The Klaipėda Castle Jazz Festival ( lt, Klaipėdos pilies džiazo festivalis) has been held annually during June or July in

Klaipėda Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the eponymous county, it is the third largest city and the only major seaport in Lithuania ...

, Lithuania since 1994. It is staged near the ruined

Klaipėda Castle Klaipėda Castle, also known as Memelburg or Memel Castle, is an archeological site and museum housed in a castle built by the Teutonic Knights in Klaipėda, Lithuania, near the Baltic Sea. The Teutons called the castle ''Memelburg'' or ''Memel'',< ...

. Major international performers at past festivals have included Maynard Ferguson,

Toots Thielemans Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (29 April 1922 – 22 August 2016), known professionally as Toots Thielemans, was a Belgian jazz musician. He was mostly known for his chromatic harmonica playing, as well as his guitar and whistl ...

Billy Cobham William Emanuel Cobham Jr. (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian–American jazz drummer who came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He was inducted into the ''Mode ...

Culture Mix,

Mike Mainieri Michael T. Mainieri Jr. (born July 4, 1938) is an American vibraphonist, known for his work with the jazz fusion group Steps Ahead. He is married to the singer-songwriter and harpist Dee Carstensen. Biography Mainieri was born in The Bronx, Ne ...

, Victor Bailey,

Chico & the Gypsies Chico & the Gypsies is a French musical formation of rumba catalana, flamenco and Latin pop and rock tunes led by Jahloul Chico Bouchikhi, who was one of the founders of the Gipsy Kings. After he left the Gipsy Kings due to differences with the ba ...

Soweto Kinch Soweto Kinch (born 10 January 1978) is a British jazz alto saxophonist and rapper. Biography Born in 1978 in London, England, to a Barbadian father, playwright Don Kinch, and British-Jamaican actress Yvette Harris, Soweto Kinch began playin ...

, Alex Wilson, and

Nikki Yeoh Nikki Yeoh (born 24 May 1973) is a British jazz pianist who has worked with Courtney Pine, Cleveland Watkiss, Steve Williamson, Chante Moore, The Roots and Neneh Cherry. Born in London, Yeoh is of mixed race origin, having a father from Malay ...

, among others. It traditionally features an all-night jam session.

References

Performers
Klaipeda Jazz Festival - Official website. * Karina Juodelyte-Moliboga (11 July 2007)
Jazzing it up in Lithuania’s ‘New Orleans’

The Baltic Times ''The Baltic Times'' is an independent monthly newspaper that covers the latest political, economic, business, and cultural events in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The paper was formed from a merger in 1996 of the ''Baltic Independent'' and '' ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Klaipeda Castle Jazz Festival Jazz festivals in Lithuania 1994 establishments in Lithuania Music in Klaipėda Music festivals established in 1994 Annual events in Lithuania Events in Klaipėda Summer events in Lithuania