21 female artists, all-female bands and groups with frontwomen from Europe & around the world in the main line-up of 21st Athens Jazz!
The City of Athens presents:
21st Athens Jazz
Women in Jazz
21+1 female artists, all–female bands and groups with front women from Europe & around the world in the main of–upτου 21ουAthens Jazz!
Athens Jazz is back from May 23 to 29 at the Technopolis City of Athens and all around the city, with Women in Jazz. The city's longest-running musical institution is changing, evolving, and becoming more enriched. This year, presenting an extraordinary line-up, its primary goal is to highlight the issue of female representation in music and, particularly jazz, showcasing the music and stories of women. Twenty-one female artists, all-female bands and groups with frontwomen from Europe and around the world, will walk onto the main stage of Technopolis. And we, on the other hand, will enjoy live performances by accomplished musicians with international careers, noteworthy achievements, and appearances at the most significant festivals, bringing their new, contemporary, and fresh views.
The festival's first day (May 23) is, as every year, dedicated to Greek jazz, so the three winners of this year's competition will perform on stage. Christina Psycha, an exceptional young creator with broad musical studies, will officially declare the opening as the festival's new proposal, followed by Lia Hide and her group. This artist stands out artistically on the domestic scene, combining contemporary artistic dark pop with poetic language and jazz manifestations, representing this year the Jazz+ category. Finally, the Tania Giannouli Trio is the headliner of the evening, being the festival's official Greek participation. It is led by Tania Giannouli, a musician and artist with a significant international presence and even more notable live performances worldwide that have given her a prominent place in the contemporary music scene.
On Tuesday, May 24, the audience will enjoy Bára Zmeková from the Czech Republic, an artist whose sensitivity and lyricism know no boundaries. Following her, Lucia Fumero from Barcelona, Spain, will present her own unique world as expressed through a folk and jazz route. Finally, this evening's entertainment will conclude with one of Hungary's most famous jazz singers, Zita Gereben, an artist of highly expressive voice and many powerful soul and rock hints.
On Wednesday, May 25, the English-born Claire Parsons from Luxembourg will be the first to appear on stage. Through her multinational project "In Geometry," she enriched European jazz with new ideas and sounds. STAV, aka Stav Achai from Israel, is next to perform. She is one of the prominent names of this year's International Music Showcase Festival, an artist with a rich palette embracing minimalism, African tradition, rock, and jazz. Last but not least is AVEC from Austria, who, beyond the simplicity and straightforwardness of her music, holds a special place in her country's pop scene and a solid fan base - not without reason.
On Thursday, May 26, the first performers are O. N. E., the only all-female jazz group in Poland, four women who draw from the country's rich tradition and never stop excelling at both local and European levels. Next up is the multifarious saxophonist and composer Maria Faust from Estonia and her free jazz group Jazz Catastrophe. Maria is one of the country's best known and most promising artists. The last performer for the evening is the one and only Lucy Woodward (USA), singer of the legendary Snarky Puppy, with great collaborations to her credit, including Rod Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion and Pink Martini.
On Friday, May 27, Kika Sprangers, a saxophonist and composer, one of the most extraordinary talents of Dutch jazz today, with her quintet from the Netherlands, will walk onto the stage. Later, the British-born Bahraini Yazz Ahmed, an outstanding trumpeter, composer and producer, will take the stage. She stands out in major festivals and jazz media ratings polls as a distinct creative musician on the contemporary jazz scene in the UK and internationally, imaginatively combining jazz with contemporary electronic landscapes, introducing highly recognizable elements from her mixed cultural heritage.
Headlining the evening is Simona Molinari, the Italian singer who has made a name for herself by participating for over a decade in festivals such as the famous San Remo or collaborating with legendary names such as Al Jarreau, Gilberto Gil, Peter Cincotti, Andrea Bocelli.
On Saturday, May 28, the Athens Jazz festival will host Karin Hammar, one of the most creative Swedish jazz performers today, with Fab 4, the group she created back in 2014. She will be succeeded by LIUN & The Science Fiction Band, Germany's official participation. Next, Swiss-born singer Lucia Cadotsch, based in multi-music Berlin, will present urban music that draws on dark rhythms, space jazz imagery, and psychedelic electro-pop approaches, a universe in which past, present and future coexist. Finally, the last artist for the evening needs no special introduction: Alexia Vassiliou from Cyprus.
After a very successful pop career (also in Greece), she turned to her true musical loves, jazz and improvisational music, while in recent years, she has been living in the USA developing her own multivariate musical art, having many great collaborations to show, such as the one with Chick Corea.
The last day of Athens Jazz this year will start with 3:rma from Slovenia. This particular duo combines poetic folk songwriting with contemporary social empathy, an essential approach to issues of femininity and interpersonal relationships. Next up will be the explosive bassist and emotive performer Ellen Andrea Wang from Norway, a strong presence in contemporary jazz (plus) in local and global scenes and international collaborations (Sting, Manu Katché, Marilyn Mazur). Finally, Ida Nielsen & The Funkbots from Denmark will be the festival's last performers this year. Their vehicle is explosive funk and high energy sound rhythms but also cool vibes together with soul feelings. Nielsen's name, after all, is well known as she was Prince's skillful bassist from 2010 to 2016.
Furthermore, in May, from 20 to 29, alongside the 21 live shows, Athens Jazz will present a series of new side events, creating thus a whole festival experience that we have missed so much. Along with the METApolis photography exhibition and the Meet Market, the main side events of the festival in recent years, there will be open-air screenings in collaboration with IN-EDIT Greece, a photography exhibition dedicated to the women in jazz, an international conference with panels and a vocal masterclass by Lucy Woodward (US) and a club program with live shows and DJ sets in Gazarte cultural hub.
*Free admission
#AthensJazz2022
#WomeninJazz
Athens Jazz 202 | Line-up
Monday 23.05
21.00 | Christina Psycha (GR - new music proposal)
22.00 | Lia Hide (GR – Jazz+)
23.00 | Tania Giannouli Trio (GR - official participation)
Tuesday 24.05
21.00 | Bára Zmeková (CZ)
22.00 | Lucia Fumero (ES)
23.00 | Zita Gereben (HU)
Wednesday 25.05
21.00 | Claire Parsons (LU)
22.00 | STAV (IL)
23.00 | AVEC (AT)
Thursday 26.05
21.00 | O.N.E. (PL)
22.00 | Maria Faust’s Jazz Catastrophe (EE)
23.00 | Lucy Woodward (US) **Makiko Hirabayashi (DK)
Friday 27.05
21.00 | Kika Sprangers Quintet (NL)
22.00 | Yazz Ahmed (UK)
23.00 | Simona Molinari (IT)
Saturday 28.05
21.00 | Karin Hammar Fab 4 (SE)
22.00 | LIUN & The Science Fiction Band (DE)
23.00 | Alexia Vassiliou (CY)
Sunday 29.05
21.00 | 3:rma (SI)
22.00 | Ellen Andrea Wang (NO)
23.00 | Ida Nielsen & The Funkbots (DK)