Festival Internacional de Jazz de Granada 2015
Europe's longest-running international Jazz festival returns to the beautiful city of Granada for another amazing line-up on 1st August this year. Held since 1980, the festival will showcase some of Europe's best loved Jazz musicians. Visitors will be able to enjoy not only the concerts mentioned in the official programme, but also unofficial sessions held at a wide range of venues in Granada.
The city is a buzzing place and has a "young" feel to it thanks to a large student population. Owing to that large student contingent, cheap tapas bars can be found everywhere in Granada. Quite a few of them as well as more upmarket restaurants will put on live entertainments in the evening, including Jazz sessions performed by local musicians.
Granada province is just a hop and a skip away for Jazz lovers living in Marbella or elsewhere at the Costa del Sol. Thousands of Jazz fans descend on Granada for the occasion to hear some of the most illustrious names in Jazz play.
The festival's history includes such august names as Art Blakely, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, Oscar Peterson, Miles Davis, Charlie Haden, Tete Montoliu, Wayne Shorter and Bebo y Chucho Valdés from the world of Jazz.
Spain belongs to the European Jazz Network, which organises Jazz festivals in many different locations in Europe. Thanks to the festival local and foreign Jazz musicians exchange ideas and experiences freely and remain in contact after the festival is over. Since its inception, the summer festival has been defined by its avant-garde characteristics. Here all types of Jazz styles and sounds are accepted and celebrated.
Held mostly at the Parque El Majuelo, which is picturesquely situated near ancient Phoenician ruins and sits just below Granada's magnificent Moorish castle, the Alhambra, the event is the undisputed highlight of the Costa Tropical's cultural calendar.
For Jazz fans living in Marbella or elsewhere at the Costa del Sol it won't be much of a hardship undertaking a 1.5 hour drive to Granada, one of Spain's most visited cities. See http://www.jazzgranada.es for up-to-date information and advance tickets.