The festival will be hosting their 54th edition from 31 October to 5 November
Berliner Festspiele will be hosting the six-day jazz festival this year, which has announced the first wave of names for the line-up. Those who’ve been confirmed include Ambrose Akinmusire, Empirical, Amir ElSaffar with Zinc & Copper, Trondheim Voices with Kit Downes, René Urtreger, Mônica Vasconcelos and more.
This year’s edition is also the first one with an artist in residence. NY-based composer and drummer Tyshawn Sorey will be performing with his trio and musicians from the Berlin scene.
Festival organiser Richard Williams said in a press statement: “In a world where walls are being erected and borders strengthened every day, jazz exists to remind us of a simple lesson: that people and societies are at their best when they work together in a spirit of openness and inclusion.”
“In 2017 Jazzfest Berlin will demonstrate that this music, while retaining its precious African American core, welcomes all those, whatever their origins, who respond to a spirit that celebrates the right to be different, to challenge orthodoxies and to find ways of working with others.”
You can find more info on their site. Ticket sales commence on 28 September.