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‘I saw Herbie Hancock play with D’Angelo, and got my head blown off!’: the festival keeping alive jazz’s golden age

From Miles Davis to Count Basie and Etta James to Prince, Rotterdam’s North Sea jazz festival has hosted the biggest names in music. As the event turns 50, musicians and organisers share their favourite memories from past years – and tell us why jazz isn’t dead For a weekend in July each year, a vast warehouse complex in the port city of Rotterdam becomes home to the biggest names in jazz. Under the banner of the North Sea jazz festival , the labyrinthine, windowless space has played host to performances from the likes of Miles Davis, free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman, singer Etta James, saxophonist Wayne Shorter and even Prince. “We’ve had every major figure in jazz play for us over the past five decades,” senior programme manager Sander Grande says. “It’s the place where all the musicians want to hang and where audiences come to see art that is true and beautiful.” Continue readin

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From Miles Davis to Count Basie and Etta James to Prince, Rotterdam’s North Sea jazz festival has hosted the biggest names in music. As the event turns 50, musicians and organisers share their favourite memories from past years – and tell us why jazz isn’t dead For a weekend in July each year, a vast warehouse complex in the port city of Rotterdam becomes home to the biggest names in jazz. Under the banner of the North Sea jazz festival , the labyrinthine, windowless space has played host to performances from the likes of Miles Davis, free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman, singer Etta James, saxophonist Wayne Shorter and even Prince. “We’ve had every major figure in jazz play for us over the past five decades,” senior programme manager Sander Grande says. “It’s the place where all the musicians want to hang and where audiences come to see art that is true and beautiful.” Continue readin

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What happened

According to The Guardian’s linked source, ‘I saw Herbie Hancock play with D’Angelo, and got my head blown off!’: the festival keeping alive jazz’s golden age, From Miles Davis to Count Basie and Etta James to Prince, Rotterdam’s North Sea jazz festival has hosted the biggest names in music. As the event turns 50, musicians and organisers share their favourite memories from past years – and tell us why jazz isn’t dead For a weekend in July each year, a vast warehouse complex in the port city of Rotterdam becomes home to the biggest names in jazz. Under the banner of the North Sea jazz festival , the labyrinthine, windowless space has played host to performances from the likes of Miles Davis, free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman, singer Etta James, saxophonist Wayne Shorter and even Prince. “We’ve had every major figure in jazz play for us over the past five decades,” senior programme manager Sander Grande says. “It’s the place where all the musicians want to hang and where audiences come to see art that is true and beautiful.” Continue readin

Context

The development sits in VINI’s Culture coverage for readers following arts, entertainment, fashion, film, music, celebrity, and the business of culture. The original report is linked so readers can check the publisher account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The original item is dated 2026-07-03T12:00:28+00:00.

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Primary source: ‘I saw Herbie Hancock play with D’Angelo, and got my head blown off!’: the festival keeping alive jazz’s golden age via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.

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