The 13th edition of jazzahead! ran from 19-22 April 2018 at Messe Bremen in Germany.
The international jazz trade fair and showcase festival played host to 3,282 professional participants from 61 countries as well as 17,000+ visitors.
Poland as central focus
The festival kicked off with Polish Night, a concert highlighting the broad spectrum of jazz from Poland, jazzahead!’s 2018 partner country. Highlights included a performance by the World Orchestra (see below), a symphony orchestra and ethno-jazz ensemble featuring rarely heard instruments such as the kaval, duduk and kantele.
Altogether, around 7,000 people attended 40 showcase concerts in 30 venues with all recordings available on video in the media library on the jazzahead! website.
Hans Peter Schneider, CEO of Messe Bremen, said:
‘As the meeting place for the whole world’s jazz scene, jazzahead! is a highly visible showpiece for our city. It really is one of a kind and has proved yet again that Bremen annually becomes the focal point where the entire jazz world gathers.’
Next year’s jazzahead! runs from 25-28 April 2019 with Norway as partner country.
Header photo: Rumba de Bodas performing at one of jazzahead!’s club nights at Kulturzentrum Lagerhaus © Nikolai Wolff / Messe Bremen
