Copenhagen Jazz Festival
Continuing the list of the 12 most famous festivals in Denmark, Toplist will introduce you to Copenhagen Jazz Festival. Copenhagen Jazz Festival is a jazz festival held in Copenhagen, Denmark's capital, every July. The Copenhagen Jazz Festival was founded in 1979, but Tivoli Gardens began hosting a series of concerts under the name Copenhagen Jazz Festival in 1964, featuring Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, and others. According to reports, the total attendance at the 2004 Copenhagen Jazz Festival was 240,000 people. The number of concerts increased to 850 in 2006, and today the Copenhagen Jazz Festival has over 100 venues, 1100 concerts, and approximately 260,000 visitors,, making it one of Europe's largest music events.
Sonny Rollins, Oscar Peterson, Ray Charles, Michel Petrucciani, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Keith Jarrett, Wayne Shorter, Dizzy Gillespie, John Scofield, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Michel Camilo, Ornette Coleman, Annette Peacock, Svend Asmussen Quartet, Richard Bona, Tony Allen, Chick Corea, and Daniel Puente Encina have all performed at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival.
The 1979 establishment of the Copenhagen Jazz Festival is inextricably linked to the jazz scene that developed in Copenhagen in the 1960s, when the city served as a European home for American jazz musicians such as Dexter Gordon, Ben Webster, and Kenny Drew. An inspired music scene attracted even more American musicians while also educating and inspiring the entire Danish scene.
Throughout the 1970s, jazz music expanded in terms of genres and audiences, and by 1978, lawyer and project manager Poul Bjørnholt (from Copenhagen City Center) had taken the initiative to create the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, realizing how local jazz clubs, public spaces, theaters, and large venues could all contribute to this collaborative event.
From 1979 to the 1990s, the festival grew steadily, making room for both international artists and local bands, and today the Copenhagen Jazz Festival is the largest it has ever been, with over 100 venues in Copenhagen and over 1000 concerts. As a result, the Copenhagen Jazz Festival is one of the city's most important public festivals, attracting a diverse international audience.
Where: Copenhagen, Denmark
When: First Friday of July
