once again become the most important jazz venue in the region. Several concerts will take place at the so-called "Base Camp" on six days as part of the "Base Camp Sessions". The Base Camp including the jazz stage, a bar and a restaurant will be open daily from 6 p.m. to midnight.
New sounds and far-reaching views: The festival offers 56 concerts at over 30 venues throughout South Tyrol. At the end of each day's program, there are late-night concerts at the Batzen Sudwerk in Bolzano. Here musicians avoid already mapped terrain and stretch the jazz landscape far into the unknown. Simone Graziono (piano) and the dancer Claudia Caldarano open the nine "Night Pieces" with their performance "Embracing: Piano Solo Corpo Solo". This is followed by a concert series, ranging from the Finnish duo "Lampen", in which drummer Tatu Rönkkö plays together with guitarist Kalle Kalima, to the experimental arrangement with spoken word artist and political activist Camae Ayewa alias Moor Mother, drummer Lukas König and multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily.
The venues are just as remarkable as the concert arrangements. On July 2, for example, a jazz happening will begin with a guided museum tour, which will be accompanied by five duo formations at several locations in the Folklore Museum in Dietenheim. After the tour, a food stand opens on the open-air grounds and will provide fresh food and drinks. The musicians will finally cross the fertile fields of European jazz in a joint concert. On July 3, the jazz-rock trio Equally Stupid will perform in front of the Comici Hut in a breathtaking mountain landscape. From June 27 to 29, the jazz musicians Matthias Schriefl and Johannes Bär will lead a jazz hike in the Dolomites with two overnight stays in huts and three open-air concerts. On June 30, Soweto Kinch will present his composition "White Juju" on the history of the Anglo-African community in England, the Black Lives Matter movement and the pandemic at a "secret location" in Bressanone. His mix of jazz, hip-hop, baroque elements, folk music and the sound of the African diaspora is as eccentric as the location, that will be announced to all registered guests shortly before the concert starts.
What does young jazz sound like and who are the future stars? At the Base Camp in Bolzano, experienced musicians will be performing with fellow newcomers of their choice in three showcase concerts. Soweto Kinch plays with the 23-year-old British drummer and pianist Jas Kayser (June 27). Kristijan Krajncan joins 28-year-old Slovenian singer Ana Čop and together they will craete a mesmerizing combination of drums, voice, cello and effects (June 28). Latvian guitarist Ella Zirina performs with her teacher at the Conservatory in Amsterdam, Reinier Baas. They will be playing a program ranging from their own compositions and Gershwin arrangements to Radiohead (June 29).
Two jazz labs will also present their work at the Kapuzinerpark: Together with the Jazzwerkstatt Wien, the duo "Die Strottern“ will partially jazzify the Viennese folk song, while the EUREGIO Jazzwerkstatt, where usually musicians from Tyrol, South Tyrol and Trentino join, will play together with European guests. After several days of artist residence, on June 28, the Turkish singer Sanem Kalfa and the Mexican bassist Fuensanta Mendez will present their works at the Stanglerhof in Fiè. Overall, the 2022 edition of Südtirol Jazzfestival Alto Adige will hopefully be surprising it’s audience and inspiring for its musicians once more.
The concert calendar with schedules, locations, band descriptions and line-ups is available online.
www.suedtiroljazzfestival.com
