Copenhagen Jazz Festival

Copenhagen Jazz Festival
Genre	Jazz
Dates	begins first Friday of July (10 days)
Location(s)	Copenhagen, Denmark
Years active	1979 - present

Copenhagen Jazz Festival is an annual Jazz event, taking place in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, each July. Copenhagen Jazz Festival was established as a festival in 1979, but already from 1964 Tivoli Gardens presented a series of concerts under the name Copenhagen Jazz Festival with Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and many others.

According to reports,^[1] the total attendance was 240,000 people during Copenhagen Jazz Festival in 2004. In 2006 the number of concerts increased to 850,^[2] and today Copenhagen Jazz Festival numbers more than 100 venues, 1100 concerts and approximately 260,000 guests^[3] - making it one of the largest music events in Europe.

Musicians who have performed at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival include Sonny Rollins, Oscar Peterson, Ray Charles, Michel Petrucciani, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Keith Jarrett, Wayne Shorter, Dizzy Gillespie, John Scofield,^[4] Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Michel Camilo, Ornette Coleman, Annette Peacock, Svend Asmussen Quartet, Richard Bona, Tony Allen and Chick Corea.

The 2011 edition of Copenhagen Jazz Festival took place from July 1 to July 10. Artists included Keith Jarrett, Sonny Rollins and Bobby McFerrin. The 2012 edition of Copenhagen Jazz Festival is scheduled July 6–15, 2012.

History

The founding of Copenhagen Jazz Festival in 1979 is closely linked to the jazz scene that evolved in Copenhagen in the 1960s,^[5] when the city served as a European home for American jazz musicians like Dexter Gordon, Ben Webster and Kenny Drew. An inspired music scene attracted even more American musicians and educated and inspired the whole Danish scene as well.

Through the 70s jazz music expanded in terms of genres and audiences, and reaching 1978 lawyer and project manager Poul Bjørnholt (from Københavns City Center) took the initiative to Copenhagen Jazz Festival, when realizing how local jazz clubs, public spaces, theaters and large venues could contribute to this collabarative event.

From 1979 and until the 90s the festival grew at a steady pace - making room for both international artists and local bands - and today Copenhagen Jazz Festival is its biggest ever with more than 100 venues in Copenhagen and over 1000 concerts. That makes Copenhagen Jazz Festival one of Copenhagens most important public festivals, attracting a broad international audience.

Venues

• Copenhagen Jazzhouse
• Jazzhus Montmartre
• Tivoli Gardens
• Statens Museum for Kunst
• Royal Danish Theatre
• Copenhagen Opera House

Recent headliners

References

1. ↑ Copenhagen Jazz Festival - Publikumsundersøgelse og økonomisk analyse, Danmarks Turistråd (2004) (Danish)
2. ↑ Copenhagen Jazz Festival - About the festival
3. ↑ Copenhagen Jazz Festival - Audience Survey 2011
4. ↑ Copenhagen Jazz Festival - en international københavnerbegivenhed (Danish)
5. ↑ Christian Munch-Hansen (2008). By Af Jazz, Copenhagen Jazz Festival i 30 år. Thaning&Appel. p. 22. ISBN 978-87-413-0975-0. 

External links

• Copenhagen Jazz Festival official website
• Copenhagen Jazz Festival Facebook