Introduction: 50 Years of game changers
Fifty years of North Sea Jazz doesn’t tell a single story but rather illustrates how jazz has continually evolved in new directions. Since the 1960s and 1970s, various movements have emerged, each with its own sound, audience, and cultural context.
This anniversary edition highlights how these developments, from spiritual and political jazz to free improvisation, from fusion to neo-soul, and from European experiments to contemporary global music, have continually influenced one another and are merging in the here and now.
In this special year marking its fiftieth anniversary, the festival has put together a program featuring artists who are all leading figures within a particular movement across the broad spectrum that constitutes jazz today.
