A letter from the Oslo Jazz Festival director Edvard Askeland.
Oslo Jazz Festival welcomes you to seven days of exciting musical experiences as we enjoy the last weeks of the Oslo summer. There’s always something for everyone and the programme offers a good mix of celebrated and up-and-coming artists from different corners of the Oslo jazz scene. We’ve added two more days so you can enjoy a week-long festival, starting on Saturday August 12 with two concerts. French drummer Manu Katché, who has shared the stage with Sting, Peter Gabriel and Jan Garbarek, kicks off the opening concert at the Oslo Opera House and jams with his Norwegian musical dream-team. Later in the evening, we host another exclusive concert with Joshua Redmans Still Dreaming at the National Jazzscene Victoria.
Once again, we’ve opened the music to the outdoors with concerts at the Karpedammen Scene at the Akershus Fortress, accessible with an all-star ticket featuring three concert: Gregory Porter, Beady Belle, and Jamie Callum. Other concerts are spread throughout the week and across the city, at Konserthuset with Lili Lindfors, Auaen with the 80th birthday of Karin Krog, and the Oslo Cathedral with Topsy Chapman and Magnolia Jazzband. Each night, music fills the rooms at Le Chat Noir and Herr Nilsen, and from Tuesday onwards, Victoria Jazzscene boasts two concerts every evening. New this year, we invite everyone to sample a modern musical tasting at Sentralen, featuring more contemporary interpretations of jazz, showcasing 8 bands in four concert halls every evening. We also offer free concerts and jams in Sentralen’s Vinterhagen atrium.
With a few extra days, we’ve planned some new and exciting treats for you all, including secret pop-up concerts around the city centre and at the Gardermoen airport—follow us on social media to catch the surprise concerts as we only announce them a few hours in advance! During the Festival week, we continue to host exciting activities in addition to concerts, like city walks, film screenings, panel debates, and much more! We have also collaborated with the Hot Club de Norvège to bring music to nursing homes and elderly care homes during the week.
Our focus on the Nordic Showcase has shown to be quite successful, boasting increasing popularity and expanding every year. This year in collaboration with Talent Norge, we continue to develop artists in the region by bringing together music students from Scandinavian countries for four days with master classes, workshops, and seminars, and showing off their bourgeoning talent with free concerts at both Herr Nilsen and Sentralen.
Oslo is a fantastic music city and there is an abundance of musical activity throughout the year. August is festival month and we look forward to highlighting the breadth of Norwegian and international jazz to the city. Thank you to everyone who makes this festival possible: our partners and sponsors for their generous financial contribution, the volunteers, the musicians, and our dear attendees!