The NueJazz Festival in Nuremberg impresses on its anniversary – Bavaria

We were able to celebrate a success story last week in Nuremberg. In ten years, the NueJazz Festival has developed from the experimental balloon of the Nuremberg Jazz Musicians Association to the widely respected gallop of national and international greats. “Initially we simply invited musician friends,” says guitarist Marco Kühnl, who hatched the idea together with double bassist Frank Wuppinger. “Little by little it became more professional. But we retained the musician’s perspective.”

A view that is not based on sales figures or press coverage, but rather relies on one’s own instinct for the colleagues that are suitable for the festival. Whether they are newcomers or established stars, they are appropriate if they “take away the fear of jazz, even for inexperienced listeners,” as Wuppinger puts it. Accordingly, style or genre boundaries never played a role. There is also room for hip-hop, indie pop or DJ acts, as long as they are in the jazz spirit. The main thing is that it is high-quality, exciting and current. “No mainstream, no motto,” is how Kühnl sums up the festival concept.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t any priorities. Last year we got Rosie Frater-Taylor, dem Seed Ensemble, dem Balimaya Project, Yussuf Dayes and Shabaka Hutchings served a tour of the New London jazz scene – there was now a reprise with Mansur Brown as a “warm-up” on October 17th. On the three main days from last Wednesday to Friday, in the Kulturwerkstatt venues on AEG and Z-Bau, which have now become the festival’s home, you could experience the hottest young US stars more concentrated than at any other festival.

First up was Dwayne Thomas Jr. aka MonoNeon, the bird of paradise on bass, always dressed beyond recognition in knitted hats and masks and colorful balloon dresses. Became known as a member of Prince’s last band and with ghost note, His band’s performance was a bubbling mixture of funk, soul and rock. The next day, piano aficionado Gerald Clayton was the first to do the honors with Joe Sanders on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums. The son of the big band great John Clayton didn’t just absorb jazz history, as you could hear: his improvisations sounded amazingly European and chamber music-like. Less resulted in more, for many it was even the highlight of the festival.

Immediately afterwards, Lakecia Benjamin stormed onto the stage with her usual elemental force, another bird of paradise who usually appeared in a gold jumpsuit, here in a silver jumpsuit. Their showtime empowerment and plea for unifying diversity may not be for the jazz police, but it rocks every hall. And if there had been an award for the most rousing piece of the festival, it would have been her version of “Amazing Grace.” Hammond organ and keyboard grandmaster Cory Henry provided a bubbling, grooving final chord. And next Thursday, November 2nd, the drummer, rapper and producer Kassa Overall, who works for Theo Croker and Christian McBride among others, will appear as “Afterburner” at E-Werk Erlangen.

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Once again, the concept of having outstanding young German acts like this in addition to these “paid concerts” in the small halls proved successful Shuteen Erdenebaatar Quartet or letting Clarissa Forster compete for free, as a low-threshold gateway drug, so to speak. In addition to the usual supporting program with an exhibition, NueJazz for Kids, workshops and jam sessions, they also treated themselves to something new for the anniversary: ​​a big band project that grew out of their own ranks European Jazz Companions, the first “Nuecomer Jazz Award” for Nuremberg jazz students and a book launch including a panel discussion. Peter Kemper’s “Sound of Rebellion”, which tells the history of jazz as a story of emancipation for black musicians, fit the program perfectly.

The NueJazz makers could feel confirmed on their path. Not only were all the concerts sold out, the visitors were also noticeably mixed and young.

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