Dance to the rhythm of the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam

The Netherlands’s biggest jazz festival, three days of singular performances

The North Sea Jazz Festival began in 1976 and is known around the world as an event where the past, present and future of jazz come to mingle. The festival is a crossroads of many musical trends and combinations thereof; not only is there New Orleans jazz, swing, bop, free jazz, fusion, avant-garde and electro, but also blues, soul, funk, hip-hop, world, pop and more!

For the festival’s 42nd edition, a focus has been placed on the Chicago music scene and its blues, jazz and soul influences from 1917, a crucial year for jazz. On this occasion, the festival will play host to singular concerts, commemorating the 100th anniversary of such jazz legends as Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Mongo Santamaria and Buddy Rich.

Also taking the stage are the incredible talents of Grace Jones, Gladys Knight, Usher & the Roots, De La Soul, Solange, Norah Jones, George Benson, Herbie Hancock, Mary J Blige, The New Power Generation ‘Celebrating Prince’, Erykah Badu and Van Morisson, as well as successors to the traditional jazz scene.

It’s an event that simply can’t be missed by jazz aficionados!

North Sea Jazz Kids and the Paul Acket Award

In addition to lending support for the event, BNP Paribas and its Foundation are committed to supporting North Sea Jazz Kids and the Paul Acket Award, initiatives which aim to offer youth access to music and encourage developing artists.

North Sea Jazz Kids lets young people discover jazz in an interactive way through several initiatives, including musical, dance, and instrument crafting workshops. 

This year in partnership with the BNP Paribas Foundation, the North Sea Jazz Festival Paul Acket Award will be given to the saxophonist Donny McCaslin, who will be present with his orchestra on Friday 9 July. Awarded each year to a talented musician, this prize aims to promote artists who are already known in the jazz scene, in order to broaden their audience.