Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival is back for 2022, ready to present a fully live festival setting the dial to 10 with over 130 concerts, curated programmes, free events and a jazz school. With a diverse and innovative programme showcasing the incredible music coming out of Scotland as well as some of the best international talent, the 2022 programme will entertain, excite, and stimulate with music ranging from 1920s traditional jazz to the here and now.
No other festival covers jazz and blues, across all the styles, with such depth and quality, and so many unique events. John Scofield, Ambrose Akinmusire, Mud Morganfield and cover artist Nubya Garcia – just a few of the names within this year’s programme who are set to bring their unparalleled artistry to stages across the city.
Some sorely-missed festival friends will be back on the Edinburgh stage as names like Jools Holland, Curtis Stigers, Blind Boy Paxton and festival favourite Davina and the Vagabonds make a welcome return to the city.
This year’s international programme aims to open ears to the wider world of talent. At the heart of the programme is SPARK, a celebration of Italian jazz delivered in partnership with I-jazz and the Italian Institute. It features the artistry of Sade Mangiaracina, Francesco Zampini, international artist in residence Daniele Raimondi and many more. EJBF will also welcome artists from Belgium, including De Beren Gieren, and David Blenkhorn from Australia, amongst others.
Festival regular Soweto Kinch brings a new programming voice to this year’s festival with BLAZE, a strand showcasing up-and-coming talent from the wider UK including Xhosa Cole, Blue Lab Beats, Rosie Frater Taylor and Scotland’s own Anoushka Nanguy.
Our Scottish Jazz EXPO artists are the beating heart of our programme, and feature an array of new and exciting bands, projects and commissions including Fergus McCreadie, Ali Affleck, Colin Steele and Martin Kershaw. The EXPO series also gives voice to the new wave of Scottish jazz including Richard Glassby, kitti, Conor Smith and Matthew Kilner.
A new edition to this year’s festival is our EJBF22 ONLINE programme, hosted in the brand-new EJBF Digital Hub. Across the 10 days, online audiences can enjoy some of the UK’s finest jazz and blues artists from the comfort of home. The digital programme also features some exciting exclusives including a concert from the all-star SFJazz Collective.
On top of the programme of concerts is the welcome return of the much-loved Mardi Gras. This free event brings non-stop entertainment and a party atmosphere to Edinburgh’s Grassmarket as a host of bands perform on multiple stages. The full line-up will be announced at the beginning of July.
The Edinburgh Festival Carnival, Scotland’s largest and most flamboyant multicultural event, returns to the city centre streets with over 1000 participants from across the globe and from the heart of Edinburgh. The Carnival programme will be released on Tuesday 21 June.
The festival presents Jazz for Kids, courtesy of Sue McKenzie as part of a programme of events covering every ward in the city, which sees American blues artists Lisa Mills and Blind Boy Paxton in Oxgangs and Granton and Italian brass band Bandakadabra in Bellfield and Willowbrae Church.
Chair of Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival, Councillor Jason Rust says:
I am delighted that the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival is back with a programme that offers something for everyone at iconic venues across the city. I hope you will enjoy some new faces to the festival as well as welcoming back some old friends.
I am proud to see us celebrating the history of the artform in Edinburgh while supporting the brightest and best young talent in Scotland. I am also thrilled that we will continue to build on the hard work of the past two years by presenting a new digital hub which will stream concerts online for those who cannot attend in person.
Culture Minister Neil Gray said:
The Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival’s safe return to a packed ten-day festival of music at venues across Edinburgh is an exciting moment for the sector and for audiences.
I am proud that £120,000 of support from the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund will allow the festival to stage world premieres and new collaborations, and support young musicians as they take their first steps onto the international stage.