He is at least 125 years old and yet never stands still, but moves on and on, looks at what is happening along the way, makes connections here and there, which he calls fusions, and yet remains free, mostly at least: jazz. The innovative spirit that has always characterized the musical genre contributes to the interest of new generations in this broad field, as can currently be observed in the London jazz scene.

Christian Riethmüller

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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Their protagonists, such as the now defunct band Sons of Kemet, the group Kokoroko or the Ezra Collective, are also enthusiastic about an audience that may not know anything about the tradition of jazz and its many varieties and is carried away solely by the music, which is perceived as exciting.

"Sometimes you look enviously at the London scene," says Leo Wölfel in a video call from Berlin, where there is also a lively and very colorful musical scene, which shows its progressive side, not least at the annual Jazzfest Berlin. A musician and DJ himself, Wölfel is involved in the organisation of the jazz festival, but in May he does not have his focus on his place of residence, but on his hometown: Wiesbaden.

To be expected: concerts, performances and a club night

The Hessian capital may have its jazz history, but at first glance you wouldn't want to call it a stronghold of the genre. One would rather think of nearby Mainz, whose university has its own course of study for jazz and popular music. At second glance, however, there is a lot going on in Wiesbaden that has a lot to do with the "jazz architect" Raimund Knösche, who is an architect in his day-to-day job, but also regularly organizes concerts and has already been awarded the "Applause" prize of the federal initiative Musik.

Fittingly, the jazz architect is Leo Wölfel's father, which gave the two of them the idea of organizing a festival together that is dedicated to both current jazz and innovative music in general, "free and without genre constraints," as Wölfel says. Both have already gained experience with the "Just Music" festival, which can be regarded as the forerunner of the now planned "Magnet Festival for Innovative Music". From 12 to 14 May, the Kulturpark Wiesbaden with the venues Kesselhaus des Schlachthofs, Kreativfabrik and Skatehalle will become the festival site, where concerts and performances as well as talks and a club night with DJs will be offered.

Four years of planning

Not least because of the Corona pandemic, the planning of the festival took four years, reports Wölfel, who can look forward to the support of numerous sponsors and support programs, among them as the most important supporter of the Kulturfonds Frankfurt Rhein-Main. "In terms of programming, we want to draw a line from experimental to popular and present both emerging and established artists," says Wölfel, who can announce some illustrious names.

For example, both vibraphonist Evi Filippou and pianist Elias Stemeseder were awarded the German Jazz Prize 2023 just a few days ago. Stemeseder will present himself in Wiesbaden with a solo concert, Filippou with a completely new project that underlines one of the focal points of the Magnet Festival. In so-called laboratories, the musicians can present themselves in specially assembled project formations, also to create contrasts or discover unexpected similarities.

Unusual collaborations

One musician who is always ready for unusual collaborations is the English keyboardist Dan Nicholls, to whom the Magnet Festival also dedicates a focus on its debut with the Artist Showcase. Nicholls, classically trained as a jazz pianist and influenced by indie rock and electronica, will present himself in three completely different performances.

First at a quadrophonous solo concert with a four-point speaker system and visuals, then as a band member on the synthesizer with Y-Otis, the group of the Swedish saxophonist Otis Sandsjö, and finally in the project Julian Sartorius / Dan Nicholls / Lou Zon, which he initiated, which works at the interface between electronic music, organic sound and video art and spontaneously creates the music to the images.

For Nicholls, improvisation is in the foreground, not so much the typification of music as jazz, as the festival generally gives wide space to the experiment that artists as diverse as the Americans Peter Evans (trumpet) and Luke Stewart (double bass), the Danish saxophonist Mette Rasmussen, the British-Italian Ruth Goller with her avant-garde post-punk project Skylla or the Austrian Dorian Concept with almost poppy synthesizer sounds each will use their own way.

The Magnet Festival will take place from 12 to 14 May in the Kulturpark Wiesbaden. More information and tickets can be found on the Magnet Festival website.