Taking place in autumn, is the oldest jazz festival in the world to be held in continuity since 1953. The Deutsches Jazzfestival is organized and funded by the Hessischer Rundfunk.
Festivals
Wegweiser Jazz (www.wegweiserjazz.de) is the principal online resource for comprehensive information about the German jazz-scene and provides extensive listings that are regularly updated. There are more than 300 festivals and around 200 concert series in Germany, according to the listing in Wegweiser Jazz only a few of which can be mentioned here. Many, if not most German festivals have an international outlook. Regular concert series with hardly more than 10 to 20 concerts per year can often be considered as laboratories for up-and-coming young musicians and insider discoveries for an interested local audience.
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Hamburg,
Germany
May
June
Taking place on Whitsun weekend, presents major acts from the jazz scene, attracting thousands of people every year to come to Hamburg’s famous harbour area.
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Heidelberg,
Germany
October
November
The “international jazz festival for jazz and beyond”, taking place over the course of six weeks every autumn in Heidelberg, Mannheim and Ludwigshafen, is one of the most extensive jazz festivals.
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Schleswig-Holstein,
Germany
June
Taking place end of June in Schleswig-Holstein, the festival has as its focus musicians and bands from the countries bordering the Baltic Sea.
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Berlin,
Germany
October
November
Held on four days end of October/beginning of November and part of the federally funded prestigious Berliner Festspiele, is one of the oldest jazz festivals in Europe.
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Burghausen,
Germany
Held in the Upper Bavarian border area to Austria every spring, is a festival with international prestige since 1971, offering numerous opportunities also for the next generation of jazz musicians.
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Liepzig,
Germany
September
October
Established in 1976, taking place in autumn, have gained Leipzig together with the Jazzclub hosting the festival, an international reputation as a hub for contemporary jazz, with an eye to the next generation of jazz musicians.
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Moers,
Germany
June
Held on the days around Whitsun, focuses on current developments in the jazz scene and explores the genre borders in numerous concerts and events.
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Hamburg,
Germany
November
Taking place in November in Hamburg, aims at widening the concept of jazz and promotes international cultural exchange.
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Essen,
Germany
Organised by all-women* PENG collective in autumn in the city of Essen (NRW), combines musical programming with a strong political message for diversity.
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Bonn,
Germany
May
Taking place in May over the course of three weeks, has expanded greatly in the last few years and presents regional artists, newcomers and international stars side by side.
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Brandenburg,
Germany
One of the major meeting points of the jazz scene in East Germany.
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Berlin,
Germany
Features musicians exploring improvised and experimental music.
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Hessen,
Germany
The long running concert series is just one of the jazz projects of „Jazz architect“ Raimund Knösche.
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Germany
Privately funded Arts centre in a small Bavarian village, which features a regular series of high standard jazz concerts.
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Niedersachsen,
Germany
Excellent example of a long run successful collaboration between a local initiative of volunteers and a publicly funded cultural centre.
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Nordrhein,
Germany
Promotes international jazz artists in the City Hall, organized and funded by the City of Gütersloh.
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Bremen,
Germany
Presents jazz concerts in a carefully renovated studio formerly used by Radio Bremen (public radio broadcaster).