Athens Jazz in Technopolis: 9 days with saxophones, 25 groups and artists from Greece and abroad

Waiting for the biggest Athens Jazz. The 23rd edition of the longest-running jazz music festival in Greece comes to the Technopolis of the Municipality of Athens from May 26 to June 3, for nine days filled with live concerts and exciting encounters with the most talented musicians from Greece and abroad.

In the biggest event in its history, this year’s Athens Jazz includes for the first time two extra days that come to celebrate both its opening and closing in the most exciting way.

Athens Jazz at a glance

On Sunday, May 26, Meute, the dream eleven from Hamburg with the characteristic red jackets, will take to the main stage of Technopolis to announce the opening of the 23rd Athens Jazz with their imaginative, subversive and highly danceable jazz-techno music, with opening act from “Pragma”, the special project of pianist Kostis Christodoulou.

On Monday, June 3, the festival closes with the amazing jazz trio from Canada, BadBadNotGood. The band that changed the parameters of what fresh, modern jazz is, comes to Athens Jazz to give us a triumphant closing show, full of its stylistic flexibility and multi-prismatic executive acumen. The opening and closing shows are organized in collaboration with the neighboring Gazarte, while the presale of tickets for these two concerts has opened through more.com.

What does the 23rd Athens Jazz include? As every year, one day of Athens Jazz is dedicated to the Greek jazz scene with the appearance of the three domestic acts highlighted by the artistic committee of the festival in the categories jazz+, new musical proposal and official participation. Thus, the inventive “marriage” of the Greek musical tradition with the jazz of the duo of Jan Van & Fotis Siotas, the stormy rhythms of the unpredictable MOb Trio and the musical experimentation of the trio of the internationally renowned trumpeter and composer Andreas Polyzogopoulos will open on Monday, May 27 the series of 21 live concerts of the festival with free admission.

The 23rd edition of the longest running jazz music festival in Greece is coming to Technopolis of the Municipality of Athens from May 26th to June 3rd

On Tuesday, May 28, we will enjoy one of the most central figures of the contemporary Slovak music scene, Michal Bugala, with his flexible sound trio, Triple Jump, which escapes from its jazz starting point, sliding comfortably – even rapping – between hip-hop, funk and various aspects of rock. Next up is the youthful energy of Dock In Absolute, the group from Luxembourg who clearly love classical music without shying away from sneaking glances at prog-rock synth-building, while then the fierce guitarist Louis Matute from Switzerland takes us on a journey with His Large Ensemble in a melodically rich jazz world filled with Latin aromas, creatively exploiting his Central American roots.

Wednesday 29 May starts with Júlia Karosi who, together with her quartet, uniquely integrates the musical tradition and folk songs of Hungary in a classic jazz setting. The baton passes to another special musical connection, the one that the French musician Léon Phal achieves with characteristic ease: his groovy sound has a pervasive sense of the presence of electronic elements, but in reality the result is obtained in a completely analog way, through the patents of his talented quintet. Finally, the stage belongs to the “man with the red trombone”, the immovable Nils Landgren, who with his Funk Unit, one of Sweden’s most important jazz-funk acts, make every live show look like a delightful tribute to the greats of the funk school.

The program on Thursday 30 May opens with Cyprus and the excellent British Cypriot performer Erika Soteri who mixes jazz with rock, funky, soul, latin and R&B elements, just before we enjoy the deep expressiveness of the Mathias Eick Quintet, the quintet of the sensitive Norwegian trumpeter who is one of the most important forms of the contemporary music scene of his country. The evening concludes with Italian finesse at its best: the extremely versatile Italian Paolo Fresu comes to Athens Jazz in the company of his Devil Quartet, with whom he has collaborated musically for twenty one years and is also composed of important figures of Italian jazz. Together, they will give us an unforgettable, evocative live full of southern warm-blooded spontaneity but also Central European stylistic and executive precision.

On Friday, May 31, Product May Contain from Poland will take the stage, creating a unique sound mix by combining, among other things, their folk music tradition with ambient elements, as well as chamber music with ethnic percussion. Next comes the abstract jazz expression of Mingo Rajandi, the multi-faceted artist from Estonia, whose work is characterized by the power of simplicity, liberated expression and inter-artistic momentum capable of seducing and engrossing the listener. She is succeeded by the Zabelov Group, the excellent duo from the Czech Republic, with a live performance that will resemble an intoxicating electronic set, where the electric accordion, eerie vocals and live recorded loops with repeating patterns produce a multi-layered sonic construction that reaches impressive climaxes.

Summer begins in Technopolis

The first day of summer brings the corresponding mood to Athens Jazz.

On Saturday June 1st, the Shake Stew septet from Austria will raise the tempo with its groovy madness, as well as the numerous percussions that, in combination with the rich wind instruments and spiritual jazz allusions, create a psychedelic acoustic experience. It’s the turn of the rousing Sunbörn: the energetic six-piece from Denmark bet that their “sunny” instrumental music, with its Afro-jazz, ethnic elements and electronic beats with South American salsa, will lead everyone to wild dance. Saturday’s live shows conclude with the irresistible voice of the British performer Cherise. She belongs to a new generation of soul, jazz and R&B musicians from the UK who manage with respect but with the necessary fresh approach a huge musical legacy, while she stands out for her punk swagger, authentic soul-jazz flavor and pervasive confidence her.

On Sunday 2 June we welcome Nana Rashid and enjoy the fragility, tenderness and deafening intensity that emanates from her melancholic yet dynamic timbre – characteristics that rightfully make her one of the greatest musical talents Denmark has produced in recent years . Next, the award-winning Daahoud Salim Quintet from Spain comes to cover a wide range of jazz directions, focusing on both energy-charged hard bop and the unique technical skill of leader Daahoud Salim on the piano. Finally, the gruvato and full of imagination form from Germany, Botticelli Baby, close the evening and share with the audience a variety of jazz styles, explosive movement, dance moods, but also a special cinematic emotion that characterizes their restless and creative artistic vision.

Saxophones that speak with their souls, trumpets in musical ecstasy, pianos that take off, voices that captivate and a dancing mood in an endless crescendo – all this awaits us at the 23rd Athens Jazz in the Technopolis of the Municipality of Athens, along with a series of parallel actions for all in ages that will be announced in detail very soon. The 23rd Athens Jazz takes place with Major Sponsors COSMOTE and Jack Daniel’s, Sponsor Athens Brewery, Official Air Transport Sponsor AEGEAN and with the kind sponsorship of Filippos Nakas stores.

The program of Athens Jazz in Technopolis

Opening show Meute 26.05: Tickets on sale at more.com
Closing show BadBadBotGood 03.06: Tickets on sale at more.com
Live shows 27.05 – 02.06: Free entry

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The article is in Greek

Tags: Athens Jazz Technopolis days saxophones groups artists Greece