Report on the fair “jazzahead” in Bremen / Germany - Part 2
Posted by Dennis Wiesch on 22 May 2009 | Tagged as: Concerts, Music
Jazzahead has taught me something very interesting: all of the participants appear to belong to one big family and support each other as much as possible. I find this remarkable, especially nowadays when it is not easy for all of the jazz musicians out there to get gigs and for the myriad event organizers to fill their venues with people.
When I arrived at jazzahead I felt like a newbie - comparable to changing school classes in the middle of the school year. Everybody seems to know each other and looks very curiously at the ‘new guy’. Fortunately this feeling didn’t last long - nearly everyone I met was very friendly and interested in what we are up to, and I established some good new relations very easily. I was also introduced to lots of new artists and labels and got tons of promotion CDs that I look forward to listening to over the next couple of weeks. I will try to present you with some of the most notable ones during the next few months on this blog.
The live concerts at jazzahead were fantastic. Besides popular artists like Fredrika Stahl, Norma Winstone or John Abercrombie, the fair also offered many new musicians a platform to introduce themselves to the audience. There were a lot of performances throughout the day at “Borgward Saal” and “Hall 4.1″ which continued into the evening, in a much more informal atmosphere at “Schlachthof” right next to the fair building. The “Schlachthof” is a very established location in Bremen’s cultural scene. For many years lots of concerts, parties and readings have taken place here.
On Friday night I really enjoyed the live performances of two German bands: “Oktoposse” and the “Mischa Schumann Trio“. Attendees could listen over a few beers, chatting to label bosses, booking agents, musicians and event organizers on a more private basis, whilst the performance of both of the groups completely filled the room with enthusiasm. Especially “Oktoposse”, whose mixture of new and old, classical and modern, calm and rocking, mixed with some improvised parts really impressed me. Their trademark is the sweatsuit and in the past they have won several talent awards. This part of the event was a great idea and was very well-attended by around 250 people.
Unfortunately I had to leave on Saturday afternoon and so missed out on Saturday night’s concerts. I will definitely be back with more time next year, collecting more interesting facts, inspirations and impressions, and continuing to build an even stronger connection with the international jazz scene. It was a very worthwhile trip both for participants in the industry as well as private jazz enthusiasts.
No Comments »
