jazzahead!: The World of Jazz Meets in Bremen

Preparations are gaining momentum – Registration will be opening soon

Each year, Bremen, the Hanseatic city by the River Weser, becomes the world's jazz epicentre. From Thursday 25 April to Sunday 28 April 2019, the international jazz scene will gather for the 14th jazzahead! at Messe Bremen and at many other venues in the city. Exhibitors, co-exhibitors and professional participants can register from Wednesday 26 September 2018. People and organisations who register on the www.jazzahead.de website before 17 October 2018 will qualify for an early bird discount.

Applications for showcase concerts will open on 1 November and must be submitted within three weeks from that date. "We have shortened the application period in order to streamline the work of the juries," explains Sybille Kornitschky, project manager of jazzahead! at Messe Bremen.

The music programme which takes place during the trade fair is comprised of a total of 40 by international juries selected short concerts. In these showcases, bands have the opportunity to put themselves before a public ranging from top professionals to individual visitors who have bought themselves day tickets. The "German Jazz Expo" focuses on German jazz, the "European Jazz Meeting" and the "Overseas Night" present music both from neighbouring countries and from more distant parts of the world. Plus in the Norwegian Night there will be eight groups from Norway, partner country of the 14th jazzahead!

"We chose Norway because of the large scale, the high level of individuality, and the sheer level of interest of its jazz scene. Norway has had a determining role in Scandinavian jazz," says trumpeter Ulrich Beckerhoff, member of jazzahead's artistic direction team. "Ever since the 1970s, the Norwegian style of jazz has reached out far beyond just jazz aficionados, and found its way to a new and broad audience. People are familiar with the clarity of this music, its ethereal and often elegiac soundscapes,” says Beckerhoff.

One of the regular fixtures in the jazzahead! programme is a professional symposium on a topic within the music education sphere, specifically "Improvisation & Jazz for Children". Another, which has been in place for quite a few years, is a two-week festival alongside this event - which is unique in the world - presenting many facets of the broader culture of the partner country. Another popular highlight is the "clubnight" on the Saturday. Jazz fans can visit more than 30 venues with just one ticket, which also functions as a travel pass for buses and trams – an offer which draws visitors from far afield to spend the weekend in Bremen. Since its inception in 2006, jazzahead! has become a fixture in the diaries both of professionals in the jazz world and of the general public. In 2018, 3,282 exhibiting companies and trade participants were registered, and the organizers’ statistics show a total of 17,000 visitors to the exhibition halls and the concerts during jazzahead!

The opening hours of the fair and the starting times of the concerts are different from day to day during jazzahead! On the first day, Thursday 25 April, the fair will be open from 1 pm to 7 pm. On all the subsequent days it opens at 10 am. On Friday & Saturday it goes through to 7 pm, and on Sunday it closes at midday. There are showcases on the afternoons on Friday and Saturday, starting at 2 pm. The evening concerts on Thursday, Friday and Saturday start at 7.30 pm.

More information: www.jazzahead.de

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Please mark the dates and include jazzahead! in your calendar:

Thursday 25 April to Sunday 28 April 2019
Messe Bremen, Hall 6 and 7 & Kulturzentrum Schlachthof

Opening hours of the fair:
Thursday 1 pm to 7 pm
Friday & Saturday 10 am to 7 pm
Sunday 10 am to 12 am

Showcases:
Thursday, 7.30 pm (Norwegian Night)
Friday, 2 pm /7.30 pm (European Jazz Meeting)
Saturday, 2 pm /7.30 pm (German Jazz Expo / Overseas Night)
clubnight: Saturday, different locations in Bremen