The term “best-kept secret” gets thrown around a lot…but what if we told you there was a world-class jazz festival happening in a fairy-tale forest in the far west of Austria? Bezau Beatz, known to insiders for its unique settings and eclectic programming, is happening from August 10-13, and we wish we were going.
In the contest for Austria’s most attractive landscapes, Vorarlberg’s Bregenzerwald is close to the front of the pack. Picture Hobbiton from Lord of the Rings, and you’re pretty close: weathered barns and cabins embedded in a landscape of forest and emerald-green pastures, with the rugged Alps as a backdrop…it’s a postcard come to life. For over a decade and a half, the free-spirited drummer Alfred Vogel has produced an annual jazz festival here, where he grew up. The primary venue is the historic train shed of the “Wälderbähnle”, the narrow-gauge railroad that connected the Bregenz Forest to the regional capital; additional venues include the local hotel, churches, and a café called Viktor’s Chocolat. In short: Bezau Beatz is big on taking the music out of the concert hall and into the community.
Thinking big
And the music! The program features the cream of Austrian and Mitteleuropean jazz (hot tip: you can even catch a few acts that will be heading on to another well-known Austrian jazz festival the next week). International mash-ups like The True Harry Nulz (AT/CH) and the German-Austrian Tesserae trio, featuring Elias Stemeseder (who will also be appearing in duo with the fiery drummer Christian Lillinger), are cheek-by-jowl with artists from Zanzibar, Scandinavia…and right around the corner.
In short: Bezau Beatz offers adventurous, international programming to rival its larger summer-festival cousins – in a unique and intimate setting. Highly recommended.
Philip Yaeger