What is Jazz Connective?

Jazz Connective is a collaborative artistic and professional exchange between seven different European jazz-related organisations, taking place during 2019 and 2020 across six countries. It is a project built to sustainably strengthen the jazz scenes of each country (including promoters and producers, musicians and professionals) by exploring the issues of these scenes on a European scale. Jazz Connective is supported by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union and is led by Le Périscope, Lyon.

In 2019, Jazz Connective events have taken place in 3 countries:

Ljubljana, Slovenia - 21st-24th May
Łodz, Poland - 22nd-25th July
Helsinki, Finland - 28th-30th October.

Dublin hosts the final Jazz Connective event of 2019, taking place from 11-12th December in The Project Arts Centre. 2020’s Jazz Connective events will be based in London, Birmingham and Lyon

Who is Jazz Connective?

Jazz Connective's partners are:

Druga Godba (Ljubljana, Slovenia). A major festival in Central Europe. Their concept - finding and presenting lesser-known music, from jazz to world music, through innovative artistic performances - is unique in this part of the world.
Druga Godba's delegate at Jazz Connective Dublin is:
Bogdan Benigar. Bogdan is a promoter, co-funder of the Druga Godba organisation, director for jazz & world music at Cankarjev Dom (Ljubljana), and a member of Europe Jazz Network.

Wytwórnia Foundation (Łódź, Poland). The Wytwórnia Foundation is the organizer of the annual Summer Jazz Academy festival and the educational program for professional artists Intl Jazz Platform. In recent years, Summer Jazz Academy has presented figures from the Polish and international jazz scene.
Wytwórnia Foundation's delegate at Jazz Connective Dublin is:
Karolina Juzwa. Karolina is coordinator of the Wytwórnia Foundation, manager of the Klub Wytwórnia venue.

Vaapat äänet agency (Helsinki, Finland) - 'Free Voices and Sounds' in Finnish - is an agency weaving links between broadcasters in the simmering hotbed of jazz and innovative music in France, Finland and the Nordic and Baltic countries.
Vaapat äänet’s delegate at Jazz Connective Dublin is
Charles Gil. Charles is a producer, concert tour manager, promotor, and founder of Vapaat äänet.

Improvised Music Company (Dublin, Ireland). Improvised Music Company (IMC) is an Arts Council funded resource for Irish musicians and a specialist music promoter for jazz and improvised music in Ireland, producing annual festivals as well as both intimate and large-scale concerts of Irish and international jazz, experimental, and world music artists.
IMC hosts Jazz Connective Dublin, and is represented by Director
Kenneth Killeen.

Performances Birmingham (Birmingham, United Kingdom), which manages the Town Hall and the Symphony Hall. Jazz takes a important place in the concerts they host, along with an arts education program.
Performances Birmingham's delegate at Jazz Connective Dublin is
Mary Wakelam Sloan. Mary is manager of the Jazzlines programme at the Town Hall and Symphony Hall Birmingham, and co-ordinator of education and ensemble projects.

The New Vortex Jazz Club (London, United Kingdom) is one of the most emblematic jazz clubs in Europe since its creation 27 years ago. This venue is an important platform for jazz, improvised and experimental music in Europe.
Vortex Jazz Club's delegate at Jazz Connective Dublin is
Oliver Weindling. Oliver is a director of the Vortex Jazz Club in London, and label manager at babel.

Le Périscope (Lyon France) gathers and collaborates with innovative music artists and leads a reflection on music - improvised, amplified and contemporary - from jazz, to participate in its production, promotion and dissemination.
Le Périscope’s delegates at Jazz Connective Dublin are
Pierre Dugeley and Alice Rouffineau
Pierre is one of the founders of the Périscope Lyon, France, a member of Europe Jazz Network and vice-president of Association Jazz Croisé.
Alice Rouffineau manages public relations and cultural activities at Le Périscope, Lyon.

Jazz Connective & Ireland

Jazz Connective Dublin (creative encounters in improvised music) completes 2019’s programme of events. Jazz Connective Dublin brings 15 artists from 4 countries together for 2 days of connection and collaboration. Artists will be involved in giving masterclasses to Ireland’s next generation of young jazz performers, and Jazz Connective also includes a programme of professional workshops and discussions.

Jazz Connective Dublin’s performances are:

Wednesday 11th December, Project Arts Centre
5:30pm - Launch performance with Shane Latimer & Seb Brun (Free admission)

7:30pm Izumi Kimura & Cora Venus Lunny (IE)
8:30pm Laura Jurd (GB
9:30pm Mopo (FI)

Thursday 12th December, Project Arts Centre
7:30pm Elliot Galvin (GB)
8:30pm Shane Latimer (IE), Seb Brun (FR) & Linda Fredriksson (FI)
9:30pm Vula Viel (GB)

At previous editions of Jazz Connective in 2019, Irish artists Shane Latimer and Insufficient Funs performed in Ljubljana and Helsinki respectively, and Irish delegates Kenneth Killeen, Aoife Concannon, Ellen Cranitch and Cormac Larkin spoke on panels across the 3 events. Further performance opportunities for Irish artists will be a part of the 2020 events.

Professional Programme Dublin

Jazz Connective’s speakers will lend their experience to the Dublin Public Discussion, on the topic ‘Exploring Creative Communities: What makes a scene a scene?’. Taking place on Thursday 12th December at 3:30pm in the Project Arts Centre, this discussion is open to the public, and will be an occasion for open conversation for the music and arts professions. Contributors on this topic will be Annamaija Saarela (Finland), Eva Frost (Denmark) Matthew Jacobson (Ireland), and Martyna Markowska (Poland). The discussion will be moderated by Irish Times journalist, jazz musician and filmmaker, Cormac Larkin. Open to the public, please register your attendance here.

Expanding the professional discourse between the Jazz Connective organisations, delegates will take part in a series of workshops, developing creative ideas for the future of jazz.

On Wednesday 11th December at 2:30pm, delegates will discuss the topic of ‘Space is the Place’, discussing the physical and cultural spaces which jazz music inhabits. Presenting on this topic will be Annamaija Saarela, CEO of G Livelabs Tampere, and Martyna Markowska of the Institute of Culture Katowice.

On Thursday 12th December at 10am, delegates will discuss ‘Creating and Developing Jazz for Young Audiences’, discussing creating meaningful and engaging content for children, in quality work that has improvisation at its core. Presenting on this topic will be Eva Frost of Jazz Danmark and Aisling O’Gorman of The Ark Children’s Cultural Centre, Dublin

To learn about the previous discussions at Jazz Connective’s events, check out the articles by the Jazz Connective delegates.

www.jazzconnective.eu
www.improvisedmusic.ie
www.projectartscentre.ie