Jazz Madrid

These are two words which are hard to come by together, especially now that one of the city’s jazz temples, Café Central, will most likely be closing its doors due to financial trouble. However, the Madrid International Jazz Festival has been going for 29 years now, even though last year it did not take place. It is back this year by decision of the City Council, renamed JazzMadrid 2014, much to the delight of jazz fans.

The concerts will take place in venues such as Centro Conde Duque, Centro Cultural Galileo or CentroCentro from the 4th to the 26th of November, and its programme will include some of the best jazz artists in the world. Dee Dee Bridgewater, an African-American singer that is amazing on stage, and names such as Martin & Word, Chano Domínguez & Niño Josele, Romano, Sclavis, Texier, Jorge Pardo, Richard Galliano and Zakir Hussain among others will be completing the line-up.

All in all, 21 concerts, 16 of which will take place at Conde Duque and the rest spread around the other venues, including the Círculo de Bellas Artes or Sala Clamores. As well as the musical performances, there will also be a series of debates in the Conde Duque Auditorium (free entry until full) and screenings of films related to jazz, such as Round Midnight by Bertrand Tavernier, who narrates the lives of the pianist Bud Powell and the saxophonist Lester Young; or Bird, by the great Clint Eastwood, which brings the tumultuous life of Charlie Parker to the big screen.

Still awaiting the launch of a website that gathers all the events, you can find information on the page of the Institute Français, highly linked to the festival, where a series of performances are offered, although with a twist of French. Soon, the website of Conde Duque will offer more details on the different concerts and activities.

It is a great cultural option if you are visiting Madrid during the dates when it takes place. We will wait for you at Hotel Moderno, next to the Puerta del Sol.

Enjoy the music and all that jazz!

Categories: Conciertos Madrid