Imagine, if you will, the sprawling, eclectic Jazzfestival Saalfelden program, but compressed into three days and transported from midsummer to midwinter. Or actually – don’t imagine it; get your tickets now! 3 Tage Jazz, the big festival’s little sibling, is happening from January 25 – 28.
Winter in Mitteleuropa can be long and gray…but if you know where to look, there are gleams of light, things to break the monotony and help us push through that twilit post-holiday period. One of those things is undoubtedly the Jazzfestival Saalfelden’s winter edition, known simply as 3 Tage Jazz (“3 Days of Jazz”). The winter counterpart to the gigantic summer festival is a small, carefully curated affair, but still features the finest in adventurous jazz from Austria and abroad. In addition to international artists like guitarist Mary Halvorson (USA) and a multinational trio led by French accordionist Vincent Peirani, this year’s January jazz weekend features an exclusive selection of Austrian acts, including:
- The acoustic hard-rock cover band Acöustic Frönt (Jan. 27, 1 p.m. @ Stöckalm in Leogang)
- Pianist Simon Raab (Jan. 27, 7 p.m. @ Kunsthaus Nexus)
- Flora Geisselbrecht & Paul Schuberth (Jan. 28, 11 a.m. at the Mining and Gothic Museum in Leogang)
- Haezz, the trio of Tobias Vedovelli, Martin Eberle, and Stepan Flagar (Jan. 28, 2.m. @ the Mining & Gothic Museum)
Additionally, kicking off the festival will be a full-length documentary film on the 2023 edition of the festival: Jazz Saalfelden 2023 – Vor und hinter den Bühne (“On and Off the Stages”). The German-language production will be showing at Kunsthaus Nexus on the 25th of January at 8 p.m.; tickets are available on the venue’s homepage.
Winter may be cold, damp, and a long way from being over…but it definitely has its positive aspects, and 3 Days of Jazz is a big one.