Commitment to Contemporary Talent

From March 7th to March 28th the Festival Jazz Terrassa is celebrating its 44th edition with the essence and personality of a place capable of joining tradition with today’s reality of new generations. Once again, this edition aims to discover new talents and promote unprecedented projects to keep the dialogue between past and future flowing, with both local and foreign jazz. This leads to a rich style and an open-minded, curious outlook that establishes it as a reference festival.

The following 22 days will be full of a diverse and wide-ranging program of nearly 60 concerts and activities, featuring more than 200 musicians, which are going to take place in 27 different locations in town and its region. The program offers a strong presence from the Catalan jazz scene, followed throughout the year thanks to the regular season organized by the Jazz Club. Once again, Nova Jazz Cava will become the main focus for a program with leading figures of contemporary Afro-American jazz, such as the New Orleans pianist Sullivan Fortner who will make his NJC performance in trio format, his only concert in Spain from his European tour. At the same time, two key figures from the New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will be debuting in Catalonia. The singer and saxophonist Camille Thurman comes as one of today's most recent rising jazz talents, with The Darrell Green Quartet to present a revisionist repertoire. Meanwhile, the 24-year-old emerging artist Ekep Nkwelle has recently established herself as a rising star, with a highly personal classical-style vocal repertoire, in which the American singer of Cameroonian descent is accompanied by a world-class trio.

The 44th TJF (Terrassa Jazz Festival) explores European jazz with Dutch artist Mozes Rosenberg, who makes his debut in the city with a trio as one of the main figures in contemporary gypsy jazz. Also, performing for the first time at the Festival, Max Ionata, the multi-award-winning Italian saxophonist, in a quartet format, will be representing a new generation of jazz musicians who innovate within the genre while maintaining a sense of classicism. The Nit de Blues (Blues Night) will be led by British musician Albie Donnelly and his legendary European band Supercharge, another of the debut performances at this edition.

The Festival also welcomes some exclusive premieres, such as the project De Isoca a Gato:A Tribute to Gato Barbieri by Horacio Fumero, led by the acclaimed double bassist in tribute to the Argentine saxophonist Gato Barbieri, with whom Fumero shared the stage 51 years ago. One of the leading names in flamenco jazz has also chosen the TJF to present a proposal co-produced by the Terrassa festival: saxophonist and flutist Jorge Pardo with Duende & Groove & CO. The program will once again have a night devoted to the Premi Jazzterrasman 2025, which this year honors the career of Californian trombonist John DuBuclet, educator, communicator, and director of the Big Band Jazz Terrassa (2000–2011).

The program reveals new premiers from the Catalan scene, such as the Jomar Quintet collective or the string quartet proposal led by the double bassist Xavi Castillo, A Musical Portrait Of Joan Miró. The young vocalist from Terrassa Júlia Plans will be the first one to perform on the opening day, the 7th of March, while the Big Band Jazz Maresme Ella & Louis featuring Susana Sheiman and Ricard Gili will conclude the event.

In addition to the club program at the Passatge Tete Montoliu, which will host 16 concerts and 2 Jam Sessions, live music will also be heard in outdoors stages such as in Pati Històric of MNACTEC, Plaça Vella, Plaça Nova, Plaça del Rector Homs and Parc de Sant Jordi. It travels to neighboring towns like Matadepera, Vacarisses, and Viladecavalls, and it will be transforming Parc Vallparadís into a major jazz celebration, with four top-tier performances, a wide range of food, and a great amount of family activities at Picnic Jazz on Sunday, 23rd of March.

During these three weeks, the TJF includes a long list of cultural activities, such as a gastronomic fair, wine and jazz event Menjazz, exhibitions, screenings, talks, workshops, jam sessions and dance swing meetings.

Amic de les Arts Jazz Club and JM, in its 65th anniversary, thanks the support of its sponsors, collaborators and everyone who makes this possible.

This 44th edition of TJF is dedicated to Xavi Bacardit and Christian Escoudé

(translation from catalan to english by Berta Llimona & Paola Sánchez)

Official Tune:

"La Broma", de Joan Monne Quartet

Teaser: