The Blue Sound – 40 Years of ECM at Enjoy Jazz and More

The Blue Sound – 40 Years of ECM
At Enjoy Jazz – 11th International Festival for Jazz and More

As a main programmatic feature this year, the International Festival for Jazz and More, Enjoy Jazz, will present a special festival to commemorate 40 years of the ECM label. From the 22 to 25 October, a multitude of concerts, as well as an international Symposium, will be taking place at the Castle of Mannheim.

For years, ECM artists have been regulars at Enjoy Jazz. In celebration of 40 years of the label, Enjoy Jazz will host a special four-day festival with numerous top-class concerts, a film presentation, as well as an international symposium.

Manfred Eicher, founder and mastermind of ECM, is one of the most important producers of contemporary music worldwide. ECM is internationally one of the most important labels for jazz and, since 1984 when the ECM New Series came to life, the epitome of modern-age music as well. Many well-known musicians and composers such as Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, Arvo Pärt, György Kurtág and Steve Reich have published relevant works of their oeuvres with the Munich label. Over a thousand records and CDs have been released so far. Besides this, his intensive work with Norwegian artists in particular, has substantially contributed to the promotion of the international presence of Scandinavian music.

The concerts of this special festival from 22 to 25 October at the Mannheim Castle, as well as concerts of other ECM artists at Enjoy Jazz, give an overview of the label's artistic spectrum. Artists like John Abercrombie, Egberto Gismonti, Enrico Rava, Jan Garbarek and Tord Gustavsen, as well as Thomas Zehetmair and the Keller Quartet from the New Series, can be heard.

The international symposium, “The Blue Moment," on 24 October will examine the importance of the label for the development of the Euro-American dialogue in music as well as the integration of jazz and contemporary e-music. For this, lectures by Thomas Steinfeld (Süddeutsche Zeitung), Herbert Hellhund (Hanover University of Music and Drama), Richard Williams (The Guardian), John Kelman (All About Jazz) and Daniel Soutif (curator, Paris), among others, will be taking place.

Patron is the Lord Mayor of the City of Mannheim, Dr. Peter Kurz. The project is supported by the German Federal Cultural Foundation, the University of Mannheim, the City of Mannheim, Alte Feuerwache Mannheim, Friends of Enjoy Jazz e. V., the State Palaces and Gardens as well as the Schlosskirche Mannheim.

Press Contacts

Enjoy Jazz - 11. International Festival for Jazz and More
Claudia Paul
Tel: +49 06221 – 583 58 52
Email: [email protected]

ECM Records
Anselm Cybinski
Tel: +49 089/ 898 20 23 14
Email: [email protected]