The first edition of the North Sea Jazz Festival took place in 1976 in the Dutch Congress Centre of The Hague. At that time the festival had six stages, three hundred artists and about nine thousand visitors. In the first year of the festival there were performances of jazz legends like Sarah Vaughan, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz . Over the years North Sea Jazz Festival has developed into a renowned international event. Nowadays approximately seventy thousand visitors come to the festival every year.
North Sea Jazz is known all over the world because of the many musical genres it has to offer, ranging from traditional New Orleans jazz, swing, bop, free jazz, fusion, electronic jazz and avant-garde jazz; to blues, gospel, funk, soul, hip hop, R&B and Latin.
Besides famous names like Erykah Badu, Candy Dulfer, Steve Coleman, Miles Davis, B.B. King, Alicia Keys, Ibrahim Ferrer, Ella Fitzgerald, Lionel Hampton, Jamiroquai and many more, the North Sea Jazz Festival also gives young talent a chance to perform on a major stage. The North Sea Jazz Festival is a truly unique event where the past, the present and the future of jazz music are all presented under one roof.
Since 2006 North Sea Jazz Festival has found a new and more spacious location: Ahoy Rotterdam. The North Sea Jazz Festival Rotterdam 2011 will be held on July 8th, 9th and 10th. Check out our beautiful apartments Rotterdam and listen a weekend long to the best jazz music!
Line up North Sea Jazz Festival Rotterdam 2011 so far:
Friday July 8th 2011: performances of Ahmad Jamal, Rumer, Paul Simon, Esperanza Spalding Chamber Music Society, Return to Forever IV, Janelle Monáe, Rubén Blades.
Saturday July 9th 2011: performances of Selah Sue, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Ben L’Oncle Soul.
Sunday July 10th 2011: performances of Raphael Saadiq, Branford Marsalis Quartet, Richard Bona and Raul Midón, Mavis Staples, Bootsy Collins.
The complete line up for the North Sea Jazz Festival Rotterdam 2011 will be announced at the end of April.
In 2010 the organizers of North Sea Jazz also started with the festival on Curacao, the Curacao North Sea Jazz Festival. Because of the big success of the first edition the decision to continue on Curacao was soon made.
The second edition of Curacao North Sea Jazz Festival will be held on Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd of September 2011 at the World Trade Center (WTC) in Piscadera Bay on Curacao. During the Curacao North Sea Jazz Festival 2011 various international artists with the biggest names in the jazz, soul, funk, Latin, and R&B worlds, will perform in and around the WTC. Get your tickets now and make sure you book our fully equipped vacation rentals Curacao on time to experience this spectacular Curacao event!
On Friday, September 2nd nobody less than Sting will make his appearance at Curacao North Sea Jazz Festival 2011. The British singer Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, better known as Sting, reached his full potential as a member of The Police, the band he founded in 1977 with Stewart Copeland and Henry Padovani. With big hits like “Message in a Bottle” and “Roxanne” they earned world fame together. Sting also made a long list of solo albums with edgy pop music, with influences of jazz and classical music, after 1985. During his singing career Sting earned 36 awards and 76 nominations, that proves he is an extraordinary artist.
Recently, at a press conference in Willemstad Curacao, organizers of the North Sea Jazz Festival announced that none other than Stevie Wonder comes to Curacao to be the closing act of the Curacao North Sea Jazz Festival 2011.
The now 60-year old singer Stevie Wonder is still very successful and with his nearly 50-year music career he is an icon and inspiration for many artists. Stevie Wonder achieved nothing less than 49 Top 40 singles, 32 number one hits, an Academy Award for the song “I Just Called to Say I Love You”, 25 Grammy Awards and a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. Stevie Wonder is not only known for his music but also participated in the massive campaign against famine “We Are the World” in Africa in 1985. Furthermore, Stevie Wonder has also been involved in fighting apartheid in South Africa, for which he is much praised.
Line up Curacao North Sea Jazz Festival 2011:
Friday, September 2nd 2011: performances of Sting, Chic featuring Nile Rodgers, Earth Wind & Fire, Terence Blanchard and Poncho Sanchez, Danilo Perez Trio, Levi Silvanie, Kassav and Branford Marsalis Quartet.
Saturday, September 3rd 2011: performances of Stevie Wonder, legend Dionne Warwick, salsa superstar Ruben Blades, Juan Luis Guerra, Chucho Valdes Afro Cuban & Messengers, Roberto Fonseca and Ronchi Matthew.
If you are not able to visit both festivals, Curacao North Sea Jazz Festival 2011 and North Sea Festival Rotterdam 2011, and you have trouble to decide which location to visit, we are glad to help you because the North Sea Jazz Festival is definitely a must to experience for young and old.
Enjoy Apartments offers a wide range of vacation rentals Curacao and apartments Rotterdam near the festivals. That way you can be sure to enjoy comfort and peace when you return to your holiday rental to let all the great experiences sink in.