Since 2002, our festival has been the place where young adventurers, hipsters and music lovers come to experience concerts shoulder to shoulder. As stubborn as the people of Ghent themselves, this festival offers jazz and more, much more… We opt for music that really blossoms live, performed by strong artists who don’t think in boxes but who have the nerve and the desire to perform. We offer world stars, unknown pearls and young talents a dreamed stage for a critical but warm audience.

Exclusive concerts in well thought-out day programs that appeal to a broad audience. Jazz is our common thread, the touchstone in the program. Often jazz – as a broad musical genre – is literally the theme of a day. Sometimes, artists relate more to the social engagement that was so important in the history of jazz. In other musicians we recognize the search for musical cross-pollination, room for improvisation or openness in the music that jazz also offers. And sometimes, sometimes we just find an artist so improbably good that we make room for it, without explanation, without thinking of genres or pigeonholes.

Creativity, discovery and young talent are at the forefront in a fascinating field of tension between tradition and innovation. Gent Jazz explicitly makes room for young musicians, new movements and even other art forms that inspire.

Bringing music to our city to bring people together and as a unifying force for social cohesion. Jazz and Music, the organization behind Gent Jazz, has a strong social commitment. The principles of diversity, solidarity, ecological awareness and sustainability are embedded in the policy, both internally and at the festivals and concerts.