THE FIRST EUROPEAN JAZZ FESTIVAL I EVER ATTENDED WAS IN 2006. IT WAS THE UMBRIA JAZZ FESTIVAL IN PERUGIA, ITALY, ONE OF THE BIGGEST. TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE OVER-RAN THE COBBLESTONE STREETS AND PIAZZAS OF PERUGIA’S OLD TOWN. THE MUSIC BEGAN BEFORE NOON AND ENDED LONG AFTER MIDNIGHT. AT THE END OF 10 DAYS, I WAS DELIRIOUS FROM joy and sleep deprivation.
“EUROPEAN JAZZ IS ITS OWN SEPARATE/SPECIAL THING AND IS WORTHY OF CONSIDERATION BY WRITERS WHO ARE … STEEPED IN IT.”
—PHIL FREEMAN, AUTHOR OF UGLY BEAUTY: JAZZ IN THE 21ST CENTURY
I was also hooked. I had to go back. I have now been to more than 50 European festivals in 13 countries. They are all different, but they have one thing in common: They all prove that many of the most important developments in jazz are now happening in Europe.
Phil Freeman is right: European jazz is “its own separate/special thing.” In the 21st century, European artists are integrating their own cultural histories and national imageries into their music, bringing the fresh energy and innovation on which jazz depends. Many American musicians play European festivals, and often they are headliners, but European players dominate the programs.
I didn’t understand any of this until I started going to European festivals. They are the surest, most efficient, and most fun way to get in touch with the European jazz scene. And the festivals are not hard to find. Their proliferation across Europe, especially in summer, is astonishing. All the major cities, and hundreds of minor ones, have their own jazz festival.
In 2020, the pandemic stopped world travel in its tracks, including mine. For the first time in 15 years, I did not leave the United States, in 2020 or 2021. Given the scale of the suffering COVID has inflicted on the world, missing out on travel opportunities is barely
