Leibnitz Jazz Festival

The jazz elite meets for a glass of wine

She's finally here! Cyrille Aimée sings at the Jazzfestival Leibnitz on September 28th.

(Bild: Goffredo Loertscher )

The crème de la crème of the international jazz scene will be performing in Leibnitz. From 26 to 29 September, mastermind Otmar Klammer has not only strong female voices and experimental musicians on the program this year, but also the best wines in the region.

Top jazz and first-class wines have been going hand in hand in Leibnitz for twelve years now. And this year, luck smiled particularly kindly on Otmar Klammer. After all, he has managed to turn some long-cherished dreams into reality. "I've been after Cyrille Aimée and her band for three years. Now she's finally here!" says the director happily. 

With her rather atypical jazz voice and the exciting mix of pop, chanson, Caribbean rhythms and, of course, classical jazz, the French-born singer, who has lived in New Orleans for years, not only wowed audiences in Montreux and New York, but also the Grammy jury. Her concert on Saturday (28. 9.) at the Leibnitz Cultural Center is certainly one of the highlights of the festival.

But that's not all. With Myra Melford and Satako Fujii, a summit meeting of two piano giants that could not be more magical is on the program the day before (7.30 pm, Hugo Wolf Saal). This is improvisation at the highest level.

Myra Melford and Satako Fujii improvise together.

(Bild: Michele Giotto)

Fasten your seatbelts at the second concert on Friday, when the French orchestra Tous Dehors will be performing their program "Ok Boomer" - young jazz full of experimental joy (9.30 pm). Finally, the late evening is marked by a reunion: after 15 years, the four musicians of Fuzz Noir show that they can pick up the thread again and weave excitingly into the future (11 pm, Altes Kino).

Pure experiment - - the Orchestre Tous Dehors

(Bild: Loïc Seron)

Thursday (26th) kicks off with a program by the trio I am Three in the style of Charles Mingus, before saxophonist Avram Fefer and his quartet mix up the wine cellar at Seggau Castle.

Klezmer in the lounge and a mega-talent
Of course, this year's Jazz Lounge with free admission is also back at Café Rosegger on Leibnitz main square. The two gentlemen from New Klezmer Reloaded will be showing just how versatile klezmer music can be on Saturday from 12 noon. And a very special talent will be paying his respects on Saturday at 6.30 pm in the Hugo Wolf Saal: János Egri Jr. is not only winning endless jazz prizes, he is also breaking new ground in Leibnitz together with his father on bass. Immediately afterwards, Jacques Schwarz-Bart pays homage to New York's Harlem district with his quintet, which includes the extraordinary, Grammy-winning singer Malika Tirolien.

Traditionally, the Leibnitz Jazz Festival ends on Sunday with a matinee at the Weingartenhotel Harkamp. The Elina Duni Trio will provide a worthy finale from 1 pm. Like all concerts, this is also an exclusive Austrian event.

This year's "Jazz for Kids" concert (ages 6 and up), which features unpublished children's stories by Werner Schwab, is particularly special. The author, who died in 1994, wrote "News from the Magic Rabbit" for his son, which has now been set to music by Clemens Salesny and Leo Riegler. 

As always, tickets are in high demand, so be quick: Hotline: [phone]; jazzfestivalleibnitz.at