2010-07-31
Improviser in Residence Sanne van Hek has the fabulous Jazz-trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire from New York as a guest in Moers. Both are going to be on stage on Wednesday, 4th of august, at 8 pm, at Bollwerk 107 (Hombergerstraße 107) - both trumpets unplugged.
Ambrose Akinmusire won the jazzawards „Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition“ and „Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition“. Also, Ambrose has just recently signed up for „Blue Note Records“ and work on studio recordings is planned in the fall. But before that Ambrose will play in Moers with Sanne van Hek!
Ambrose Akinmusire bei MySpace
2010-07-21
Our archive...
is worth taking a look at! It contains the programme of the moers festival 2010, the 2010 festival magazine, and all kinds of information about the last 39 festivals. So whether you want to know who was playing on Whit Saturday 1984, or remind yourself what was going on on Whit Sunday 2010, just click here.
2010-07-01
The documentation of the moers festival 2010 is now finally ready!
The video documentation "a shortcut of 2010" of the moers festival 2010 has been created from the best of the live recordings and short interviews by Cologne’s Academy of Media Arts, who was also in charge of the live stream. Relive the most exciting moments and the most captivating concerts from this year’s festival. You find the video in our multimedia section.
2010-06-03
Read what the press had to say about the moers festival 2010
After four days of Moers, the verdict on the artistic side of things might be that anything could happen. New trends are emerging, but it remains to be seen whether or not they will manage to establish themselves. And what applies to the artistic substance of the programme also, unfortunately, applies to the festival itself: no one can predict what will happen in the future, and no one even wants to. The dissent between the town’s dignitaries and the artistic director is already the stuff of legend in Moers. The annual exchange of blows with local politicians, troublesome though it was, was par for the course for the festival’s founder, Burkhard Hennen, and his successor Reiner Michalke is now feeling the burden of that reality. Negotiations regarding an extension of his contract are pending, and Michalke has made it clear that he can imagine a life without the Whitsun festival.
Wolf Kampmann, Frankfurter Rundschau, 28.05.2010
Fast forward to the last five years, and next generation artistic director Reiner Michalke has done sturdy work in bringing a new vitality and international ear back to the festival. This May’s festival feast, a healthy, diversified flow of about twenty shows in four days, and with sideline features such as the all-improv “morning sessions” and “concerts in the dark” - featured non-mainstream guitarists (Terje Rypdal, two shows from Bill Frisell, Arto Lindsay, Fred Frith) and an inspired, illuminating focus on women in jazz, with plenty of other diversions in the avant-circus mix.
In 2010, a year shy of the milestone 40th anniversary, the festival was both flying high and treading a bit nervously, in the wake of potential budget cuts from the city, which might either cut official ties or scale the festival back to three days, from its current four-day spread. Optimism remains stubbornly in check, as jazz without Moers would seem incomplete, at this advance stage of the festival’s legacy.
Josef Woodard, jazztimes.com, 28.05.2010
Moers, Germany’s main improvised music festival, has never been a catwalk for established stars, a gallery of ancestral portraits or a monument to the past, and this, the 39th edition, was no exception. It might take a while until young Afro-American musicians such as the trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson from Lehmann’s octet, or Rudy Royton, the discovery in the new trio led by guitarist Bill Frisell, are familiar to all fans of jazz... [The] artistic director of the festival, Reiner Michalke, who is an expert in “fine tuning feelings”, once again demonstrated, in this his fifth year in office, considerable skill in the selection and composition of the programme.
Karl Lippegaus, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 27.05.2010
Assuming that the 39th festival was his last, Michalke couldn’t have wished for a better swan song. This year’s festival ticked almost all the boxes which make an event of this type great. Organisation, planning and sound: perfect. The diversity of the line up: exceptional. No more experiments just for the sake of innovation. No popular music just to increase audience figures. The Moers Festival continues to highlight new routes into the future, inviting audiences to make discoveries along the way, but this year it also provided them with the chance to deepen other musical perspectives.
Martin Woltersdorf, Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, 26.05.2010
Reiner Michalke’s programme was convincing, the combinations and constellations he served to the audience were unusual. The duos, trios, performances involving special lighting and even a trapeze act in one case were as popular with first time visitors as they were with veteran festival goers. Michalke’s decision to give the Frisell/Henriksen duo the primetime evening slot rather than filling it with something safer and more feel-good deserves a lot of respect. Long applause and numerous encores were enjoyed not just by this duo – many of the acts were acknowledged with enthusiasm and respect, and with them Michalke’s work. The unique symbiosis between the Schlosspark, the relaxed atmosphere and the stimulating music worked its magic. Once again, Moers enchanted national and international visitors and musicians from all over the world, and is looking forward its 40th outing over the Whit bank holiday in 2011.
Klaus Denzer, Stadtpanorama Moers, 26.05.2010
Moers 2010 was a historic event in that it was the last of the four-day festivals. As things stand, it is looking increasingly likely that next year’s festival will - in a last-ditch cost-cutting exercise – be shortened by a day. If that turns out to be the case, at least we can say that this year was a dream finale. ... Reiner Michalke, the artistic director, is adamant that he wants to continue to do the “best job at the best festival” – but under conditions which will maintain the full artistic substance of the event. Negotiations are underway.
Stefan Pieper, Neue Musik Zeitung, 26.05.2010
This year’s festival provided the artistic director with some good arguments: the huge circus tent was sold out on two days, the programme worked. Interesting young musicians rubbed shoulders with old heroes such as Peter Brötzmann, Terje Rypdal and Fred Frith, who first caused a stir at Moers two or three decades ago. Michael Klein, Ruhr Nachrichten, 26.05.2010
How pleasingly ironic that the festival tent was better filled this year than ever before in the Michalke Era, with 13,500 paying guests. A fantastic reward for five exciting and varied years in which Michalke has attracted wide multi-generational audiences to Moers. Of course, there’s no need to agree with everything Michalke puts on the stage, and this year was no exception, but the hip and happening Balkan pop combo “Miss Platnum” aka singer Ruth Maria Renner did lure hundreds of screeching teenies into the festival tent – perhaps it was a good idea for promoting jazz to the younger generations.
Sven Thielemann, Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, 25.05.2010
Until now, Michalke has shown a preference for programmes which polarise, but this year’s festival was fairly moderate in that regard. Although what was on offer was far from consistently subtle and complex, the gulf between the stylistic poles was not as gaping as it has been at times. The music was handmade throughout , with hardly a laptop in sight, yet there was no shortage of contrast. Both new discoveries and old acquaintances were to be enjoyed in ample measure.
Berthold Klostermann, Neue Rhein Zeitung, 25.05.2010
Reiner Michalke is to be the artistic director of the festival for the fifth year. Following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Burkhard Hennen, was not an easy task, but Michalke has mastered his role with bravura and enthusiasm. Both audiences and the festival partners who work with Michalke are delighted with what he has built up in Moers over the years he has been at the helm. Unfortunately, the moers festival has now been confronted with financial reality. Negotiations about its future are in full swing. The current proposal is to shorten the festival to 3 days, introducing a new programme designed to appeal to a wider audience on the fourth day. Various scenarios are being discussed. At the press conference on Sunday however, all the political bodies involved affirmed that they plan to support the continuation of the festival. A General Meeting will be held at the end of June to clarify the final details. All we can do is hope that in this case, culture does not fall victim to the power of commercialism.
George Tonla Briquet, jazzenzo.nl, 24.05.2010
