Jazzfest Berlin: festival opening on 30 October at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele
Wadada Leo Smith
© Berliner Festspiele, photo: Camille Blake
The Jazzfest Community Week kicked off already on Monday with a concert at PAS Berlin. Tomorrow, 30 October, the 62nd Jazzfest Berlin will start with an opening concert at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele and will present 120 international musicians in 27 acts at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, A-Trane, Quasimodo, and Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church until 2 November. Almost all concerts are already sold out. In addition, there will be admission-free artist talks at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele as well as workshops and concerts as part of Jazzfest Community Week in Moabit and at the Jazz Institute Berlin.
This year's edition of Jazzfest Berlin opens on Thursday, 30 October, on the Main Stage at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele with alto saxophonist Angelika Niescier, who will be presenting her latest album “Beyond Dragons” together with cellist and composer Tomeka Reid and drummer Eliza Salem. Next up on stage will be bassist Felix Henkelhausen with his septet Deranged Particles, followed by trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith, playing music from his latest album “Defiant Life” on his final European tour with pianist Vijay Iyer. Before the concert, Wadada Leo Smith will be giving an artist talk at the Bornemann Bar in the Rangfoyer.
As per usual, the concert programme will also unfold in the clubs near the Festspielhaus. At A-Trane, New York-based Spanish pianist Marta Sánchez will perform music from her acclaimed album “Perpetual Void” with bassist Matt Penman and drummer Savannah Harris. At the same time, a Kiez Session of the Jazzfest Community Week will take place in the café of the KULTURFABRIK Moabit. Later, American saxophonist Tim Berne will perform with his new trio CAPATOSTA at Quasimodo, where the first day of the festival will end with a jam session.
On Friday, 31 October, Danish alto saxophonist Signe Emmeluth and her septet will bring together musicians from various parts of the Norwegian music world to perform music from her award-winning album “BANSHEE.” This will be followed by the German premiere of the David Murray Quartet, consisting of Spanish pianist Marta Sánchez, bassist Luke Stewart, drummer Russell Carter, and the aforementioned saxophonist Murray, who has been one of the leading figures of the New York post-bop scene for decades. The programme in the main hall of the Festspielhaus will conclude with a performance by Chicago drummer and bandleader Makaya McCraven and his quartet. Afterwards, singer and keyboarder Amirtha Kidambi's New York ensemble Elder Ones will give a preview of their next album in the Kassenhalle at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele.
Meanwhile, at A-Trane, trumpeter Lina Allemano and her quartet will present music from their new album, “The Diptychs”. To round off the evening, The Young Mothers return to the Quasimodo stage after six years. The eclectic sextet was founded in 2012 and mixes free jazz, post-bop, hip-hop and metal before the evening ends with another jam session.
The festival Saturday on 1 November begins at the Kassenhalle of the Haus der Berliner Festspiele with the award ceremony of this year's Albert Mangelsdorff Prize for vocalist and composer Lauren Newton. In the evening, American guitarist Mary Halvorson will perform on the main stage with her Amaryllis Sextet. Afterwards, legendary British bassist and composer Barry Guy will present the new line-up of the London Jazz Composers Orchestra, featuring acclaimed pianists Angelica Sanchez and Marilyn Crispell, winner of this year's Instant Award for Improvised Music. New York vibraphonist Patricia Brennan, a member of Halvorson's sextet, will conclude the programme on the Main Stage with the German premiere of her own septet, playing music from the album “Breaking Stretch” which combines elements of Afro-Caribbean and Mexican styles with contemporary music.
At the same time, the quartet hilde will be playing at A-Trane, mixing art pop, free jazz, and contemporary music. At Quasimodo, guitarist and singer-songwriter Marc Ribot will be performing before the experimental trio MOPCUT, which will be joining forces with rapper MC Dälek that evening. Three of the performing artists — Patricia Brennan, Marilyn Crispell, and Angelica Sanchez — can also be heard in an Artist Talk before the concert programme at the Festspielhaus.
The final day of the festival begins on Sunday, 2 November, with an afternoon concert at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church: saxophonist Sakina Abdou will perform a solo piece in the church's unique atmosphere, followed by the trio The Handover, experimenting with two very different Egyptian musical traditions. In the Bornemann Bar at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, the artistic director of Jazzfest Berlin, Nadin Deventer, will speak in an Artist Talk with participants of the Jazzfest Community Film Lab before the programme begins on the Main Stage with the German debut of Dafnie EXTENDED around saxophonist Amalie Dahl, followed by the newly founded ensemble Moabit Imaginarium and one of pianist Pat Thomas' rare solo performances in Berlin. Saxophonist Mats Gustafsson concludes the programme at the Festspielhaus with the world premiere of his new composition “Words” and a brand-new lineup of his Fire! Orchestra.
At the same time, pianist Angelica Sanchez, bassist Barry Guy and drummer Ramón López will come together for their second performance at A-Trane. The festival ends with tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis and his quartet and an afterparty at Quasimodo.
Artist Talks
Before the concerts on the Main Stage of the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Artist Talks will take place on all festival days in the Bornemann Bar in the Rangfoyer, with free admission.
On 30 October at 17:00, Wadada Leo Smith will look back on more than half a century of creative music with curator Paola Malavassi, music journalist Peter Margasak and artistic director of Jazzfest Berlin Nadin Deventer.
On 31 October at 17:30, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Stefan González, Makaya McCraven (tbc) and Luke Stewart will join Peter Margasak and Nadin Deventer for a deep dive into contemporary America: How is the current vibe shift influencing the process of making music?
On 1 November at 19:00, Patricia Brennan, Marilyn Crispell and Angelica Sanchez will talk to Peter Margasak and Nadin Deventer about artistic creative processes and sources of inspiration as well as political aspects of their work.
On 2 November at 17:30, Nadin Deventer will talk to the participants in the Jazzfest Community Film Lab Lina Ashour, Joel Grip, Chris Jonas, Nelly Köster, Cal Ola and Ahmed Shah about the background to the project, the filming process, artistic encounters and challenges.
Closing of Jazzfest Community Week
The Community Week ends on 31 October at the Jazz Institute Berlin with pianist Aki Takase and two premieres, when the string ensemble “Timeless Small Project” and the Moabit Imaginarium ensemble, founded as part of Community Week, perform for the first time.
Jazzfest Berlin on air
Thanks to the cooperation with the ARD radio network and Deutschlandradio, one can experience the festival on air through a series of live concert recordings and the long ARD Jazznacht. The recordings will also be available in the Berliner Festspiele Media Library.
Jazzfest Berlin is funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.
Media partners are ARTE, Dussmann, Monopol, Wall and the Yorck Kinogruppe.
In cooperation with ARD and Deutschlandradio.
Jazzfest Berlin is member of Europe Jazz Network and Initiative Keychange.
The Jazzfest Berlin 2025 and specific projects are supported by: Schweizer Kulturstiftung ProHelvetia, Robert Bielecki Foundation, Swedish Arts Council and the Norwegian Embassy in Berlin.
The Jazzfest Community Week is funded by the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung and the Berliner Sparkasse.
Partners of the Jazzfest Community Week are: Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin | Jazz Institut Berlin | Kallasch& | KUKUMU e. V. | KULTURFABRIK Moabit | Mullewapp e. V. & Miriam-Makeba-Grundschule | OTTO-Spielplatz –Moabiter Ratschlag e. V. | PAS Berlin | SOS-Kinderdorf Berlin: Familienzentrum / Mehrgenerationenhaus | Theater X | Theodor-Heuss-Gemeinschaftsschule | ZK/U – Zentrum für Kunst und Urbanistik
Press contact
Anna Hinz, Patricia Hofmann, Toni Zahn
presse@berlinerfestspiele.de
+49 30 254 89 223
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