The organization Jazz International Rotterdam is shifting its focus and taking a new step to further strengthen Rotterdam’s jazz culture. That’s why the 19th edition of Festival Jazz International Rotterdam will focus on the Rotterdam scene & sound. Moreover, the organization will spotlight ‘100 years of jazz in Rotterdam’ with a special series of activities on the sacred jazz soil of De Kaap.
Rotterdam – a strong creative climate
According to the festival organizers, what Rotterdam needs most is a strong creative climate. That will allow Rotterdam’s jazz community to develop further and build up a bigger following. Festival Jazz International Rotterdam 2019 offers plenty of scope for local musicians and new projects that emphasize cultural diversity. We complement and deepen the contributions from local musicians by programming a host of national and international artists. The programme features jazz, hip-hop, electronica, impro and many crossovers, all with a Rotterdam flavour. To discover and experience innovative music, come to the Festival Jazz International Rotterdam.
100 years of jazz in Rotterdam
With regard to celebrating a 100 years of jazz in Rotterdam, Festival Jazz International Rotterdam 2019 is paying tribute to the city’s jazz history with an additional programme on the hallowed jazz soil of Katendrecht, within walking distance of the main venue, LantarenVenster. De Kaap special (on 26 October) features concepts from previous decades that really pack a punch, among them CrimeJazz and NuMoonLab. Also on stage are high-impact musicians such as Eric Vloeimans and Ghasem Batamuntu.
Mike Bindraban, guest programmer of Festival Jazz International Rotterdam 2019, explains: “I looked at the type of jazz Rotterdam has created over the past 30 years. And what is the colour of jazz in all its wonderful shapes and sizes? What is that exactly? To me, it’s urban, hip-hop, multicultural, diverse. That’s kind of the flavour of Rotterdam.”
Programme 2019
Fri Oct 25
New Rotterdam Jazz Orchestra VERS! feat. Jason Lindner (Rdam/USA), The Pack Project & Efe Erdem (Rdam), Melissa Aldana Quartet (USA), Greg Ward’s Rogue Parade(USA), Codarts Big Band & Robert Koemans (Rdam), SWART. (NL), Shirma Rouse (Rdam), Sun-Mi Hong Quintet (NL), Philippe Lemm Trio (NL/USA), We are 6 (Rdam).
Sat Oct 26
Re:Freshed Orchestra (Rdam), Arp Frique & Family (Rdam), Sarathy Korwar (UK), Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio & Benjamin Herman (Rdam/US), ALEXANDER (Rdam), Yannick Hiwat Quintet (Rdam), Stöma (Rdam), Crime Jazz (Rdam), Doppler Trio (NL), NuMoon Lab (Rdam), Eric Vloeimans carte blanche (Rdam), FLiNK (Rdam), Ghasem Batamuntu & The Nu Nova Compound (NL), Jesse Schilderink’s Nijmegen-Rotterdam Collective (Rdam), Ayanna Witter-Johnson (UK).
More about the festival
Since 2001 Rotterdam has been home to a successful festival of contemporary, innovative and high-quality jazz: Festival Jazz International Rotterdam offers a multi-day jazz programme of national and international appeal, with ample attention for young and local talent, new projects and an in-depth programme of activities. Festival Jazz International Rotterdam is an intimate event, offering visitors and artists an adventurous and intense musical experience. This has enabled it to carve out a distinctive niche for itself on the Rotterdam, national and now international jazz scene. Since 2016, a satellite edition of the festival has taken place concurrently: Festival Jazz International Nijmegen.
