Jazz knows no borders; it is the liveliest and most advanced kind of improvised music. For 25 years, the BNP Paribas Foundation has been supporting jazz musicians, composers and performers’ careers as well as many festivals in France and abroad, alongside BNP Paribas local offices.
25 years of backing jazz
The BNP Paribas Foundation’s cultural philanthropy positions itself off the beaten tracks. For jazz, as with dance and new circus arts, the Foundation chose to embark on a bold, modern path by betting on creation. 25 years of loyalty and passion for jazz have benefitted over 30 artists and musical ensembles, as well as some 30 festivals and institutions.
Why jazz? Shared values with those of the Foundation
Jazz is a universal language with multiple identities. Through musical creation, it reflects singularity and diversity while fostering open-mindedness and mutual understanding. Jazz may have a long history, but contemporary artists are breaking free from that heritage to blaze their own trails and speak about their own time. Whatever their background, age or experience, the artists supported by the Foundation, through their creations, offer a variety of sounds that reflect our world’s diversity.
Being attentive, listening to others, opening up to other cultures, sharing common experiences and being trusting of others while asserting one’s individuality are all values that jazz and the BNP Paribas Foundation share.
Key figures
18
festivals & institutions backed every year
30
artists supported over 25 years
“ I truly appreciate this kind and intelligent ‘French’ approach, in other words personal, individualised, based on exchange and dialogue and always listening to the artist’s personal desires ”
Pianist
Tailor-made long-term patronage
Jazz brings together many different people in the audience, spectators from various generations all gather in the most diverse places every year to listen to jazz. To help artists create, the Foundation offers to its partners, depending on their inspiration, sustainable support that is tailor-made based on the uniqueness of their desires and projects.
Whether it’s recording an album, promoting an artist, helping with the distribution or the structuring of their activity, the Foundation aims, beyond funding, to create a relationship of trust with its partners. Making introductions with useful contacts, promoting projects and creating opportunities to perform in front new audiences are the hallmarks of the Foundation’s philanthropy strategy.
Creative artists questioning the world
The BNP Paribas Foundation backs jazz artists who are experimenting and exploring new territories beyond artistic borders. It supports passionate, exciting musicians who vary aesthetics, combine written and improvised music, engage in dialogue between eras, navigate between the arts and sciences and bear witness to their times. Whether through individual or collective experiences, each of the musicians supported brings a new perspective on the world, driven by a desire to question practices and offer new musical forms.
Photos © Sylvain Gripoix