# Europe in the Golden Season of EU Jazz & Blues Festival 2026 Autumn – Winter Concert Season: Photos

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2026/10/13/europe-in-the-golden-season-of-eu-jazz-blues-festival-2026-autumn-winter-concert-season-photos/
- Published: 2026-10-13T04:00:42+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**October 10–12, 2026 · Brussels, Prague, Villars-sur-Ollon, Steyr, Paris, Wuppertal,
Dresden, Freiburg, London, Barcelona and Poznań!!!**

Europe in October is a continent suspended between the golden melancholy of autumn
and the first anticipation of winter. The light softens over historic squares, rain
glistens on ancient cobblestones, rivers carry reflections of illuminated bridges,
and the evening air invites people into intimate jazz clubs, grand concert halls,
cultural institutions, and rooms where music has been cherished for generations.

It is within this extraordinary European landscape that the 2026 Autumn–Winter Jazz–
Blues Season of the EU Jazz & Blues Festival unfolds, bringing together artists,
audiences, musical traditions, and creative perspectives from across the continent.
From the refined intimacy of vocal jazz in Brussels to the electrifying rhythms 
of British acid-jazz, from the sophisticated improvisational language of contemporary
Italian jazz in Prague to the warmth of blues and roots music in Austria, this season
reveals the remarkable diversity of a musical culture that continues to evolve without
abandoning its history.

The program spanning October 10–12 presents a particularly compelling panorama. 
These concerts do not belong to a single aesthetic school. They represent a dialogue
between generations, between acoustic subtlety and electric energy, between the 
American foundations of jazz and the European imagination that has continually transformed
them.

There is room here for the double bass and the human voice, the orchestral power
of swing, the sophisticated harmonies of modern vocal jazz, the earthy honesty of
blues, the infectious pulse of funk, and the adventurous spirit of emerging musicians.
Each performance offers a different doorway into the same artistic world: a world
in which music remains a universal language of emotion, memory, freedom, and discovery.

At the heart of this undertaking stands Olivia Peevas, director and organizer of
the 2026 Autumn–Winter Jazz–Blues Season, whose role represents the organizational
vision behind this ambitious European musical journey. The season’s geographic reach
and stylistic variety provide an opportunity to celebrate the work of its leadership
and the broader community of musicians, venues, presenters, and audiences who make
a festival of this kind meaningful.

The following report explores the artists, cities, venues, and musical traditions
represented in the announced program, offering a magazine-style portrait of a European
autumn alive with jazz and blues.

### Belgium — Brussels: The voice of jazz, the pulse of soul

![SELAH SUE & THE GALLANDS](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/obfZct9DsZLV3YvflROxbXRAxqWf9U02IQ5edtNuGHbs7d4fwBT6hHhIAcBMgM2WFAc19xHr0AJK8IghXYhK5p2H69gYyrGzI7UzdrGjChfVZIoJjhMVkb6jFUtq3UKoL1Y9XrTxitlISxjkB1K2JK3pVI5PGoldddM_zqdsWCA?
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### Kristin Korb — The Vocal Side of Ray Brown

The Music Village, Brussels · October 10, 2026!!! Some jazz musicians leave behind
more than recordings and memorable performances: they leave a musical philosophy.
Ray Brown, one of the great masters of the double bass, belonged unmistakably to
this category. His sound helped define the rhythmic foundation of modern jazz, and
his remarkable career brought him into the company of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie,
Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, and generations of musicians who learned from his
extraordinary sense of time, harmony, and swing.

The centenary celebration of Brown’s birth provides a particularly meaningful setting
for Kristin Korb’s The Vocal Side of Ray Brown. An American-born vocalist and double
bassist who studied with Brown, Korb approaches the repertoire not merely as a collection
of familiar standards but as a living inheritance. The music connects a personal
educational experience with the wider history of jazz, allowing listeners to encounter
the master through the perspective of a musician who knew his teaching firsthand.

The announced Brussels lineup brings Korb together with guitarist Jeanfrançois Prins
and drummer Bruno Castellucci. The combination of voice, double bass, guitar, and
drums creates an intimate musical environment in which every phrase can breathe.
Rather than relying on sheer volume or elaborate orchestration, this instrumentation
makes nuance essential: the placement of a bass note, the shape of a guitar chord,
the lightness of a cymbal stroke, and the delicate timing of a vocal entrance can
determine the entire character of a performance.

### **The Music Village**

Korb’s double-bass playing gives the music an additional dimension. She can inhabit
the rhythmic foundation and the melodic foreground, allowing the relationship between
singer and accompanist to become an internal conversation. The bass does not simply
mark the beat; it provides direction, warmth, and harmonic understanding. Her vocal
interpretation, meanwhile, opens the repertoire to the expressive possibilities 
of phrasing, storytelling, and improvisation.

The spirit of Ray Brown is particularly apparent in the idea of swing as a shared
experience. Swing is not simply a rhythmic formula. It is a collective instinct,
an agreement between musicians about how a phrase should move, where a note should
lean, and how silence can generate anticipation. A performance inspired by Brown’s
legacy has the potential to illuminate this quality in every bar.

The Music Village, an intimate jazz venue in the Belgian capital, offers an appropriate
setting for such an encounter. In a room where listeners can concentrate on the 
musicians’ smallest gestures, a tribute becomes more than an anniversary celebration.
It becomes an opportunity to experience the continuity of jazz across generations.

For the EU Jazz & Blues Festival’s autumn–winter narrative, Korb’s performance represents
one of the season’s most historically resonant moments: a celebration of a master
whose influence continues through the musicians he inspired.

### Selah Sue and The Gallands — Soul with a contemporary heartbeat

Cirque Royal, Brussels · Date verification required!!! Brussels has long occupied
a fascinating position in European popular music, bringing together Francophone 
chanson, African diasporic rhythms, electronic experimentation, jazz, and soul. 
Selah Sue’s artistic identity reflects this diversity. Her music combines an unmistakable
vocal personality with the emotional directness of soul, the rhythmic flexibility
of reggae, and the contemporary production language of alternative pop.

![Selah Sue and The Gallands | Jazz à la Villette – Édition 2026](https://images.
openai.com/static-rsc-4/AmTuFXpMx_VlwWnqNZyBxt-tpaet2Jhny_h4WsInSqJWjHuB2QHq0-dBuewfQBkbu0kKIigfV99rBUpcw4QUSmi49IYltxeG0knlvL7jcrxaFTnlMC2u3qK8OwRimZZbjyp5kmN0Ic8BzvePZ50dif6L1T_6Qz8zFdrtSo0Bvk4?
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The collaboration with Stéphane and Elvin Galland opens another chapter in that 
story. The Gallands bring a musician’s sensitivity to rhythm and ensemble interaction,
creating space for a performance to move between carefully shaped arrangements and
more spontaneous exchanges. In this musical setting, the voice becomes both the 
emotional center and an instrument that can respond to the rhythmic architecture
surrounding it.

Selah Sue’s expressive delivery is particularly suited to music that explores contrasts:
softness against intensity, intimacy against explosive energy, and vulnerability
against rhythmic determination. Soul, at its best, depends upon precisely these 
tensions. The singer may begin with a restrained phrase, then allow the melody to
expand into a more forceful declaration. A rhythmic passage can become a vehicle
for emotional release, while a moment of silence can make the next entrance feel
newly charged.

Cirque Royal, with its grand theatrical character, offers a different atmosphere
from the close quarters of a traditional jazz club. Here, the performance can become
a larger visual and sonic event, with the audience experiencing the music as a collective
celebration.

An important date distinction: the official Cirque Royal listing I found advertises
Selah Sue & The Gallands for December 20, 2026, rather than October 10–12. The venue
describes it as the concluding Brussels date of their tour. The portrait above is
relevant to the artists, but I would not label this a concert photograph from an
October performance.

The distinction matters for an accurate festival report. The artistic significance
of the collaboration can be discussed in the context of the autumn–winter season,
but the event’s date should be corrected before publication if December 20 is the
intended performance.

### Czechia — Prague: Italian jazz between tradition and experimentation

![Artists - JazzFC](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/sCh8f8Ud9IicFD3OlXaUa03Gb1GlBfVSE44cep7YrZhw2TkBT9nUw6N1Sr1H8hiarRwEy3_sM06pQub7KXnYt5QY5vrum_TRWT9THOdxI_z4lussmjurp0Gt_hIX6JherWfBhB87UlEpM2h1sVQJNzbzQCpo0yS9GRLY10_i62g?
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### Guglielmo Santimone — Partenope Solo

Italian Cultural Institute, Prague · October 10, 2026!!! Prague is a city where 
music seems inseparable from architecture. Baroque chapels, medieval streets, historic
concert halls, and the broad sweep of the Vltava create a setting in which musical
traditions from elsewhere in Europe can acquire a new perspective. The Italian Cultural
Institute’s presentation of pianist, composer, and arranger Guglielmo Santimone 
brings the cultural conversation between Italy and the Czech Republic into particularly
intimate focus.

Santimone’s announced project, Partenope Solo, explores Neapolitan music, with particular
attention to the repertoire associated with Roberto Murolo. The name Partenope evokes
the ancient identity of Naples, a city whose musical culture has developed through
centuries of Mediterranean exchange. Its songs carry traces of theatrical tradition,
popular storytelling, classical influence, and the unmistakable emotional character
of southern Italian melody.

For a jazz pianist, this repertoire offers fertile material. A familiar melody can
become the foundation for reharmonization, rhythmic transformation, and improvisation
without losing its essential identity. A lyrical theme might begin with the clarity
of a traditional song, then unfold through unexpected chords or a more flexible 
rhythmic interpretation. The piano can suggest the movement of a singer’s breath,
the gestures of an orchestral accompaniment, or the changing colors of a Neapolitan
evening.

The challenge is to preserve the emotional directness of the original music while
discovering new ways to express it. Jazz interpretation is most convincing when 
transformation and respect coexist: the melody remains recognizable, but its inner
landscape changes.

![Firenze, torna ‘A Jazz Supreme’ coi concerti di musicisti internazionali](https://
images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/mlN5a-DBy6CEWWPuDGkpIDbD9FkBlFq8kfZWUUH66defeLXeb7p6bFyOkrH7H_XfLlsx2U_8ZDjO6cdgzDg5oKruuMx88qXzpJRJQ12tqhahEi64b3NybDio1g3hBqqKhQ-
Y537BUDl3-xsLk8EQqPczAtDrxajYh_YWPvD7vds?purpose=inline)

Santimone’s Prague appearance was announced as part of Italia in Jazz, a four-day
initiative presenting established figures and emerging voices from contemporary 
Italian jazz. The festival uses both the Italian Cultural Institute’s historic Baroque
chapel and the city’s U Staré paní jazz club, creating a dialogue between institutional
cultural space and the more informal atmosphere of a working jazz venue.

This is an especially fitting contribution to a pan-European program. It shows how
jazz can become a bridge between contemporary improvisation and the musical memory
of a particular place.

### EMEM Trio — The expressive power of space

Jazz & Cocktail Club U Staré paní, Prague · October 10, 2026!!! If Santimone’s solo
performance turns toward the melodic memory of Naples, EMEM Trio explores a more
contemporary musical landscape. The group consists of pianist Simone Graziano, electric
bassist Francesco Ponticelli, and drummer Marco Frattini.

The project’s aesthetic is built around a deceptively simple idea: music is shaped
not only by the notes musicians play, but also by the spaces between them. The name
EMEM evokes pauses in which thought gathers, images become clear, and a musical 
phrase seems to hesitate before revealing its destination.

That sensibility opens the door to a distinctive kind of improvisation. Repeated
rhythmic figures may establish a pattern that gradually changes through small variations.
A piano motif might recur like a thought that refuses to disappear, while the bass
and drums subtly alter its meaning. What initially sounds restrained can become 
increasingly intense, not through speed or volume alone, but through the accumulation
of expectation.

The trio’s music draws on both composition and improvisation, with minimalist structures
meeting the harmonic and expressive possibilities of contemporary jazz. Graziano’s
piano can establish a melodic or rhythmic framework; Ponticelli’s electric bass 
gives it weight and movement; Frattini’s percussion shapes the music’s pulse, texture,
and sense of time. Their interaction allows an apparently simple musical idea to
develop into something emotionally complex.

The venue, U Staré paní, is especially appropriate for such a performance. In a 
jazz club, the audience is close enough to hear the exchanges that give a trio its
identity: a drummer’s response to a piano phrase, a bass line that subtly redirects
the harmony, or a moment when the ensemble deliberately withdraws to leave a single
sound exposed.

The official event announcement confirms the trio’s October 10 performance as part
of Italia in Jazz. Together, the two Prague concerts create a compelling artistic
contrast. One looks toward the enduring lyricism of Neapolitan song; the other explores
contemporary structures and the expressive possibilities of silence. Both demonstrate
that the European jazz tradition is strongest when it welcomes many different ways
of listening.

### Switzerland — Villars-sur-Ollon: The next generation at the palace

![Reportage musical: Au Villars Palace, le Montreux Jazz donne de la voix | 24 heures](
https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/hNwH0AqRiPnrqnUiriEmCksDlNaenkjRsbNsJMgqGIuh6IrP0vRL24NvtoABlc75CXCKN2RaJbDfQtgi83AhJsF0a7Uoi_kV-
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### MJF Spotlight Sessions — Discovering tomorrow’s artists

Théâtre du Villars Palace, Villars-sur-Ollon · October 10, 2026!!! The Swiss Alps
provide one of the most evocative landscapes of the European autumn. As the season
advances, the surrounding mountains acquire a more dramatic clarity, the evenings
grow cooler, and the warm interiors of historic buildings become natural gathering
places for music and conversation.

The MJF Spotlight Sessions bring the discovery-oriented spirit of the Montreux Jazz
Festival to Villars-sur-Ollon. Rather than concentrating exclusively on established
names, the series is designed to introduce promising emerging artists selected by
the festival’s programming team. Its focus extends beyond jazz in the narrowest 
sense to include contemporary pop, soul, and R&B, reflecting the broader musical
curiosity that has long characterized the Montreux tradition.

The Théâtre du Villars Palace lends the series a distinctive atmosphere. The historic
theater provides a sense of occasion, while the Spotlight concept encourages audiences
to listen without the expectations attached to familiar stars. The result is a setting
in which discovery becomes the principal attraction.

The announced October 10 artist is Ferdi, one of the emerging performers selected
for the 2026 edition. The wider program also includes Lady O, a6el, and LEVI.SCT
on earlier October dates.

For a festival spanning many countries, this emphasis on new voices is important.
A successful European music season cannot merely circulate established names; it
must also create opportunities for artists who are still defining their sound and
developing their relationship with audiences.

Emerging musicians often approach genre boundaries with fewer reservations than 
their predecessors. Soul can meet electronic textures, pop structures can open into
improvisation, and rhythmic influences can cross borders without requiring a single
label. The Spotlight Sessions recognize that the future of jazz and related music
may be found in these intersections.

Villars thus contributes an essential dimension to the EU Jazz & Blues Festival’s
broader artistic picture: the conviction that a living musical tradition must continue
to discover its next generation.

Editorial note: The official series announcement places the 2026 Spotlight Sessions
on October 2, 3, 9, and 10. The October 10 performance is listed as Ferdi. The images
available from the venue and series are promotional or venue-related material; they
should not be presented as verified photographs of that specific performance unless
the original caption confirms it.

### Austria — Steyr: The uncompromising spirit of blues and roots

![Neal Black & The Healers (USA) | Konservi](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-
4/HQBuojQ9Ez8R6n2M0XKwM4CqcPUEoqa3W4OFeUL5Q-DEPsTd8hhEnbYZlNYHhJ5ivVGqyX7elZamBZ2K7AxNWNTGam48vYfgqN0Cyuq-
N-eHUOXitijZsYkuyhGLwtrs5mIFDUcxav6gkz32uQartJhtCCrsqyU-Ro7JRLeXMrU?purpose=inline)

### **Neal Black & The Healers — Blues with grit, soul, and fire**

Steyr · October 10, 2026. Austria’s contribution to the season takes us into a musical
world where the sound of a guitar can communicate as directly as the human voice.
Neal Black & The Healers bring the blues-rock tradition into a contemporary setting,
drawing on the expressive vocabulary of Texas blues, roots music, and the raw energy
of electric rock.

Neal Black is known for a guitar style that favors expressive phrasing, gritty tonal
color, and the interplay between blues tradition and rock intensity. His musical
language belongs to a lineage in which the instrument is not simply a vehicle for
technical display. A bent note, a rough-edged chord, or a short phrase repeated 
with increasing force can carry the emotional weight of an entire passage.

The blues has always been a music of transformation. Its traditional harmonic structures
offer a recognizable framework, but within that framework the performer can express
defiance, disappointment, humor, resilience, and hope. In the hands of a guitarist
who understands the relationship between tone and emotion, even a familiar twelve-
bar progression can become a personal narrative.

With The Healers, the emphasis falls on ensemble energy. A rhythm section can establish
a strong, rolling foundation while the guitar moves between compact rhythmic figures
and extended solos. The music may shift from a restrained groove into a full-bodied
climax, with each transition building naturally from the interaction of the musicians.

Steyr, an Austrian city with a historic center at the confluence of the Enns and
Steyr rivers, provides a striking backdrop for such an evening. Its architectural
heritage and riverside streets offer a different kind of beauty from the monumental
capitals of Europe: more intimate, more human in scale, and particularly well suited
to an evening of live roots music.

AKKU provides the setting for the concert listed in your program. The atmosphere
of a dedicated live venue is important to blues because the music depends on immediate
exchange. The musicians respond to one another, and the audience becomes part of
the performance through its reactions, movement, and attention.

There is also a symbolic connection between the blues and a European autumn. Both
seem to understand the beauty of imperfection: the weathered surface, the rough 
edge, the voice that carries the memory of experience. Blues is not a music that
needs to disguise its scars. It transforms them into sound.

The date and city receive support from Neal Black’s published tour schedule, which
lists Steyr’s AKKU venue on October 10.

For the season, this concert offers a valuable counterpoint to the refined harmonies
of vocal jazz and the orchestral sophistication of swing. It reminds audiences that
jazz and blues culture also lives in the electricity of the stage, in the physical
impact of rhythm, and in the irreducible honesty of a guitar played with conviction.

### France — Paris: Jazz for families, imagination, and shared pleasure

![Jazz&goûter: musical and gourmet afternoons for the whole family at Sunset Sunside-
Sortiraparis.com](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/9twJcx2jGU5D7FiEE2JT8VMi8t0ZGJgeFlb6dhyxr9FFhcuoott3cteo96O2PUfgpu090tXpy4oy3umPRGN-
QNFNDBj3ueK5YaVFfFkMXfkvZZKCps4Pa6jq4Wfz-qNFhR6GeoFmKOImZUP1-qOP091WUWRaEKYRPxQ-
EVkOdzI?purpose=inline)

### Jazz & Goûter — A musical afternoon for all generations

Sunset/Sunside Jazz Club, Paris · October 11, 2026!!! Paris is often portrayed as
a city of late-night jazz, intimate basements, smoky clubs, and musicians who continue
playing long after midnight. Yet the city’s musical culture also depends on a more
welcoming tradition: introducing new listeners to jazz through accessible, imaginative
performances.

The concept of Jazz & Goûter combines live music with the French tradition of an
afternoon snack. It offers a family-friendly way to experience jazz, transforming
a club visit into an event that children, parents, and grandparents can enjoy together.

The format is deceptively important. Jazz can sometimes appear intimidating to newcomers
because of its harmonic complexity, improvisational freedom, and specialized vocabulary.
A family-oriented concert can reveal another side of the music: its melodies, humor,
theatricality, rhythmic vitality, and capacity to encourage spontaneous participation.

The announced Disney-themed program, featuring Pierre-Yves Plat, is especially suited
to this approach. Familiar melodies can provide an inviting point of entry, while
jazz arrangements introduce unexpected rhythmic accents, playful harmonic turns,
and opportunities for improvisation. A recognizable theme may begin in a straightforward
form before being transformed through syncopation, swinging accompaniment, or a 
more virtuosic piano passage.

The audience does not need to understand every harmonic substitution to appreciate
the music. A child can respond to the rhythm, a parent can recognize the melody,
and an experienced listener can enjoy the pianist’s interpretation. Each person 
finds a different point of connection.

The Sunset/Sunside complex has an established place in Paris’s jazz culture. Its
two spaces allow the club to host different kinds of performances, from contemporary
ensembles to blues tributes and family-oriented events. The official October schedule
lists Jazz & Goûter fête Disney en karaoké for Sunday, October 11, with performances
at 11 a.m., 3 p.m., and 5 p.m.

The event’s deeper value lies in its invitation to listen together. Music is not
merely a performance delivered from a stage; it is also a cultural experience passed
between generations. Children who first encounter jazz through a familiar melody
may later become curious about swing, improvisation, big bands, and the history 
of the music itself.

In the context of a pan-European festival season, Jazz & Goûter demonstrates that
artistic ambition and accessibility need not be opposites. A musical tradition remains
alive not only when accomplished artists perform for devoted audiences, but also
when new listeners discover that jazz can be joyful, welcoming, and entirely their
own.

Verification note: The official Paris schedule confirms the Disney-themed event 
on October 11. Its precise relationship to the EU Jazz & Blues Festival should be
established separately before describing it as an officially co-presented concert.

### Germany — Wuppertal: Tom Gaebel and the irresistible glamour of swing

![SWR4 präsentiert: Tom Gaebel in der Europahalle in Trier](https://images.openai.
com/static-rsc-4/JqDelUsDHqjidddcx_yv70V79ZSoNEe6A9un_4uzzUHQJ-GY__1HoTWMPf6xk-xYzojZzCPmKB3DaQQPYVA09GNwVPmlhC08QGt0A2GRCopSfAOqnmW4LoKKSnnSLD7ExQanezDeDIzhV61UT4CYuNu_98UdCXl61r3Jgp9Vr6o?
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### Tom Gaebel & His Orchestra — A Swinging Christmas

Historische Stadthalle Wuppertal · Officially listed for December 20, 2026!!! Few
musical forms capture the elegance and optimism of the holiday season as naturally
as big-band swing. Its bright brass, interlocking saxophones, flowing rhythm section,
and confident vocal style evoke an era when dance orchestras transformed popular
songs into events of extraordinary musical sophistication.

Tom Gaebel has made this tradition a central part of his artistic identity. As a
singer and bandleader, he works within the lineage of classic crooners and large
jazz orchestras, embracing the precision, theatricality, and rhythmic buoyancy that
distinguish a successful swing performance.

A Swinging Christmas is built around the meeting of familiar festive songs and the
musical language of big-band jazz. Rather than treating holiday standards as static
objects, the orchestral format allows them to be reimagined through changes of tempo,
instrumental color, dynamic contrast, and rhythmic emphasis.

A brass section can turn a simple melody into a jubilant declaration. Saxophones
can soften the texture into a warm, velvety passage. A rhythm section can introduce
a relaxed swing feel, while the vocalist guides the audience through the music with
charm and dramatic timing.

The emotional appeal of this repertoire comes from its ability to unite nostalgia
and excitement. Christmas songs carry memories, but a good arrangement also makes
them feel immediate. The listener recognizes the melody while discovering new details
in the orchestration.

The Historische Stadthalle Wuppertal, celebrated for its grand architecture and 
concert atmosphere, is an appropriate setting for an orchestral performance of this
kind. Its formal surroundings complement the polished presentation of a large ensemble,
while the richness of big-band sound can fill the hall with a sense of occasion.

The official event listing confirms Tom Gaebel & His Orchestra’s A Swinging Christmas
at the Historische Stadthalle Wuppertal on December 20, 2026, not October 10–12.

The concert therefore belongs naturally to the later winter portion of the season.
Including it in an overview of the entire autumn–winter program makes artistic sense,
but its date should be corrected if the article is intended to describe only the
October 10–12 events.

In the wider festival narrative, Gaebel’s contribution represents the enduring appeal
of swing: a music capable of combining compositional discipline, instrumental brilliance,
theatrical entertainment, and genuine warmth. It reminds us that jazz can be sophisticated
without losing its ability to make a room smile.

### Germany — Dresden: Chris Hopkins and Shaunette Hildabrand

![nrwjazz.net - Jazz in Nordrhein-Westfalen - Benefizkonzert der Stiftung Kinderzentrum
| 'Swing into Spring' mit Chris Hopkins und Silvia Droste](https://images.openai.
com/static-rsc-4/_qZBa9CAeYUZ26qVvLS5rEDZemi_D7IQjYGIr5FQQgZdcC2Z3j5uOG4viCZ4U1o4S021_pJLB4F-
hDcg9N9ZXAKv-m2BARVIDSYQRX441XCZJhfigl6LlIjISy-bNpXPVEk9oqhyO5T29HMoeUcZCiqXMTtkBz5F4RRMQHpqxlI?
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### Swinging — Elegance, intimacy, and the Great American Songbook

Dresdner Whisky Manufaktur, Dresden · Officially listed for December 20, 2026!!!
Dresden possesses an architectural grandeur that makes music feel especially connected
to history. Its cultural identity has been shaped by centuries of artistic exchange,
and its concert venues range from monumental halls to intimate spaces in which performers
can establish a close relationship with their audience.

The collaboration between pianist Chris Hopkins and vocalist Shaunette Hildabrand
draws on the elegance of classic American swing. The repertoire associated with 
this tradition thrives on the relationship between melody and harmony: a song may
be immediately familiar, yet the musicians can renew it through subtle changes in
phrasing, accompaniment, and tempo.

Hopkins is an accomplished interpreter of traditional jazz and swing, and his musical
approach emphasizes clarity, rhythmic precision, and a deep appreciation of the 
classic jazz piano vocabulary. His accompaniment can support a singer without overwhelming
the melody, then take on a more independent role during instrumental passages.

Hildabrand’s vocal contribution places the songs at the center of the performance.
The best swing vocalists understand that timing is as important as pitch. A phrase
can move slightly ahead of the beat to create excitement or relax behind it to produce
intimacy. A sustained note can carry emotional weight, while a lightly delivered
lyric can communicate wit and elegance.

The pairing is particularly effective for a holiday program because the repertoire
allows for both contrasts and continuity. Festive standards can be delivered with
buoyant rhythmic energy, while ballads create moments of reflection. The change 
between these moods keeps the program from becoming merely decorative.

The official Dresden festival listing identifies the event as Swingin’ Christmas
and includes a broader ensemble with clarinet and saxophone, guitar, bass, and drums
alongside Hopkins and Hildabrand. This creates a fuller orchestral palette than 
a simple piano-and-vocal recital.

The Dresdner Whisky Manufaktur, known in the venue’s concert listings as H42, offers
a different kind of musical environment from a formal concert hall. Such a setting
can give swing an appealingly relaxed character, bringing the audience closer to
the performers and reinforcing the tradition of jazz as music for shared enjoyment.

In the broader season, the Dresden performance represents the intimate face of winter
jazz: music shaped by subtle gestures, familiar melodies, and the enduring charm
of a singer and pianist working together.

### Germany — Freiburg: Cécile Verny and the expressive art of song

![Cecil Verny | Live Club](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/sSSXczaggzbfrAxVHfVtblhuBJMs-
8-IAHWZ7eJQn4daVal8cb9Mjq1ZbKqXbhxepR0kir2D1u6cP-j6T6wrQ09SwRZaLANYTLO7z-K4NygG3oVWfvE2iE9Q9D0qYIGW_m70sHsIFNeAyzjB7JNl9x_I0FWpdmaZAq7b7bn2NqI?
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### Cécile Verny Quartet — Between jazz, blues, and poetic expression

Jazzhaus Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau · Date verification required. The music 
of Cécile Verny occupies a fascinating space between jazz, chanson, soul, and the
broader world of contemporary song. Her work is distinguished by an expressive vocal
presence and an approach to repertoire that values emotional communication as highly
as stylistic precision.

A vocalist working in this territory must navigate several musical worlds at once.
Jazz demands rhythmic flexibility and harmonic sensitivity; blues calls for directness
and emotional weight; world-music influences can introduce distinctive melodic shapes
and rhythmic colors. When these elements are brought together successfully, the 
result is not simply a mixture of genres but a personal musical language.

The quartet format gives Verny room to explore these possibilities. In a small ensemble,
the singer can interact closely with the instrumentalists, allowing a vocal line
to emerge from an accompaniment rather than merely sit on top of it. A melody can
be extended through improvisation, reshaped by changes in dynamics, or given a different
emotional meaning through a shift in harmony.

Her repertoire also demonstrates the importance of words in jazz. A song can be 
musically sophisticated while remaining grounded in a story, an image, or a feeling.
The interpretation becomes a meeting point between the written text and the freedom
of performance.

Freiburg, in southwestern Germany, is an especially attractive setting for this 
kind of music. Its historic streets and cultural life give the city an intimate 
character, while its position near the borders of France and Switzerland places 
it within a wider European region of artistic exchange.

Jazzhaus Freiburg is an established venue for live music, and the city’s wider jazz
culture includes a festival that brings together established musicians, emerging
European artists, and regional performers.

The official event listings I found place the Cécile Verny Quartet’s Poems & Songs
performances at Jazzhaus Freiburg on December 20 and 21, 2026. The program emphasizes
expressive songs, settings of poems by writers including William Blake and Paul 
Verlaine, and original texts written by members of the band.

This later program provides a useful insight into the quartet’s artistic world, 
but it does not establish an October 10–12 performance. The date should therefore
be checked before the concert is included in an account of that particular weekend.

Artistically, the quartet embodies a central idea of the season: jazz is not confined
to instrumental virtuosity. It can be a vehicle for poetry, personal reflection,
and the interpretation of language through sound.

### UK — London: The Brand New Heavies and the power of acid-jazz

![Magic Soul Live](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/rT9LQev2fEw9XhjdFVuJ2j8KAuwJI-
TcjjYqkGbiEfQngIhCnNZmyq4NmWsu9xuB-8dRjaXVRWkYCQ028FZxdc2qgdMs_PfI3mFmxLwK40sqNmtRbeYE4dXPuxm7rQIzp-
wNrjj2ja-5MoSVMAm17a7x3AfzYC38RmSMgo8SpL94sQ5FA2VbrgyJ0uqx_0q9?purpose=inline)

### The Brand New Heavies — Funk, soul, and the architecture of groove

Blue Note London · Date verification required. The British acid-jazz movement emerged
from a particularly fertile meeting of musical traditions. Drawing on American funk,
soul, jazz improvisation, and dance-floor culture, it created a sound that was at
once rooted in history and unmistakably contemporary.

The Brand New Heavies became one of the influential groups associated with this 
movement. Their musical identity rests on the relationship between instrumental 
groove and vocal expression: the bass and drums establish a compelling rhythmic 
center, the keyboards and guitar create layers of harmonic texture, and the brass
and vocals can add melodic brightness and dramatic force.

Funk depends on precision, but it must never feel mechanical. The most effective
performances are built from small differences in timing and articulation. A bass
line may repeat almost unchanged while subtle shifts in the drums make the groove
feel newly alive. Guitar and keyboard parts interlock like pieces of a rhythmic 
puzzle, leaving space for the vocal melody to move freely.

Acid-jazz adds another dimension through its relationship with improvisation. Jazz
harmonies and instrumental solos can appear within arrangements designed to sustain
a continuous pulse. The music is therefore equally suited to attentive listening
and dancing.

London is an appropriate home for this sound. The city’s music culture has long 
encouraged exchanges between jazz musicians, club DJs, soul singers, and artists
working in funk and electronic music. Acid-jazz reflects that urban environment,
where musical ideas travel between concert stages, recording studios, and dance 
floors.

Blue Note London is associated with a program that includes the Brand New Heavies,
and the band’s official website lists several performances there in December 2026.
The published tour information does not establish an October 10–12 date.

The distinction is important because the artistic description and the event date
are separate matters. The Brand New Heavies are an excellent fit for a season celebrating
jazz’s relationship with blues, soul, and contemporary rhythm, but the precise London
booking needs to be confirmed before it is presented as an October concert.

Within the festival’s artistic narrative, the band represents the physical, communal
side of music. Here, jazz history does not remain in a museum. It is transformed
into an energetic, modern sound that invites the audience to move.

### Spain — Barcelona: Fredi’s Jazz Band and the festive traditions of New Orleans

### ![Joan Chamorro](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/zQBeW9Xw-1f72HXcgMoLMJbQHwgrEWZ7DkQoY9sBMNX6zdyJSnmEBYMf7gEmBnLsdSsfGcyCn-w16VZKWuNV7X6wciT4w7wIGbfGEex-3v2vdWdrxRQq3JF9uFtxL-7RvMrB1w7NXTS20Rl0w1n3kqGeGrceP5Uzzmbb-x50ZwQ?purpose=inline)

### El Cor del Nadal BCN — The warmth of a musical gathering

Jamboree Jazz Club, Barcelona · Date verification required. Barcelona has a special
relationship with music performed in intimate urban spaces. Its historic center 
is full of narrow streets and lively squares, while Plaça Reial, where the Jamboree
is located, provides a natural meeting place between the city’s architectural heritage
and its contemporary cultural life.

The combination of Fredi’s Jazz Band, a festive seasonal program, and the Jamboree
setting suggests a celebration rooted in collective performance. The ensemble is
a large, youthful group that developed through the Matadepera municipal music school.
Its published lineup includes saxophones, clarinets, trombones, trumpets, piano,
double bass, guitar, drums, flutes, and several vocalists.

Such an ensemble offers possibilities that a small combo cannot reproduce. Brass
and reeds can build rich harmonized passages, creating a bright, almost orchestral
sound. A saxophone section can carry a melody in close harmony, while the brass 
provides punctuating accents. The rhythm section maintains the forward motion, and
the vocalists introduce another layer of expression.

The musical description associated with the program points toward a meeting of funk
and traditional jazz rhythms. This is an appealing combination because the two styles
share a strong interest in rhythmic identity. Traditional jazz often emphasizes 
collective interplay and melodic variation, while funk makes the rhythmic foundation
itself a central expressive force.

A festive vocal ensemble can bring these elements together through familiar melodies,
danceable arrangements, and the spontaneous excitement of a large group performing
as one. The result can feel less like a formal concert and more like a communal 
celebration.

The Jamboree has a long-standing place in Barcelona’s jazz culture, and its program
reflects the breadth of the city’s musical interests, from traditional jazz and 
contemporary improvisation to funk and soul. However, the official listings I found
place Fredi’s Jazz Band at Jamboree on December 20, 2026, rather than October 10–
12. The October program also contains other performances at the club.

The title El Cor del Nadal BCN suggests a Christmas-oriented event, which would 
also fit the later date. Before publication, the exact relationship between this
event title and Fredi’s Jazz Band should be checked against the original booking.

As part of the wider autumn–winter season, Barcelona represents the celebratory 
side of jazz: the joy of many musicians sharing one stage, the interaction of instrumental
sections, and the ability of a rhythmic tradition to bring people together.

### Poland — Poznań: Emma Smith and the art of contemporary vocal jazz

![Emma Smith - She Sings Sinatra - Ronnie Scott's](https://images.openai.com/static-
rsc-4/PAoDjRfu_OVNH7ygF17i-8FRPTdGNvaaWKM9F7b7HlzigRQELzD5yJ8JQwx8l2guT33PJxs1hxMYHcfLP58eQFh8HQtyxX51HIRETko7zJbjOELK8mnJhJaolvGkjrUeWSirBYCbwxlPIlWAazTg5u6wuiLstrB4uMj2PhwetvY?
purpose=inline)

### Emma Smith — Tradition renewed through improvisation

Blue Note Jazz Club, Poznań · October date unconfirmed. Poznań is one of Poland’s
important cultural centers, combining historic architecture with a lively contemporary
arts scene. The Blue Note Jazz Club, situated within the cultural complex of the
Imperial Castle, offers an environment where the international language of jazz 
can meet a distinctly Central European audience.

British vocalist Emma Smith represents a tradition in which vocal jazz is both a
craft and a form of personal interpretation. The strongest singers in this field
do more than deliver a melody accurately. They reshape the phrasing, engage with
the harmony, and establish a rhythmic relationship with the accompanying musicians.

A jazz standard can be treated as a living composition rather than a fixed arrangement.
The vocalist might begin with a simple melodic statement, then alter the phrasing
to create tension or surprise. The rhythm section can respond with a subtle change
in dynamics, while the piano or another harmonic instrument introduces a fresh color
beneath the melody.

Improvisation is central to this process, but it need not always mean an extended
scat solo. It can also appear in the way a singer reshapes a phrase, delays a resolution,
or finds an unexpected emotional emphasis in a familiar lyric.

The description of Smith’s proposed performance emphasizes contemporary vocal jazz
and its improvisational foundations. That makes the concert conceptually well suited
to a program that explores the relationship between jazz heritage and present-day
artistic expression.

Poznań also provides a valuable geographical counterpoint to the season’s western
European destinations. Poland has a substantial jazz history, and the country’s 
musicians have developed distinctive approaches to improvisation, composition, and
the integration of European musical influences.

The venue’s published October calendar lists other performances, including Wojtek
Mazolewski Solo on October 10 and Christie Dashiell on October 11. I could not verify
an Emma Smith booking at Blue Note Poznań for October 10–12.

For that reason, Smith’s concert should remain a proposed entry in this report until
the date and venue are confirmed. This does not diminish the artistic relevance 
of the idea; it simply ensures that the finished festival feature distinguishes 
between an intended program and a publicly documented event.

### Olivia Peevas — The vision and responsibility behind the European season

![Peter Cincotti Jazz Concert at Salle de l'Europe, Annecy - Aug 25](https://images.
openai.com/static-rsc-4/rAHJ9SFrZREZFxaGYv8FfOOp6hquI-RIoXbKF_ODbyC0rCas6gGfDArnjXTyBd9uYWamc0_QniYPrr-
xE2k2oXJoJkdaJzADQpKnU47MPWrg74K7dlrg9VY1xjqGYxqOSsYJ2NXy_8ZNHBHMPkgS51ZNDO5O_CTk1cxLjdQ8L3M?
purpose=inline)

A festival that crosses national borders is more than a sequence of bookings. It
is an exercise in cultural coordination, artistic judgment, communication, and the
creation of a shared identity across places that have different histories, audiences,
and musical expectations.

Within the framework described for the 2026 Autumn–Winter Jazz–Blues Season, Olivia
Peevas serves as director and organizer of the EU Jazz & Blues Festival’s European
concert initiative. Her role is central to the season’s intended identity: a connected
musical journey that brings together artists, venues, and audiences across Europe.

The ambition of such a project lies in its diversity. Brussels offers the intimacy
of a tribute to a jazz master and the expressive power of contemporary soul. Prague
brings together Neapolitan song and experimental Italian jazz. Villars-sur-Ollon
emphasizes emerging artists, while Steyr provides the direct emotional language 
of blues and roots music. Paris opens the doors of jazz to families, and Germany’s
swing programs celebrate the repertoire’s enduring charm. London represents the 
vitality of funk and acid-jazz, while Barcelona and Poznań illustrate the breadth
of Europe’s vocal and ensemble traditions.

Connecting these different musical worlds requires a clear artistic perspective.
A coherent festival should allow each concert to retain its own character while 
contributing to a wider story. The purpose is not to make every event sound alike,
but to show why very different performances belong within the same cultural conversation.

That is the strongest idea behind the season associated with Olivia Peevas: European
musical diversity as a source of unity rather than division.

### The art of bringing different audiences together

Jazz and blues audiences are not a single community with uniform tastes. Some listeners
seek the historical foundations of swing and bebop. Others are drawn to contemporary
composition, experimental textures, blues-rock, soul, or the dance-floor energy 
of funk. A broad festival program can bring these listeners into contact with musical
forms they might not otherwise encounter.

This kind of programming can encourage discovery. A listener arriving for a vocal
performance may become curious about a minimalist piano trio. Someone who enjoys
electric blues may discover the rhythmic sophistication of acid-jazz. A family attending
a daytime concert may begin a longer relationship with live music.

For a festival director, these connections are part of the larger cultural purpose.
The success of a concert is measured not only by its immediate reception but also
by the interest it creates, the conversations it encourages, and the memories that
remain with the audience.

### Europe as a network of musical places

The season’s geographical reach also offers an opportunity to present Europe as 
a living cultural network. Its cities are different in language, architectural character,
history, and musical tradition, yet they share a commitment to public performance
and artistic exchange.

The historic streets of Prague, the cultural institutions of Brussels, the alpine
setting of Villars-sur-Ollon, the riverside identity of Steyr, and the intimate 
clubs of Paris and Barcelona each provide a distinctive setting for music. The venues
are not simply addresses on a tour itinerary. They are part of the audience’s experience,
shaping how music is heard and remembered.

For a pan-European initiative, coordination across these locations is especially
important. Dates, artist availability, venue requirements, travel, promotion, and
communication all need to work together. When they do, the audience sees the artistic
result rather than the logistical complexity behind it.

### A positive assessment of Olivia Peevas’s role

Olivia Peevas’s position as director and organizer places her at the center of the
festival’s ambition to connect different national music scenes through a shared 
program. The season’s stated breadth, encompassing jazz, blues, soul, swing, funk,
and emerging contemporary artists, offers a strong basis for celebrating that role.

![May be an image of piano](https://scontent.fevn2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/
841283594_1122984987048384_7134631886240049373_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_tt6&cstp=mx1086x1086&
ctp=s1086x1086&_nc_cat=107&_nc_map=urlgen_bucketless&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=6ee11a&_nc_ohc
=MbOy_GYBaUcQ7kNvwGR7-A_&_nc_oc=Adr5AHDC7w4sorEFg5oUaXrxApwjBMEVMoRDKNVC8ojvJLBB23PqswF1YzWWZVkZBW0&
_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent.fevn2-1.fna&_nc_gid=6e6wu3OOiSraS92ULpNvEg&_nc_ss=7b2a8&
oh=00_AQNVLhlaoacSObw0FRtdblR0F-seLW7XSWLbpLQVnDCIhg&oe=6AD2F95F)

Her contribution is best understood through the values that such a project represents:
cultural openness, the appreciation of artistic individuality, and the belief that
live music can create meaningful connections across borders. The most compelling
festival leadership gives musicians room to express their identities while helping
audiences understand how their work fits into a broader musical landscape.

A responsible tribute to a director should distinguish between documented achievements
and the aspirations of the project. Without independent evidence about specific 
administrative accomplishments, budgets, audience figures, or partnerships, it would
be inappropriate to invent such details. Nevertheless, the stated vision of an ambitious
European autumn–winter season provides ample grounds for a warm and affirmative 
account of the cultural purpose of Olivia Peevas’s work.

The season’s ideal is clear: to make Europe feel smaller through music, to allow
audiences to discover artists beyond their own national borders, and to treat jazz
and blues as shared cultural languages.

In that sense, Olivia Peevas’s role represents more than the coordination of individual
concerts. It symbolizes the aspiration to create a connected European musical experience,
one that values established masters, emerging voices, intimate venues, and the extraordinary
variety of ways people express themselves through sound.

### Photographs for the festival report

The images displayed throughout this report are useful visual references, but not
every result is a photograph from the exact concert described. For a publication-
ready JazzBlues.EU feature, I recommend prioritizing official venue galleries, artist
press photographs, and images posted by the musicians or their representatives.

Here are several direct sources where relevant photographs or visual materials can
be checked:

![Kristin Korb (US) - "Sweet Dreams" | Montmartre](https://images.openai.com/static-
rsc-4/WbVKKnC-9yKYpA4mfx84MUsUMHnaPzW0SK-DtpCmhyZ9-PuHEN3gEt3LZN-Zm-5JssP8ym3j69lD4_ByN0rP9OmncQgxY8WITOPjVI737etMGs1MHcYaSXXzxSDH_dPKX2TjZ1-
hDfGYOM9HC2CGx-n1EQxV6Fwk6PwNH96DivY?purpose=inline)

### Kristin Korb — The Vocal Side of Ray Brown

Official concert page with event details and artist imagery.

![MJF Spotlight in Villars](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/CMqTxrfg7q0qBbTWnaDsNEz7qWGJD8ybt5dZjsHeTWFVmhkSZptjKIFuAynlAriYoDcPBenyFdL8lQlwYlLM8k4obcmreDVCXiVasR5OpBY-
6TiqxD3jYY29HdSKmJ6Fh7CE3-mw0znoMyxNynDWHGEXaB7s90RRlg0k_5sUEq8?purpose=inline)

### MJF Spotlight Sessions — Villars-sur-Ollon

Official series information and promotional material.⌊gambrinus jazz plus - Thursday
Blues - Neal Black & The Healers - Einstein St.Gallen⌉

### Neal Black & The Healers — Steyr

Artist’s published tour schedule, including the Steyr date.

![So war "Swinging Christmas" mit Tom Gaebel im Leipziger Gewandhaus](https://images.
openai.com/static-rsc-4/wJyQ3QxueeCAmZCux1ipW1khHKmCx51msLfDqEKYrHL3-8FXoEQWSMnr9SZW-
_mNxhxNd-FPC-H4dDJY0ADgyZ4ls_NFz7LQSmlAtNc1ddTBNhwoBR83p7fw5k13UZZWBLLydxoyuCfuCjsEEzKm23D-
xIMJPUaOLsP36_HU_RU?purpose=inline)

### Tom Gaebel & His Orchestra

Officially listed Wuppertal event; the available live photograph is from a different
performance.

![Der deutsche Sinatra: Tom Gaebel begeistert trotz Erkältung mit musikalischer 
Show](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/SQaiQA1tncwENFRaZhg_dSfmB3zSYLIuFDWDqeN3E6FWXGLzyMMHy45Mzf6UvdaOos61Jnwkp9MlrsXpFb0a_aTu4kaYu6mjXcQQgMAmatmNkJRPIOLtsrs9CNn1v9dQzpb8fDZu6Oocq9zweRQ6YEyQiHPoU7zzpdhxriWJ3Dw?
purpose=inline)

### Chris Hopkins & Shaunette Hildabrand

Official Dresden festival listing with event information and imagery.

![Cécile Verny Quartet – Jazz-Schmiede Düsseldorf](https://i0.wp.com/www.jazz-schmiede.
de/site/assets/files/282362/20260227_cv_quartet_1.2000x0.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)

### Cécile Verny Quartet — Freiburg

Freiburg’s official event information for the quartet’s December concerts.

![scenestr - The Brand New Heavies Australia 2025 Tour](https://images.openai.com/
static-rsc-4/b1H2kPl01J-ETUrY2E3csCVQdrQZUJKG6A5MsCUjSz8WYvfDrTavEFpw-4aYRQTJvOtC74wt_ATDo6nlJHSyxH3fB86aZppUVeN0QL1T1fBWGhS263vawCNiQp_4KClq0VkRnDZS4qj2LUyzvlvnDdxRZVaV39cn9LEMDYQXvmM?
purpose=inline)

### The Brand New Heavies — London

Official band website with music, videos, and tour information.

![El gener arriba ple de jazz | Diari de Terrassa](https://images.openai.com/static-
rsc-4/QZzmWm8lOCpu5HafNNo7gB-c-oN2xCCEJq_1-5fzwJ0ylVpUQ7x5hEJrUkMd_wOIpnU-VMcQLWoJbldH3IRODpzP_g8LPZMAZE8tf2MxdMgpU13ar7WxBepEr0bnKS6VEZ04Gbcj4pfSvDC-
MtZVmks9eVXhB_JuoYhihLYWh6o?purpose=inline)

### Fredi’s Jazz Band — Barcelona

The band’s published Jamboree event page and ensemble details.

![Emma Smith - Doing It My Way - Visit Herts](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-
4/aQzLa8LIMG4tQkP53P5cSQ_jwLQ8FPa6X4eZby_2aGVimxDcyeK8F-fNhJyyQRhLjRCjTLA8S5qfZKlQsO6VXpHVEdQFUifPT9HjdCymO8VHue_jcmeij6hVFClHx5rhs4GxWiJC3TYrLe3nIm_Tvza4MvALJVPqEnCkQPT8Zqs?
purpose=inline)

### Emma Smith — Poznań

Editorial conclusion — A European season, many musical identities. The October 10–
12 program, viewed as part of the wider 2026 Autumn–Winter Jazz–Blues Season, offers
an evocative portrait of Europe’s musical diversity. Its artistic themes extend 
from the historical continuity represented by Ray Brown’s centenary to the discovery
of emerging performers in Switzerland, from the rhythmic force of blues and acid-
jazz to the elegance of swing and the poetic possibilities of vocal jazz.

The most interesting festival programs are not simply collections of famous names.
They create relationships between performances. A tribute to a master bassist can
lead listeners toward a contemporary piano trio. A family concert can open the door
to a lifelong interest in improvisation. A blues-rock performance can reveal the
common ground between the blues, soul, and jazz. An emerging artist’s appearance
can remind audiences that the future of music is never entirely predictable.

That is the promise of a pan-European concert season: the opportunity to encounter
familiar traditions from new perspectives and to discover how musical expression
changes from one city to another without losing its capacity to connect people.

Olivia Peevas’s stated role as director and organizer gives this undertaking a unifying
point of reference. The season’s ambition is to bring European audiences into contact
with a broad spectrum of live music, to celebrate the musicians who sustain these
traditions, and to encourage the exchange of artistic ideas across borders.

There is, finally, something particularly fitting about jazz and blues in the autumn.
These are musics that understand contrast: light and shadow, tension and release,
solitude and community. They flourish in the intimate club and the grand concert
hall, in the stillness of a ballad and the exuberance of a swinging ensemble. They
remind us that every performance is temporary, yet the feeling it creates can endure
long after the last note has faded.

Across Europe’s cities, that is the deeper meaning of the autumn–winter season: 
not a single sound imposed upon many places, but many distinct voices contributing
to a shared musical conversation.

**By Daniella Bushler, Akrile Betrricean, Donaled Shotelend, Stiven Berger**

![May be an image of text](https://scontent.fevn12-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/
825372466_1121029240577292_5736812904086475692_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_tt6&cstp=mx1380x776&
ctp=s1380x776&_nc_cat=106&_nc_map=urlgen_bucketless&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=cc71e4&_nc_ohc
=KAfu5h7MKl4Q7kNvwGgpO3A&_nc_oc=Adrp2lMSWpkyMXooo9UOqrUXralURZ-aQ8yExglifbYcdOiEMdGgDZYt8j1n7TbcWlY&
_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent.fevn12-1.fna&_nc_gid=Kb8d1u29SP64Mpe_5O7Ijg&_nc_ss=7b2a8&
oh=00_AQM2mXNBomylRMw_r7UHkcFiV4ZnljPsMHeaonXMDRk06w&oe=6AD31184)

### _Related_