Photo by Jens Thekkeveettil on Unsplash
The Lotto Brussels Jazz Weekend (May 24 – 26) promises to offer a stage to 127 artists and 9 leading Brussels cultural actors to showcase Brussels’ musical wealth and diversity, and make it accessible to a wide audience.
The festival, which also has indoor and Buskerpodia concerts (outdoor acoustic stages), aims to put Belgian jazz and the city of Brussels as a cultural metropolis on the international map.
As festival curators, Brussels’ cultural venues, jazz promoters and conservatories can make themselves known outside their own walls and reach out to other music lovers thanks to a shared artistic vision, social role and special selection of artists.
As a free festival, the event is easily accessible, making it a good opportunity to discover the richness of Brussels’ cultural sector and the contemporary Belgian jazz scene.
The festival has brought together six of Brussels’ top cultural venues -AB, Botanique, Bozar, Flagey, Les Lundis d’Hortense and VK- two conservatories -Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles and Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel- Brussels Jazz Alert’ young jazz promoters, who together created this unique musical offer.
Each partner has made its own mark.
The result is as varied, intriguing and vibrant as the city itself: a young, contemporary and diverse program, full of discoveries – from jazz and soul to hip-hop and electro, and even a real salsa evening on Place Sainte-Catherine.
Gert Claes and Steven Palmaers, the festival’s inspirers, issued a statement which reads: “The Lotto Brussels Jazz Weekend aims to raise the profile not only of Belgian jazz, but also of Brussels as a cultural metropolis. What better way to achieve this than to involve and give a leading role to Brussels’ emblematic cultural temples, each of which, in its own way, plays a high-quality role on a daily basis.”
“Alongside legendary clubs and cafés, they all shape the cultural fabric of our capital.Giving young musicians opportunities to play and grow Flagey is a place where different artistic disciplines meet and where young Belgian talent is offered new opportunities.”
“This fits perfectly with the playing and development opportunities that the festival offers to young musicians.”
Together, the event presents Vitja Pauwels, Lara Rosseel, Gert-Jan Dreessen and Dishwasher_ on the Grand-Place, young artists who have taken the jazz scene by storm in recent years and who deserve to be known by a much wider audience.
The Citadines podium on Place Sainte-Catherine is even entirely geared towards the new generation.
To this end, an intense collaboration has been set up with the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles and the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel.
Brussels Jazz Alert ‘s young promoters round off the programme with some particularly interesting up-and-coming artists. Social role Bozar is a welcoming, dynamic art center whose heart beats in Brussels.
It provides a platform for artists from Belgium and around the world. Victor Horta’s Art Deco building allows the visual arts, music, film, performance and ideas to roam freely, just like in an animated body.
Bozar also aims to be a lively space for the living arts.
“I’m very excited about the program Bozar can present alongside the Lotto Brussels Jazz Weekend, in an iconic venue like the Grand-Place. It’s a diverse program, a fine mix of international and local talent,” said Roel Vanhoeck, Music Deputy Director at Bozar.
“I want the program I’ve put together on behalf of VK to be a tribute to the soulful tradition of jazz, with virtuoso vocals, and a look at how traditional jazz shapes the sounds of the future.”
Further info: Lotto Brussels Jazz weekend 24 – 26 May 2024, Brussel Website: https://lottobrusselsjazzweekend.be
Facebook: @brujazzwe
Instagram: @lotto
