This year the 34th edition of Jazz em Agosto begins in July, on 28, and closes on 6 August with a set of proposals of particular relevance to contemporary international jazz with performers arriving from both sides of the Atlantic.

The saxophonist Steve Lehman opens the festival on 28 July, with Sélébéyone, a work that blends the languages of jazz and hip-hop and that counts on the participation of the rappers HPrizm (Antipop Consortium) and Gaston Bandimic (from Senegal), and from the outset conveying the facet of musical contamination characterising the festival. With priority attributed towards reflecting the changes in the languages of current jazz and its multi-directional component, this edition of Jazz em Agosto roams a vast field of contagion and not only of genres and the languages undergoing transformation, with rap, hip-hop, electronic music, rock or folk and merging with classical jazz but also in the plurality of the musicians that reach beyond geographic barriers and work together with different influences and directions to forge new associations and new ways of thinking jazz.

Within this alignment there follows two innovative guitarists that have become unmistakeable references: the North American David Torn in the project Sun of Goldfinger, seconded by Tim Berne and Chess Smith (29 July); and the French musician Julien Desprez, as a member of Coax Orchestra (30 July).

Of the concerts taking place in the open air Amphitheatre, always beginning at 9.30pm, we may also highlight the duo Peter Brötzmann & Heather Leigh (31 July) and the Portuguese trumpeter Susana Santos Silva with her “Scandinavian quintet” (also featuring Lotte Anker, Sten Sandell, Torbjörn Zetterberg and Jon Fält) (1 August). 2 and 3 August stand out for the performances of two quartets, masters of free improvisation: the Sudo Quartet (Carlos Zíngaro, Joëlle Léandre, Sebi Tramontana and Paul Lovens) and Starlite Motel (Kristoffer Berre Alberts, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Gard Nilssen and Jamie Saft), respectively.

On 4 August, the Amphitheatre hosts The Fictive Five, the group led by Larry Ochs (including Ken Filiano, Nate Wooley and Harris Eisenstadt) with its music seeking inspiration from the works of William Kentridge, Wim Wenders and Kelly Reichardt. On Saturday, 5 August, there comes the Human Feel group, made up of Andrew D’Angelo, Chris Speed, Jim Black and Kurt Rosenwinkel. The closing festival concert (6 August), one of the high points on the program, is in the care of Dave Douglas with the High Risk project, accompanied by Jonathan Maron, Mark Guiliana and Shigeto, in a pioneering approach to electronic jazz.

The Museum – Modern Collection venue will also be hosting two performances, at 6.30pm, by Steve Lehman, performing solo (29 July) and the Portuguese Pedro Sousa and Pedro Lopes, with EITR (5 August). Finally, Auditorium 2 will be the stage for solo performances by Julien Desprez (30 July) and Pascal Niggenkemper (4 August).

The tickets for the festival come at a price of between €12 and €20 with an “amphitheatre pass” valid for all concerts in the open air Amphitheatre available for €100 and alongside a pass for the concerts over the first weekend (29, 30 and 31 July) or for the second (4, 5 and 6 August) at €35 apiece. The Concerts in the Museum –Modern Collection and in Auditorium 2 are free to enter.