''jazzahead!'' is an annual

trade fair A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and c ...

and festival for

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, held in the German city of

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

. Since its premiere in 2006, the event has grown to include a culture festival in and around Bremen, in addition to the four-day trade fair. The international music trade fair with its integrated showcase festival focusses in jazz, while the festival in Bremen is for a broad audience. ''jazzahead!'' is organized by a team of Messe Bremen, a division of M3B GmbH Bremen. The artistic direction team is formed by Ulrich Beckerhoff, former professor for jazz trumpet and renowned jazz trumpeter and Peter Schulze, director of Sendesaal Bremen and former director of

Jazzfest Berlin JazzFest Berlin (also known as the Berlin Jazz Festival) is a jazz festival in Berlin, Germany. Originally called the "Berliner Jazztage" (''Berlin Jazz Days''), it was founded in 1964 in West Berlin by the Berliner Festspiele. Venues included B ...

. The 2020 ''jazzahead!'' trade fair is scheduled for between 23 and 26 April. The trade fair is held in Hall 6 of MESSE Bremen (Bremen Exhibition Center). The jazzahead! festival will start around ten days before.

Trade fair

As a meeting point for the international jazz scene ''jazzahead!'' includes an exhibition, showcase festival, panels and conferences. Exhibitors and participants include protagonists from a wide range of the jazz business, such as bookers, club promoters, venues,

talent agencies Talent has two principal meanings: * Talent (measurement), an ancient unit of mass and value * Talent (skill), a group of aptitudes useful for some activities; talents may refer to aptitudes themselves or to possessors of those talents Talent may ...

, festival directors, musicians and artists, media representatives and many more. For the 2019 edition, over 3,400 professionals, including 1,408 exhibiting companies, were registered.

The Showcase Festival

The showcase festival is part of the trade fair and also open to the public. The showcase festival has included the following modules: ''European Jazz Meeting'' – with jazz music from around Europe, a ''German Jazz Expo'', ''Overseas Night'' – focusing on bands from outside Europe; and a showcase module which presents jazz from the ''jazzahead!'' partner country. The partner country of jazzahead! 2020 is Canada. Showcase concerts at jazzahead! are presented on three different stages, in the afternoons of the trade fair and at night.

jazzahead! Festival

Aside from the trade fair and showcase festival, a growing program for the general public in and around Bremen has developed. Since 2011, this program includes the ''jazzahead!'' Clubnight (2011-2014 ''jazzahead!''-ŠKODA clubnight): With only one ticket visitors are able to visit all participating clubs and venues (2019: 34 venues). Furthermore, a focus is set on the partner country program, presenting the cultural scene of the annually changing ''jazzahead!'' partner country in Bremen's cultural institutions. With a wide range of art field, such as theatre, art, performances, cinema as well as literature and readings, the festival gives not only an insight into the jazz scene of the partner country but also into the culture. Partner countries since 2011 have been: * 2011: Turkey * 2012: Spain * 2013: Israel * 2014: Denmark * 2015: France * 2016: Switzerland * 2017: Finland * 2018: Poland * 2019: Norway *2020: Canada

German Jazz Expo and the German Jazz Journalism Award

Since 2012, ''jazzahead!'' has also included a ''German Jazz Expo'' and ''German Jazz Journalism Award''. The ''German Jazz Expo'' is an export forum for German jazz, supported by the ''Initiative Musik gGmbH''. During ''jazzahead!'', the German jazz scene presents itself in its wide diversity with the aim to make new contacts, especially abroad. The German Jazz Journalism Award is endowed with 5000 Euro with support by the Hamburg-based Dr. E.A. Langner-Stiftung. Previous awardees include Stefan Hentz (2019), Martin Laurentius (2017), Wolf Kampmann (2015), Ralf Dombrowski (2013) and Hans-Jürgen Linke (2012). From 2014 on, the award is presented biennially.

''jazzahead!''-Award

Worth 15,000 Euro, the ''jazzahead!'' Award has been awarded to distinguished personalities from the international jazz business and honors their outstanding work promoting jazz as object of cultural value. This jazz prize was sponsored by motor vehicle manufacturer Škoda until 2014. * 2014 –

Jan Persson Jan Persson (July 22, 1943 – November 15, 2018) worked as freelance photographer since 1962 for Danish newspapers and magazines in and around Copenhagen. Early on he specialized on documenting the jazz scene, later also the visiting beat and rock ...

, photo journalist * 2013 –

Han Bennink Han Bennink (born 17 April 1942) is a Dutch drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured him playing soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, trombone, violin, banjo and piano. Though perhaps best known as one of the pivotal fig ...

, musician, percussionist * 2012 – Siggi Loch, music manager, producer and founder of jazz label ACT * 2011 – Claude Nobs, organizer of the Montreux Jazz Festival * 2010 –

John McLaughlin John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra * Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter * John McLaug ...

, British jazz guitarist * 2009 –

Norma Winstone Norma Ann Winstone MBE (born 23 September 1941) is an English jazz singer and lyricist. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she is best known for her wordless improvisations. Musicians with whom she has worked include Michael Garrick, ...

, British jazz singer * 2008 – Karsten Jahnke, German concert promoter * 2007 – Joe Zawinul, Austrian jazz musician * 2006 –

Manfred Eicher Manfred Eicher (born 9 July 1943) is a German record producer and the founder of ECM Records. Life and career Eicher was born in Lindau, Germany. He studied music at the Academy of Music in Berlin. He started as a double-bass player of classic ...

, producer of ECM Records

References

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External links

Official web page
jazzahead.de
Jazzfuel guide to jazzahead
The musician's guide to jazzahead Jazz festivals in Germany