The INTERNATIONAL JAZZFESTIVAL SAALFELDEN is looking forward to welcoming audiences from August 16 to 22, 2021 to about 60 concerts featuring Anna Högberg, Angelika Niescier, the Kaja Draksler Octet, and Chuffdrone. Other highlights include artist-in-residence Christian Reiner performing five of his projects and KUU! and Edi Nulz presenting their new albums. The program also features The True Harry Nulz, Dell/Lillinger/Westergaard, Ceramic Dog, Katharina Ernst, Moor Mother & Lukas König, Alexander Hawkins, GeoGeMa, Dsilton, Punkt.Vrt.Plastik, AHL6, and many more.
Twice a year, the international jazz scene meets up in Saalfelden for a big show-down. Against the backdrop of a breathtaking mountain-scape, musicians from all over the world showcase their extraordinary talents. Ranging from intense listening experiences to exuberant dance parties, concerts take place on various stages in the city as well as on Alpine pastures.
Against all odds, the festival was able to successfully host our Jazz Weekender in August 2020. This year, they are heading towards more “normal” conditions, even though the exact meaning of “normal” remains to be determined. On Monday, the festival kicks off with musical walks, concerts in the mountains, and evening performances at Kunsthaus Nexus. Starting on Thursday, the Short Cuts concert series launches at the Nexus. Concurrently, musical encounters will take place at the Fuchs Bookbindery. The city park will turn into an outdoor stage and meeting place for international and local visitors. From Friday to Sunday, four national and international bands will take the main stage at the Saalfelden Conference Center.
AUSTRIAN ARTISTS AT this year’s festival
As international travels improve, but continue to have some hiccups and restraints, a good portion of the line-up consists of Austrian artists, in new and old formations. Rounded out by an impressive batch of stellar international artists in the program as well, the festival once again rises to the occasion, and maintains its global reputation.
Sain Mus+
Clemens Sainitzer – cello, electronics
Philipp Erasmus – guitar, electronics
Daniel Romstorfer – drums
For the Viennese trio sainmus+ there are no genre boundaries or sound pigeonholes, all sounds that can be extracted from the instruments are used, brute and sensitive! They don’t stop at wild effect experiments or free improvisations. Every song has its own sound cosmos, which is explored intensively live and thus makes every concert unique.
Richard Koch Quartett
Richard Koch – trumpet
Lukas Kranzelbinder – bass
Michael Hornek – piano
Lukas König – drums
We bike Jazz
Birds against Hurricanes
Alex Pinter – guitars, ukulele, compositions
Viola Hammer – piano
Paul Schuberth – accordeon
David Helbock
“The New Cool”
David Helbock – piano
Arne Jansen – guitar
Lorenz Raab – trumpet
Three renowned bandleaders & solo artists of European jazz come together to form a very special trio. What unites them is the love for clear themes, melodies, harmonies, with a strong rhythmic grounding. Qualities that originate in the cool jazz of the 40s and 50s which philosophy the trio continues using the jazz vocabulary of today.
AHL6
Thomas Liesinger – trumpset
Robert Schröck – saxophone
Leonhard Skorupa – saxophone, clarinet
Markus Schneider – guitar
Tobias Pöcksteiner – bass
Lukas Aichinger – drums
Reiner / Weber
Christian Weber – bass
Christian Reiner – voice
Alex Miksch & Band
Alex Miksch – vocals, guitar
Anna Anderluh – autoharp, vocals
Jelena Popržan – viola, jaw harp, vocals
Philipp Moosbrugger – bass
Andreas Hellweger – drums
Edi Nulz
Siegmar Brecher – clarinet, sax
Julian Adam Pajzs – guitar
Valentin Schuster – drums
Edi Nulz walks the line between musical amalgam and bastard, often throwing the beat only to find back to track at one fell swoop or with a little sleight of hand. Last but not least, their devil-may-care handling of styles and effects means these guys are having the time of their lives – which also holds true for their audiences. Thus each Edi Nulz concert turns into a joyful tightrope walk between insanity and precision, precision and frenzy or frenzy and tennis. Grand audio drama, baby.
Moor Mother & Kœnig
USA, Austria
Buntspecht
“Spring bevor du fällst”
Lukas Klein – voice, guitar, piano
Florentin Scheicher – melodica, trumpet
Roman Geßler – saxophone, flute
Lukas Chytka – cello
Jakob Lang – bass
Florian Röthel – drums, percussion
Clemens Wenger
“Physics of Beauty”
Austria, Italy
Alessia Scuderi – design, visuals
Gianluca Monaco – coding/programming, visuals
Clemens Wenger – augmented piano, composition
Vegeta
Martin Zrost – saxophone
Helge Hinteregger – throat
Lukas Kranzelbinder – bass
Lukas König – drums
Elektro Guzzi
Bernhard Hammer – guitar
Jakob Schneidewind – bass
Bernhard Breuer – drums
Christian Reiner
“Fünf”
Austria, Switzerland, USA
Christian Reiner – voice
Martin Siewert – guitar
Christian Weber – bass
Philipp Zoubek – piano, fender rhodes
Jim Black – drums
Lavant Trio
Christian Reiner – voice
Susanna Gartmayer – bass clarinet
Katharina Ernst – drums
Dsilton
Georg Vogel – clavitones, composition
David Dornig – 31-tone guitars
Valentin Duit – drums
Der Nino aus Wien
Nino Mandl – vocals, guitar
Raphael Sas – vocals, guitar, piano
pauT – vocals, bass, clarinet
David Wukitsevits – drums, vocals
HANG EM HIGH
“The Kidnapping of Ståle Storløkken”
Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Norway
Bond – 2 string bass, electronics, bass
Lucien Dubuis – bass clarinet
Alfred Vogel – drums
feat. Ståle Storløkken – fender rhodes, electronics
Rdeča Raketa & Patrick K.-H. & Ivan Marušić Klif
“.. and can not reach the silence”
Maja Osojnik – vocals, live sampling, dj-cd player and other electronic devices
Matija Schellander – modular synthesizer, laptop
Patrick K.-H. – video
Ivan Marušić Klif – video
Erwin & Edwin
Austria, Germany, Switzerland
Michael Mosbacher – guitar
Georg Huber – trumpet
Valentin Reiter – tuba
Simon Gramberger – drums
Erwin & Edwin – 4 musicians, one mission: to unite funky brass and electronic sounds of various kinds to make the audience dance and rave!
Erwin & Edwin spent a good 3 years working on the perfect sound for their debut album, which saw the light of day on 18.03.2016. Embedded in a story against racism and xenophobia, the band proves their musical diversity with “Messing”. A genre-crossing work that stimulates both dance legs and brain cells.
Gnigler / Riahi / König
Katharina Ernst solo
Katharina Ernst – drums
Kry
GeoGeMa
The True Harry Nulz
Austria, Switzerland, Germany
Nils Fischer – bass clarinet
Julian Adam Pajzs – guitar
David Koch – guitar
Samuel Huwyler – bass
Valentin Schuster – drums
Dominik Mahnig – drums
chuffDRONE
“Actio / Re:Actio”
Lisa Hofmaninger – saxophone, bass clarinet
Robert Schröck – saxophones, clarinet
Jul Dillier – piano
Judith Ferstl – bass
Judith Schwarz – drums
Spiritual Unity Session
hosted by Lukas Kranzelbinder
Those who ever were lucky enough to witness the end of the festival were a part of a legendary evening in the Nexus Bar. Under the direction of Austrian bassist and composer Lukas Kranzelbinder, various musicians will bundle the energy they have gathered during the festival and release it concentrated on the audiens at the “Spiritual Unity Session”. Unite the spirits!
For the full program, and all the details your heart desires, check the festival website.