40th International Jazz Festival Saalfelden

On the occasion of its 40th anniversary, the Saalfelden mega-event is getting a revamp as several performance spaces are being added and the number of concerts is also increasing to more than 50. On the town square, a festival center with a novel culinary concept is being built. Additionally, the renowned Rahofer public relations agency has revised the festival’s entire publicity campaign.

 

New concert series and “artists-in-residence”
Artistic director Mario Steidl describes the reasons for launching an “artist-in-residence” program as follows: “There are so many outstanding artists whose projects call for smaller, more intimate spaces. I also wanted to create a new framework for artists to engage in spontaneous musical exchanges.” The 2019 artists-in-residence—Slovenian singer, flutist, and composer Maja Osojnik and Austrian percussionist Lukas König—will showcase several projects in the Fuchs bookbinding shop and in an unoccupied building that formerly housed the district court. Additional concerts will take place in a bookstore and at the Ritzen Castle Museum. Performance spaces on the surrounding alpine pastures will also offer surprises such as full-day hiking tour concerts with Austrian artists. Within the scope of the “Nexus+” series, the number of free concerts at Kunsthaus Nexus will also increase. For three days, a park in the center of Saalfelden will serve as a verdant musical meeting place.

 

First Highlights
It is a time-honored tradition for the artistic management to commission an Austrian musician with opening the festival. This year, the young Viennese bassist Manu Mayr has received this distinction. He will perform with experimental improvisation artist Susanna Gartmayer. While Christian Muthspiel will perform with the the 18-member Orjazztra Vienna expressly founded for this year's festival, Austrian multi-talent Daniel Riegler will present a brand new project with New York keyboardist and composer Anthony Coleman. Numerous international acts have also been confirmed: Swiss pianist Sylvie Courvoisier will present her new album with American musicians Ken Vandermark, Nate Wooley, and Tom Rainey. Canadian saxophonist Anna Webber is also eager to perform her new album at Saalfelden. The lively French jazz scene will be presented by the unusual Abacaxi Trio, which includes guitarist Julien Deprez and the violin-piano duo Théo Ceccaldi and Roberto Negro. Scandinavia is represented by the energetic saxophonist Mette Rasmussen, who will perform with guitarist Tashi Dorij. Accordionist Frode Haltli will enchant visitors with his “Avant Folk” compositions. Naturally, the 2019 festival will also feature headliners of contemporary jazz: uber-saxophonist Joshua Redman will make a rare European appearance with Ron Miles, Scott Colley, and Dave King.

The idea behind the 2019 visual leitmotif:
Interaction – the visual leitmotif for the 40th anniversary
Designed by the Rahofer public relations agency—a collaborator for many years—the visual leitmotif of the 2019 Saalfelden Jazz Festival centers on the theme of interaction.
This year, the stories surrounding the acoustic creatures that emerged from the Sounds of Saalfelden will reach their theatrical climax. These creatures will begin to interact with each other, thus creating new, unpredictable soundscapes. This visual leitmotif serves as a metaphor for the joy of experimentation and innovation that has shaped the Saalfelden Jazz Festival for the past 40 years.


 

Sponsors & supporters
We would like to highlight the loyal partners of the Saalfelden Jazz Festival, without whose support it could not take place. We are very grateful to sponsors such as Zipfer, Raiffeisen, BMW, and the Austrian Federal Railways—as well as to many other cooperation partners and public funding bodies on a federal, provincial, and local level.