It looks like this: wandering the streets of Kreuzberg, dipping in an out of venues – into a club where playful funk music moves the crowd to dancing, then to a church, where one man’s voice moves smoothly through R&B tones, leaving watchers spellbound against the arching walls. XJazz! is something special – the festival takes place in Kreuzberg next week (08–14.05.2023) for its ninth year. The venues are within walking distance of each other, and while some shows offer single tickets, most are best enjoyed with a day or festival pass, encouraging the spirit of discovery.
The line-up includes a mix of jazz genres, such as modern jazz, blues and more, but also highlights soul, funk, broken beat, disco and more. There’s the legendary Roy Ayers, Alabaster DePlume’s mix of spiritual-jazz and poetry, south London hip-hop star Nadia Rose, and a huge line-up of Berlin’s most exciting acts such as neo-soul AKA Kelzz and Afro-Caribbean soul beats by Sera Kalo. Working together with collectives, labels and individuals to curate the program, XJazz! is elevating more than 60 acts in their week-long program. There’s the Broken Beat night curated by Moses Yoofee, the Energy Exchange Records night and the Expressions Opening Ceremony night curated by Dhanesh Jayaselan with A Song for You and the Expressions Ensemble. We also especially recommend the “Artists! In Exile” conference, which is helping displaced artists find their place professionally and emotionally in Berlin in collaboration with the Goethe Institut. The acts are chosen, now it’s up to you to curate your own festival experience…
Text: Savannah van der Niet / Photos: Mona, Lena Giovanazzi & Eike Walkenhorst
XJazz! Festival (08–14.05.2023) – tickets available online.
@xjazzberlin
