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Moers Festival
Moers Festival
	2004
Genre	Jazz
Dates	Whitsun
Location(s)	Moers, Germany
Coordinates	51°27′33″N 6°37′11″E / 51.45917°N 6.61972°E
Years active	1972–present
Founders	Burkhard Hennen
Attendance	40,000
Website	moers-festival.de/en

The Moers Festival is an annual international music festival in Moers, Germany. The festival has changed from concentrating on free jazz to including world and pop music, though it still invites many avant-garde jazz musicians. Performers at Moers include Lester Bowie, Fred Frith, Jan Garbarek, Herbie Hancock, Abdullah Ibrahim, David Murray, Sun Ra, Archie Shepp, and Cecil Taylor. The festival is officially named "mœrs festival" with lowercase letters.

History

The festival was founded in 1971^[1] by Burkhard Hennen. Three years later, he formed Moers Music to sell performances recorded at the festival.^[2]^[3]

In the early years the festival took place in the paved yard of the castle. In 1975 it was moved to a nearby park because of increased attendance. After a few years outdoors, it moved to a large venue. African Dance Night was added in 1985. Musicians such as Mory Kanté, Salif Keita, Cheb Mami, and Youssou N'Dour played there. After the artistic director changed in 2005, the event was discontinued. In 2005, after 34 years as artistic director, Hennen handed the job to Reiner Michalke. After Michalke, the position went to Tim Isfort, a musician who grew up in Moers.^[4]

Due to financial problems in the 2000s, the festival was reduced to three days.^[2]

Selected discography

1974: Anthony Braxton – Solo: Live at Moers Festival
1974: Anthony Braxton – Quartet: Live at Moers Festival
1974: Frank Wright Quartet - Unity
1976: Anthony Braxton and George E. Lewis – Elements of Surprise
1976: John Surman – Live at Moers Festival
1977: World Saxophone Quartet – Point of No Return
1978: Phillip Wilson Quartet – Live at Moers Festival
1978: Wadada Leo Smith – The Mass on the World
1979: David Murray/Sunny Murray Trio – Live at Moers
1987: Reichlich Weiblich – Live at Moers Festival 87
1993: Jamaaladeen Tacuma with Basso Nouveau – The Night of Chamber Music
1993: Richard Teitelbaum – Cyberband
2005: James Choice Orchestra – Live at Moers
2018: Sebastian Gramss' States of Play - Live at Moers Festival (vinyl)

References

^ Beal, Amy C. (4 July 2006). New Music, New Allies: American Experimental Music in West Germany from the Zero Hour to Reunification. University of California Press. pp. 167–. ISBN 978-0-520-93281-4. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
^ ^a ^b Davis, John S. (24 August 2012). Historical Dictionary of Jazz. Scarecrow Press. pp. 177–. ISBN 978-0-8108-6757-4. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
^ Jenkins, Todd S. (2004). Free Jazz and Free Improvisation: An Encyclopedia. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 238–. ISBN 978-0-313-33314-9. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
^ Longley, Martin (27 July 2018). "Moers Festival 2018". All About Jazz. Retrieved 30 September 2018.

External links

Official website

[Beal2006-1] Beal, Amy C. (4 July 2006). New Music, New Allies: American Experimental Music in West Germany from the Zero Hour to Reunification. University of California Press. pp. 167–. ISBN 978-0-520-93281-4. Retrieved 24 September 2018.

[Davis2012-2] Davis, John S. (24 August 2012). Historical Dictionary of Jazz. Scarecrow Press. pp. 177–. ISBN 978-0-8108-6757-4. Retrieved 30 September 2018.

[Jenkins2004-3] Jenkins, Todd S. (2004). Free Jazz and Free Improvisation: An Encyclopedia. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 238–. ISBN 978-0-313-33314-9. Retrieved 24 September 2018.

[Longley-4] Longley, Martin (27 July 2018). "Moers Festival 2018". All About Jazz. Retrieved 30 September 2018.

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