Read on for some highlights from the programme:

Mulatu Astatke bears witness to an extraordinarily rich career that has him hailed as the father of Ethio-jazz. From his musical studies at Trinity College and Berklee, groundbreaking recordings for the legendary Amha label in Addis Abeba’s golden age, to his contribution to a Jim Jarmush film, his adoption by the musical youth of Europe and the States, and sampling by hip hop royalty, Astatke has a unique musical history.

His new album, Sketches of Ethiopia, is an homage to the rhythms and dances of Mulatu Astatke’s homeland that still provide the engine for his music. It’s also evidence that the grand old man of Ethio-jazz is not standing still. Join us for a magnificent Monday night at Cosmopolite!

Join us at Nasjonal jazzscene Victoria, and experience saxophone player Linda Fredriksson. With their solo project “Juniper”, Fredriksson steps forth as a composer and a leader unveiling the music of their “shy and quiet” side. The end result is an honest, personal album. Fredriksson's compositions were awarded with the prestigious Teosto award and their debut solo album Juniper (WeJazz Records) with the Jazz-Emma of the Year award 2022.

The idea of a quartet album inspired by her “scandinavian songbook” is something Solveig Slettahjell has been pondering for a long time, and she has been collecting songs for just this project for years. As always, she has had the pleasure of gathering material without obvious connections to each other, before tying them together with her own recognisable style and voice. The finished collection is influenced by a kind of Scandinavian chamber jazz that has inspired many musicians before, but now has been transformed by Slettahjell and her quartet's unique character.

Based in Oslo, Christian Winther is a driving force in the alternative, experimental and improvised music scenes with his personal and intuitive attitude towards the guitar and creative songwriting. Urfuglen is his second album as a solo artist. This year there will be six concerts at Blå during the festival week, and on Tuesday the 15th, we guarantee you don´t want to miss this one.

At Sentralen, you can experience as much as 19 concerts during the weekend on one ticket. We also offer day-tickets. At this venue, you can also sit in on talks at 4 pm both Friday and Saturday with Musikkmagasinet and guests. The programme for Sentralen is as follows:

Friday:

Bêl
Schntzl
Mathias Eick Quintet
NOUT
Kaja Draksler & Susana Santos Silva
The Lost Quartet
Isaiah Collier: I AM

Serendip: Elise Sløgedal
Serendip: Symre

Saturday:

Aila Trio
Farida Amadou & Julien Desprez
Mats Gustavsson: HIDROS9
Kristina Fransson: Coincidences
Benedicte Maurseth: Hárr
Theon Cross
Selma French

Serendip: Tobiasband
Serendip: Esther Viola

Read more about the entire programme and buy tickets here: FESTIVALPROGRAM

See you soon!

Cover photo: NOUT by Sylvain Gripoix