Banner image by Jens Schlenker
One of the Brother Grimm's fairy tales is about four domestic animals – a dog, donkey, cat, and rooster – who are past their prime and are being mistreated by their master and decide to split and head to the town of Bremen, Germany, to become street musicians. While they never achieve that goal, on their way to Bremen they scare off some robbers squatting in a home and then move in themselves to live happily ever after. And while, again, they never actually get to Bremen, the town has embraced the tale of the Town Musicians of Bremen and views it as a “symbol of resilience and the pursuit of a better life.” Of course, it could also be a cautionary tale about letting musicians crash in your home.
The 19th edition of Messe Bremen's Jazzahead conference took place April 23 to 26, offering a trade fair where musicians, promoters, agents, bookers, cultural organizations, and even journalists come to interact over their love of jazz, and are treated to 38 showcases from over 20 countries. 2025 was their second year of a “Jazz from Africa” focus. These regional focus sections are a new initiative and run for three consecutive conferences, so in 2027 they will begin a focus on another region of the globe for the next three years. As well, there were showcases under the “Reconnect” banner, which focused on musicians from Spain, France, and Switzerland.
The conference opened on Wednesday, April 23rd, with an unforgettable concert starring Honduran-Swiss guitarist Louis Matute, with special guests including Afro-Cuban trumpeter Yelfris Valdés (who has performed with artists ranging from Madonna to Rokia Traoré) and Cameroonian-French singer Célia Kameni. Matute taps into the Latin American music he heard as a child growing up via his Honduran father and makes it his own, as per the title of his 2022 release Our Folklore.
The conference and showcases officially opened on Thursday and ran through Saturday night. The overall vibe of the showcases we would note is music that more stimulates the brain rather than makes your backbone slip – in other words there were only a few acts who got audiences up to even just sway a bit, but many acts did engage audience participation in singing or humming a refrain or two.
With that said, there were many showcases we enjoyed that fit into our Afropop wheelhouse. In order of appearance, first up was Senegalese-Spanish kora player Momi Maiga. Maiga is part of the renowned Cissokho family, but in bringing the instrument to Spain, he has created a wonderful fusion between flamenco and traditional kora. He was recently invited by producer Michael League to record on Youssou N’Dour's new album, Éclairer le Monde. Maiga had posted on Instagram that the opportunity was “both a dream and a crazy experience.”
Next on the list was South African bassist/composer Benjamin Jephta. With his latest release in 2023, Born Colored, Not Born Free, Jephta questions the lingering issues of identity in his post-apartheid nation where “colored” is not the same as being “Black.” At his showcase, Jephta also explained between songs how the music, crossing genres, becomes part of this conversation he is having.
Based in Berlin, Brazilian rapper Laíz led her band, known as the New Love Experience, in one of the only showcases that grooved. Her showcase took place away from the main conference stages as part of a program for local audiences, and we, for sure, loved the experience. Their music brought together hip-hop, Brazilian, and Afrobeat into an original and infectious blend.
We were next completely taken by Cuban-Swiss violinist Yilian Cañizares. Cañizares was a child prodigy in Havana and wound up in Switzerland at the age of 16 on a musical scholarship. After a few professional years in the classical arena, she was inspired to return and explore her own musical roots, which led her to collaborations with artists including Omar Sosa and Chucho Valdés. She has also been on a mission to seek the spiritual and musical connections with other diaspora music, such as on her 2017 release Erzulie, which had her exploring Haitian music, and her latest release Habana-Bahia, which similarly connects Cuban to Brazilian music.
Then, Kenyan percussionist Kasiva Mutua was an absolute delight. While Mutua has been involved with recording projects for over a decade, including the Nile Project in 2014, is TED Fellow, and was included in OkayAfrica's list of 100 women making an impact on the continent, she has now released her debut album, Desturi. The album firmly plants her in the pantheon of female percussionists who are proving that the drum is no longer a “man's instrument.”
And our final Afropop-related showcase was Herve Samb & Teranaga Band. Samb migrated from Senegal to France 17 years ago. Originally inspired by both B.B. King and Jimi Hendrix, he went on to create what he calls “Jazz Sabar” style, blending traditional Senegalese rhythms with contemporary jazz. Over the years, he has performed with artists including Salif Keita, Amadou & Mariam, Oumou Sangaré and Meshell Ndegeocello. Samb's video of his song “Barbatóor performed live at a Paris nightclub made our list of Top Videos of January 2024. Back in 2022, he collaborated with Somi on her musical theatrical tribute to Miriam Makeba. His showcase was a great and satisfying way to end the conference for us.
Stay tuned as we will be publishing interviews with Samb, Matua, Cañizares, Jephta and Maiga in the coming weeks.
Stepping beyond Afropop-focused acts, one act stood out above others. I've been personally yearning to see Mongolian jazz singer Enji for a few years and was thrilled to finally have the opportunity to do so. She grew up in the capital Ulaanbaatar in a family steeped in the "long song" (urtiin duu) folk song tradition and was introduced to jazz via a program from the German Goethe Institute. Her voice is ethereal yet at the same time down to earth, and you feel you are going on a journey to a mystical land when she sings.
We look forward to returning next year for more Jazzahead.
