Music is a unique universal language. Every musical piece always tells a story. And each time that story is retold, it changes, the music changes. The change may be simply in the artistic voice or the sound of the musicians, but it also may be a more complex consequence of the particular sensitivity of the artist.
European sensitivity is defined, like any other, by space, time and experience. EUropean Jazz @ UCLA is an attempt to illustrate the European language of jazz, in dialogue with the freedom of expression of this indigenous American art form that has travelled and expanded throughout the world. The story is told in a European voice to the sounds of local European musical experience, reinventing and paying respect to its originators.
In addition to a four-day concert series, the multidimensional festival will feature an exhibition by Croatian artist Roko Ivanda, who visualizes jazz in his work, and master classes by European musicians at UCLA.
Initiated by Croatia and supported by the EU in partnership with UCLA to advance cultural cooperation, EUropean Jazz @ UCLA is a collaboration between nine European consulates located in Los Angeles and San Francisco and UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music, Center for European and Eurasian Studies, and Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance.
www.music.ucla.edu
