The 12 Points Festival brings twelve emerging jazz artists from twelve different European countries to Finland. The festival will take place from September 25-28 at G Livelab in Tampere. The events are organized by the Irish music promotion company Improvised Music Company and the music club G Livelab Tampere.
The bands performing at the festival are Selma Savolainen Horror Vacui (Finland), Fixity (Ireland), Emmeluth’s Amoeba (Norway), Beyond (Lithuania), Invisible Painters (Italy), Karmen Rõivassepp Quartet (Denmark), Pawky (Sweden), Ingibjörg Elsa Turchi (Iceland), Inui (France), /kry (Austria), Sc’ööf (Switzerland) and TamTam (Estonia). Each of the four concert evenings of the festival will feature three different bands.
The Thursday, Friday, and Saturday festival evenings at G Livelab will end with late-night free jam sessions, where many new musical friendships and even new ensembles in the jazz scene have been formed in previous years. The jams will be hosted by local musicians Markus Pajakkala and Juho Kanervo, with guest appearances by various Tampere ensembles.
In conjunction with the festival, the Jazz Futures conference will also be held in Tampere, in collaboration with the Better Live EU project and the Tampere City Library. The discussions at this free conference, held at Tampere Main Library Metso, will delve into the current state of jazz and especially its future. This year, the discussions will emphasize the future of jazz in relation to environmental issues, responsibility, and accessibility. The detailed contents of the conference will be updated later.
Originating from Dublin, 12 Points is held alternately in Ireland and various European cities. Previous host cities of the festival include Stavanger, Porto, Amsterdam, and Umeå.
“We are proud of this collaboration with 12 Points. During its existence, the festival has served as an important springboard to an international career for numerous young jazz stars. It is great to welcome European partners and jazz audiences to Tampere for both 12 Points and the Jazz Futures conference,” says G Livelab Tampere's CEO Annamaija Saarela.
Among the artists performing at the 12 Points Festival, the recipient of the prestigious Europe Jazz Network Zenith Award will be chosen. The winner of the Zenith Award will be selected by a professional jury composed of members of the Europe Jazz Network.
Finnish jazz bands that have previously performed at the 12 Points Festival include Virta, HERD, Mopo, Ilmiliekki Quartet, and Elifantree.
The Tampere 12 Points Festival is supported by the City of Tampere, the Arts Promotion Centre Finland, and the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation. The event is also in collaboration with Operaatio Pirkanmaa.
12 Points 2024 festival website:
www.glivelab.fi/12-points
More information about G Livelab Tampere:
www.glivelab.fi/tampere
Selma Savolainen Horror Vacui © Severi Uusitalo