From February 1-17 the Winter Jazz Festival (in Danish: Vinterjazz) sweeps over all of Denmark. With more than 60 venues and a total of almost 300 shows this unique festival is a celebration of live jazz and all its hearths in Denmark as well as a kick start of the jazz club season.
The full program for the festival has just been announced and is brimming with jazz stars from both the international and the progressive Danish scene. Among the international artists are bass star Marc Johnson (US) presenting his new ECM release “Swept Away” with Eliane Elias (BR), the polish pianist Leszek Moždžer playing two duo shows with Swedish bass player Lars Danielsson, the British fourpiece Get The Blessing and the Danish guitar player Jakob Bro playing shows both with an all Danish quartet and an international trio featuring Thomas Morgan (US) on bass and Jon Christensen (NO) on drums. The beloved pianist Lars Jansson (SE) is playing a total of five shows and the gypsy jazz veteran Dorado Schmitt (FR) is taking to the road and playing four shows in Copenhagen, Odense and Fredericia. Also on the road is singers Kira Skov and Sinne Eeg, the power trio Ibrahim Electric and guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg (US).
Among the large set-ups are three shows with Aarhus Jazz Orchestra featuring drummer Peter Erskine (US) playing tributes to jazz fusion legends Weather Report and Steps Ahead in Herning, Aarhus and Copenhagen. Also worth mentioning is the sublime trio Rogers & Hutch feat. Tomas Franck (US/SE/DK) in Jazzhus Montmartre, saxophone player Roscoe Mitchell of Art Ensemble Of Chicago on a double bill with Scandinavian free jazz trio The Thing (SE/NO), the folk and jazz songstress Becca Stevens (US), the very popular Swedish band Bo Kaspers Orkester (SE), two shows with the Congolese wizard Bajoli and the coming together of different arts in the kaleidoscopic KunstClash hosted by Benjamin Koppel and Jesper Mechlenburg in Skuespilhuset where musicians, singers, poets, actors, dancers and dj’s will merge their skills.
The printed program is available at all the venues, Irma shops, and at selected cafés and libraries all over the country and as download at Jazz.dk. If you want to keep yourself updated while on the move, please download our free app for iPhone, iPad and Android at App Store and Google Play. It is called Jazz.dk as well.
