Jazz Connective is a collaborative project between different European institutions, born from a thorough observation of the jazz and innovative music sector. Faced by new issues, many artists and organisations are now making a common statement that reflects the new challenges arising within their practices: a lack of promotion, difficulties in defining their careers and their relationship to institutions, and a feeling of remoteness from audiences.
Faced with these questions, we believe that a European approach can contribute to building new strategies to defend and promote this aesthetic. Based on transnational mobility, the Jazz Connective project aims to generate a common reflection on these changes and to promote a culture that is both more inclusive and influential.
Jazz Connective is a project built to strengthen our artistic scenes sustainably. It is made up of promoters and producers, musicians and professionals, and explores these issues on a Europe-wide scale. The project was supported by the European Union as part of Creative Europe (Cooperation Project) and took place in several stages and in several European cities.
7 “Focus” events took place in 7 European cities with the help of our partners:
- 21 – 24 May 2019 /Druga Godba (Ljubljana, Slovenia) is a major festival in Central Europe. Their concept – finding and presenting lesser-known music, from jazz to world music, through innovative artistic performances – is unique in this part of the world.
- 22 – 25 July 2019 /Wytwórnia Foundation (Łódź, Poland) The Wytwórnia Foundation is the organiser of the annual Summer Jazz Academy festival and the educational program for professional artists Intl Jazz Platform. In recent years, Summer Jazz Academy has presented figures from the Polish and international jazz scene.
- 28 – 29 October 2019 /Vaapat äänet (Helsinki, Finland) – Free Voices and Sounds in Finnish – is an agency weaving links between broadcasters in the simmering hotbed of jazz and innovative music in France, Finland and the Nordic and Baltic countries.
- 11 – 12 December 2019/Improvised Music Company (Dublin, Ireland) is an organisation operating in jazz and related musical forms. Their festival “12 points” invites young European artists to perform in Dublin and partner cities, alternatively each year.
- 8 – 10 March 2020/Performances Birmingham (Birmingham, United Kingdom) manages the Town Hall and the Symphony Hall. Jazz takes an important place in the concerts they host, along with an arts education program.
- 11 – 12 March 2020/The New Vortex Jazz Club (London, United Kingdom) is one of the most emblematic jazz clubs in Europe since its creation 27 years ago. This venue is an important platform for jazz, improvised and experimental music in Europe.
- 5 – 13 December 2020/Le Périscope (Lyon, France) gathers and collaborates with innovative music artists and leads a reflection on music – improvised, amplified and contemporary – from jazz, to participate in its production, promotion and dissemination. http://www.periscope-lyon.com
