The Moers Festival for Jazz
The 45th Moers Festival for Jazz banks on musical improvisation beyond the mainstream.
What started as a small open-air festival in the courtyard of the Moers Castle in North Rhine-Westphalia, soon developed into an internationally renowned event for current improvisational music: since its founding in 1972, the Moers Festival has become an institution for international jazz fans. Risk-taking and musical discoveries beyond the mainstream, adventurousness and border crossing, are the declared goals of the jazz festival. The musical focus falls on the improvisation typical of the genre. Thus the festival has an “improviser-in-residence”, in 2016 the German musician Carolin Pook. With seven other artists, she will open the festival with a violinistic-percussive premiere.
“End of Summer” in the programme
Moreover, for the 45th edition of Moers, Reiner Michalke, artistic director of the festival for eleven years, has gained Jóhann Jóhannsson (born in Reykjavik in 1969), who will present his project “End of Summer”. The film debut of the musician and composer brought him a Golden Globe and several Oscar and Grammy nominations. The soundtrack to his poetic Antarctic nature film will be performed live on stage. In contrast, there will be the dance music of the trio Moon Hooch, a jazz fusion group whose career began in New York subway stations. The American musician Carla Kihlstedt, together with the Eos Chamber Orchestra, will present the project “The Real Me”, an emotionally charged song cycle about growing old. This musical women’s power will be complemented by the pianist Kaja Draksler, born in Slovenia and now living in Amsterdam, and the Portuguese trumpeter Susana Santos Silva. And the young singer Becca Stevens, who moves in the border area of jazz, pop and indie rock, will give a guest performance with the English musician Jacob Collier. Finally, the way to Moers isn’t far for Tim Isfort: the Duisburg resident will travel there with his alto sax quartet.
Since 2004 the Moers Festival has taken place in a festival hall specially converted for this purpose. In 2015 the festival was awarded the EJN Award for Adventurous Programming of the European Jazz Network.
Moers Festival for Jazz, 13 to 16 May 2016
