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Przejdź do treści Summer is full of noise. Branded festivals, generic lineups, good weather mistaken for good taste. But some places — still — get it right. Not by being louder, but by being intentional. By booking artists who are actually moving the genre forward. And by placing them in contexts where the music can breathe — architecturally, geographically, culturally. That balance matters to me. I care as much about who’s playing as I do about where. It’s the interplay between artist and environment that defines the experience. Across Europe, a few festivals understand this. They don’t just deliver sound. They deliver placement, detail, curation. Not just the what — the how, the where, the why.
This isn’t a checklist. It’s a map.
Jazz à Vienne
Location: Vienne, France
Dates: Late June – mid July
The Vibe: Roman architecture meets UK jazz momentum
Modern Jazz Presence: Ezra Collective, Alfa Mist, Nubya Garcia, Kokoroko
Set inside an ancient Roman theatre carved into the hillside, Jazz à Vienne is as much about geometry as it is about groove. The structure holds the sound with a kind of respect — terraced stone catching horn reverb like it was built for it. And somehow, it was. The program doesn’t lean nostalgic. It’s plugged into the modern scene, especially London. The venue demands attention, and the artists deliver it with clarity.
North Sea Jazz Festival
Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Dates: July 11–13
The Vibe: Concrete and clarity, genre-crossing with edge
Modern Jazz Presence: Yussef Dayes, EABS, Hiatus Kaiyote, Robert Glasper
Rotterdam isn’t ornamental — it’s structural. North Sea Jazz echoes that. It’s massive, yes, but intentional. The lineup spans jazz, soul, electronics, and future-funk hybrids without ever feeling chaotic. Acts like EABS and Dayes don’t just get booked — they get framed. The industrial elegance of the city complements the elasticity of the music. It’s not about ambience. It’s about weight, space, and modernity
Love Supreme
Location: Glynde Place, East Sussex, UK
Dates: July 5–7
The Vibe: Pastoral minimalism with a strong pulse
Modern Jazz Presence: Ezra Collective, The Comet Is Coming, Alfa Mist, Yaya Bey
Held on a quiet English estate, Love Supreme blends boutique with bold. There’s something architectural in its restraint — a clean setup that lets sound travel without obstruction. The programming leans heavily on the new wave of UK jazz and its hybrids with hip hop, spoken word, and soul. This isn’t a countryside cliché. It’s a controlled environment for high-vibration sound. Less chaos. More clarity.
San Sebastián Jazzaldia
Location: San Sebastián, Spain
Dates: July 22–27
The Vibe: Urban warmth, sea breeze, civic intimacy
Modern Jazz Presence: Avishai Cohen, Gogo Penguin, Julian Lage
Here, the city becomes a stage. Jazzaldia flows through plazas, beaches, and theatres, always grounded in the architecture of San Sebastián’s stunning coastline. It doesn’t scream modernity, but it knows how to hold it. Performances happen in public and private, day and night, and the jazz here adapts to its container. It’s a city that knows its angles. And the sound moves through them naturally.
XJAZZ
Location: Berlin, Germany
Dates: May (varies annually)
The Vibe: Raw edge, modular energy, Kreuzberg density
Modern Jazz Presence: EABS, Angel Bat Dawid, Berlin/Polish experimental scene
XJAZZ lives where clubs, galleries, and undergrounds intersect. Berlin gives it a structural looseness, but there’s a sharp logic underneath. The programming often champions Polish experimental acts like EABS, fusing them with Berlin’s electronic and ambient leanings. Nothing is polished. That’s the point. Sound bounces off exposed concrete, neon signage, and late-night crossfade. If you like your jazz in lowercase with tension, this one’s yours.
Gărâna Jazz Festival
Location: Gărâna Village, Romania
Dates: July 11–14
The Vibe: Forest acoustics, stripped-back immersion
Modern Jazz Presence: Eivind Aarset, experimental Europe, ambient-forward
In a small Carpathian village surrounded by trees, Gărâna feels like a secret. There’s no urban friction, just music and atmosphere — minimal, spatial, sometimes borderline cinematic. The audience listens differently here. Slower. With intent. The acts are selected for mood and for movement. Sound seems to get taller in the woods. And the quiet between notes feels engineered.
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