What a fantastic first post-covid edition of the World Jazz Conference, and how wonderful to finally enjoy countless concerts again together! Thank you to all attendees, partners, speakers and crew; we can’t wait to see you next year. But first, let’s enjoy a small recap of those wonderful days we spent together, August 11-14, 2022.
One of the weekend’s highlights was without a doubt the introduction of one of our newest partners, Fondazione the Brass Group’s Sicilia Jazz Festival, who presented not only the oldest bigband in Italy with Orchestra Jazz Siciliana, but also treated us to an exquisite multi-course meal prepared by real Sicilian chefs. Needless to say, we were grateful!
This year’s Conference consisted of two components, with our first post-covid offline meeting scheduled for Friday, August 12. We started with our newly introduced Partnership Brunch to introduce new partners, and moved on to discuss topics such as digital strategy and ticketing, based on several suggestions from interested Partners, as well as hot topics such as how to break out of the showcase network and how to DIY your way through our industry.
On Saturday, WJN partnership director Arlette Hovinga and BIM-member and renowned trumpeter Ellister van der Molen hosted an online talkshow revolving around Partner introductions, after a kick-off by director Alexander Beets and Sicilia Jazz director Fabio Lannino.
Of course, our time in Amersfoort was interlaced with music. Presenting partnerships with, and Laureates from, Hungary (Babel Sound), Luxembourg (Like A Jazz Machine), Poland (Szczecin Jazz Festival), Sicily (Sicilia Jazz Festival/Fondazione Brass Group), South Africa (Joy of Jazz Festival), Thailand (Huahin Jazz Festival) and India (Banyan Tree Events).
Finally, we welcomed Partners on stage from Poland with Sylwester Ostrowski’s Jazz Brigade, Koh Mr. Saxman’s Takeshi Band and, traditionally, with the Director’s Invite on Sunday afternoon to celebrate the end of Amersfoort World Jazz Festival’s 43rd edition. We’ve enjoyed press coverage from the US, Switzerland, Hungary, Spain and The Netherlands this year, strengthening the afterglow of a spectacular edition.
Mark your calendars for the second weekend of August in 2023, dear partners and associates. We’ll look forward to seeing you!
