Cool Nights, Hot Jazz

50 years ago, in a physically divided country, the words of Martin Luther King Jr., a man living a "separate but equal" existence, opened what was then called the "Berliner Jazztage:"

"So much of the search for identity among American Negroes was championed by Jazz musicians. Now, Jazz is exported to the world... Everybody has the blues. Everybody longs for meaning. Everybody needs to love and be loved. Everybody needs to clap hands and be happy. In music, especially Jazz, there is a stepping stone towards all of these."

Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock were part of the 1964 line-up. That first season saw the making of a legendary recording: "Miles in Berlin" with the Miles Davis Second Great Quartet. These men were among many Americans who, in Europe, had found the freedom to perform free of segregation. At the inaugural Berliner Jazztage, later renamed Jazzfest Berlin, they entertained amidst an altogether different struggle, one manifested in a wall that divided the city.

What better medium to integrate hopes and people than jazz, a genre that is highly inclusive, ever-changing and improvisational? Jazz, in fact, became a global representation of the struggles of an era.

Golden Celebrations

In the years that followed, walls came down, literally and figuratively. With the Berlin Wall having finally been breached in 1989, the east German "Zentralquartett" gave its first appearance in the western part of the city at the Jazzfest Berlin one year later.

Through it all, the Jazzfest has included artists from around the world: Pat Metheny, Manfred Schoof, Avishai Cohen, Dizzy Gillespie and Joe Zawinul - more than 5,100 artists have appeared there altogether, representing nearly 2,100 bands.

To mark the anniversary, the Jazzfest Berlin is releasing an album appreciated by those familiar with festival history. It features the previously unpublished live recording of "Globe Unity." First performed at the 1966 festival, the unstructured and free-flowing piece, performed by an international coterie of musicians, starkly polarized the audience; many booed in response. A studio version recorded a week later has long been sold out. The freshly-released anniversary album, a limited edition press of 500 numbered copies, also includes Carla Bley’s 1979 performance of "Boo to You Too," written in response to the onetime critics of "Globe Unity."

Let the music play

On October 28, festival goers were invited to a record release party and triple film feature exploring jazz both onstage and behind the scenes.

From October 30 - November 2, fans sing, dance and scat their hearts out to musicians ranging from the Britain-based octet Brass Mask to a festival favorite making his 18th appearance, Swiss percussionist Daniel Humair. Events are scheduled throughout the city.

Making his first appearance since 2000, Nordic bassist Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, from the band The Thing, told DW: "I'm honored to be invited to play the Berlin Jazzfest. It’s one of the most important festivals in Europe and it's a privilege to be part of it."

Freedom is a central theme of the series of events, with two musicians from the onetime German Democratic Republic performing a piece written during the era of Communist dictatorship. In a reference to the premiere year, "Tribute: MLK Berlin '64" by New York avant-garde musician Elliott Sharp recalls Martin Luther King’s presence in the city. The WDR (West German Broadcasting) Big Band with US-jazz vocalist Kurt Elling has compiled a program titled "Freedom Songs" in Berlin’s Memorial Church.

While other major European festivals have expanded to explore fringes with only a tenuous connection to jazz, Berlin steers clear of dance, hip hop, funk, soul, electro dance and DJ's who entertain audiences in post-concert sessions. Here, the focus is on original jazz in its myriad forms.

Flowing Forward

Over the years, the Jazzfest Berlin has survived a multitude of social and cultural changes. The near future will be no different. Following the week's programs, the festival will say goodbye to artistic director Bert Noglik, who has been with the festival since 2011. Richard Williams, a British music and sports journalist and former head of A&R for Island Records, will take over his position. Also departing is production manager Ihno von Hasselt, who joined the fest in 1969. Nadine Deventer has been named his successor. Deventer is a long-time board member of the Europe Jazz Networks, a group that oversees 86 organizations spanning 27 countries.

Asked to retell a memorable moment from his 45-year festival history, von Hasselt replied, "One that stands out was when we tried to obtain clothing for 75 African visitors on a cold winter's night in 1978. Fela Kuti and his entourage of 75 had arrived from Nigeria, many on their first visit off the continent. Their plane landed in the middle of the night, so we chartered buses to pick them up. When they arrived at the checkpoint the buses were sent back to the airport. Customs had only granted transit visas, so they weren’t allowed to stay in the city. It took three hours to get it all sorted out, during which time we busied ourselves calling in favors to local stores so we could buy coats, scarves and mittens for the group."

When this year's festival closes, more music and stories will be shared, perhaps becoming legends that allow the world to grow smaller with each new encounter. Festival performer Jason Moran spoke to DW about a current project: "I am in the middle of scoring a biopic chronicling Martin Luther King Jr. in 1964 and ’65 as he battled for voters’ rights. This is around the same time as the wonderful piece he wrote for the Berlin festival, so I'm very touched to visit the space he 'blessed' as I compose music for this film." Concludes Moran, an American pianist living in Harlem, New York, "It’s all a circle."