| Aarhus Jazz Festival | |
|---|---|
 A selection of artists that have played Aarhus Jazz Festival | |
| Genre | Jazz,blues,experimental jazz and jazz-influenced rhythmic and electronic music. |
| Dates | Eight days in July |
| Locations | Århus,Denmark |
| Years active | 1989 – present |
| Website | Aarhus Jazz Festival |
Aarhus Jazz Festival (formerlyAarhus International Jazz Festival) is a ten-dayjazz festival inAarhus, Denmark. It is held every year around the beginning of July. The festival performs in collaboration with theAarhus Concert Hall, as well as many different venues across the city. Many concerts are played outdoors in the public space and most daytime events are for free.[1][2]
Initiated in 1988 byMusikhuset and local venues, Aarhus Jazz Festival has been an annual summer event in the city since 1989. The festival is bent on featuring new talents in jazz as well as both local and international stars.[3] From the beginning, the festival has featured many notable and world-renowned international jazz stars and bands such asStan Getz,Dizzy Gillespie,Herbie Hancock,The Zawinul Syndicate,Clark Terry,Mike Stern andJohn Scofield – some of them several times – in a mix with more local notables such asJohn Tchicai,Jesper Thilo,Svend Asmussen,Ed Thigpen,Cæcilie Norby,Sinne Eeg,Marilyn Mazur,Pierre Dørge andAlex Riel. The programme is quite broad in its musical choices,[4] often including world renowned blues performers likeB. B. King,Bonnie Raitt,John Mayall or Danish blues acts likeKenn Lendings Blues Band,Shades of Blue orThe Blue Junction. Alternative musical styles with jazz-influences have been represented by artists such asNitin Sawhney,Sting,Dr. John,Abdullah Ibrahim andThe Roots in a mix with many local, new or unknown names.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]
The festival has grown considerably in the 2010s; in 2014 it featured 230 concerts at 29 venues, while in 2018, the festival celebrated its 30th anniversary with more than 360 concerts across 42 venues.[13][14]
From 2014 to 2017 when Aarhus wasEuropean Capital of Culture, Aarhus Jazz Festival turned its focus towards European jazz; jazz fromPoland in particular, since the city ofWrocław was Capital of Culture in 2016.[15][16] The 2016 festival took a deliberate focus on the women in jazz, and included international female artists likeMelody Gardot,Sarah McKenzie andLizz Wright and that years poster also featuredHiromi Uehara. Both the 2016 and 2017 festivals were expanded to last 10 days and also includedworld music concerts in addition to the more rigid jazz programme.[17]
Stan Getz was the first international artist to play at Aarhus Jazz festival in 1989 and as a homage, the 2018 festival played his music at several concerts.[14] The 2019 festival celebrated 100 years of jazz music in Aarhus.
Graphic designerFinn Nygaard, himself from Aarhus and a lover of jazz music, has created many of the festival posters.[5][18] He received design awards for these posters in 1990, 1991, 1998, 2000, 2001, and 2002.[19][20]
