Between 12 and 15 September 2024, 427 participants from 39 countries gathered for the 10th anniversary edition of the European Jazz Conference in Ghent, Belgium. The title of the conference was “Tomorrow Comes Today”, while the main theme was Youth, in the year when Ghent has the title of European Youth Capital.
Over 4 intense days, keynotes, panels, breakout groups and networking sessions gave participants the opportunity to share ideas and concerns with their international peers and to learn from each other. Especially for this year, a special support mechanism allowed EJN members to bring younger staff members with them to the Conference to participate in the discussions, while for the “Young Curators Programme” 9 future curators from Belgium programmed a night of concerts and events in one of the venues.
On the morning of Friday 13 September, the 25 years old official Brussels city poet, Lisette Ma Neza, gave a powerful keynote address, mixing slam poetry, singing and spoken word, accompanied by pianist Neil Akenzua. In the afternoon of the same day, 5 parallel discussion groups explored the conference theme, discussing the entry of young workforce in our sector, environmental concerns by young artists and professionals, intergenerational programming, new forms of communication to reach young and new audiences and the use of A.I. and new technologies for programming. In the morning of Saturday 14 September, during a plenary panel debate titled “Tomorrow Comes Today” moderated by Anna Umbima, we heard strong statement from 3 different artists actively addressing some of the most pressing issues of our time: Belgian rapper, sociologist and youth worker Faith De Vos, Ukrainian Polish-based experimental pianist Kateryna Ziabliuk, and Dutch singer-songwriter and environmental activist Frederike Berendsen- FRÉ.
25 bands performed in 10 different locations throughout the Conference, allowing participants to discover the city by walking between the venues and placing each band in the best possible setting. Day showcases took place at Music Centre De Bijloke, where also the conference sessions were taking place, while evening showcases were at Ha Concerts. In the late evening of Thursday and Friday, a Fringe programme of concerts took place in five music clubs around the city: Club Telex, Trefpunt, Hot Club Gent, Missy Sippy and Bar Lume. Saturday night saw a special immersive concert at the newly opened Wintercircus club by the Belgian duo schtzl, presenting a new production developed specifically for the Conference.
On Sunday morning, 3 cultural tours, one by boat, one by bike, and a walking tour, showed the rich history of the city and its contemporary dynamic spirit, concluding in a common concert by Volpe organised in collaboration with 123 Piano Gent.
The European Jazz Conference 2024 was organised in collaboration between EJN and 3 EJN members from Belgium: VI.BE, JazzLab, Ha Concerts, with the support of Creative Europe, Bijloke Muziekcentrum, Stad Gent, Vlaamse Gemeenschap, Lotto, Sabam for Culture, PlayRight, Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, Wallonie-Bruxelles Musiques, Museact, Belgium Booms, VIERNULVIER Gent, DEMOCRAZY, Gent Jazz & Omer.
Previous editions of the European Jazz Conference took place in Marseille, France (2023), Sofia, Bulgaria (2022), Tallinn, Estonia (2021), Novara, Italy (2019), Lisbon, Portugal (2018), Ljubljana, Slovenia (2017), Wroclaw, Poland (2016); Budapest, Hungary (2015) and Helsinki, Finland (2014).
The next European Jazz Conference will take place between 25 and 28 September 2025 in Bari, Italy, co-organised together with the EJN member Puglia Sounds.
Photo albums from the conference are available here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ejnpicture/albums/
The full conference brochure is published here: https://issuu.com/europejazznetwork/docs/ejc24_brochure
