A total of nine concerts were organised at four different locations. On Friday and Saturday, five concerts took place at the Kunsthaus Nexus Saalfelden, one at the Stöcklalm in Leogang (free of charge) and two more on Sunday at the Mining and Gothic Museum, also in Leogang. The opening concert in the Saalfelden parish church, which was played for the first time as part of the winter festival, guaranteed goosebumps.
On Thursday, the documentary in german language „Jazz Saalfelden 2023 – Vor und hinter den Bühnen“ (Jazz Saalfelden 2023 - in front of and behind the stages) was shown free of charge at Kunsthaus Nexus Saalfelden. Saalfelden resident Hans Fuchs produced the film in cooperation with Kristina Drexel and Robert Lorenz from HIRE-PARC Ateliers for the online format "SO!MAGAZIN". The one-hour film about the Jazzfestival Saalfelden, which takes place annually in August, not only illustrates the variety of concerts and the special venues on the mountain and in the valley, it also looks over the shoulders of the staff at work and interviews people who have been attending and accompanying the festival for many decades.
Maria Faust, a saxophonist and composer from Estonia, opened the festival with a solo concert entitled "MOnuMENT" in the Saalfelden parish church. The expressive, melancholic and at the same time modern music in the special atmosphere of the parish church ensured a successful start to the festival weekend. This year's "3 Days of Jazz" once again featured many international musicians from countries such as France, the USA, Germany, Estonia, Italy and Israel. These included the Janick Martin Trio from France and the 18-member prog big band from Germany led by musician Monika Roscher, who performed a wild reinterpretation of the classical large line-up in the musical border areas at Kunsthaus Nexus. Roscher not only impressed musically, her unusual costume emphasised the powerful performance.
The second day of the festival was opened by Austrian pianist Simon Raab with his first solo project called "those things falling". Another highlight was the concert by the American formation "Mary Halvorson Amaryllis Sextet", which is known for its numerous best lists, among other things. The trio of Vincent Peirani from France, Federico Casagrande from Italy and Ziv Ravitz from Israel concluded the programme on Saturday. With their "Jokers" project, the musicians provided a special stage experience: whether as soloists, rhythmists or accentuators, the idea behind this line-up was the spontaneous interplay of musical roles.
The "3 Days of Jazz" festival came to its traditional conclusion on Sunday in the historic Leogang Mining and Gothic Museum. The two concerts had already been sold out for several weeks. In the morning, the Austrian duo formed by Flora Geißelbrecht and Paul Schuberth entered into a liaison with new music, improvisation, political song and double conférence, followed by the compact chamber music sounds of the Austrian-Czech trio Vedovelli/Flagar/Eberle, which ensured a successful conclusion to the 7th "3 Tage Jazz" edition.
In the middle of the Skicircus Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn ski area, a free concert was organised in front of a magnificent backdrop on Saturday. The local four-piece acoustic rock cover band ACÖUSTIC FRÖNT thrilled the audience at the Stöcklalm with well-known rock hits by AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Jimi Hendrix and many more.
Concerts that not only delight the ears but also touch the soul, a wintry scenery in the middle of the mountains and a happy audience - these are the basic ingredients for a successful festival weekend and so the 7th edition of "3 Tage Jazz" came to an end with much happiness.
The results were also pleasing: around 2,000 visitors were recorded over the 3 days.
SAVE THE DATE: the 44th edition of the Jazzfestival Saalfelden will take place from 22 - 25 August 2024, tickets are expected to go on sale on 7 February. Information will be available shortly.
