XJAZZ! HISTORY

Since 2014, XJAZZ! has meant up to 80 concerts in less than a week each year in May. Thousands of visitors – almost 20.000 in 2019 – have surged into selected venues in Kreuzberg, such as SO36, Lido or Festsaal Kreuzberg. 

The shows are always closely packed – even those of established musicians who usually don’t want to be associated with popping corks, free seating, dim lighting and an audience sweaty from lots of dancing. XJAZZ! has always known how to break with clichés and apparent contradictions.

On the one hand, it’s the choice of venues where people usually go to enjoy pop and electronic music, on the other hand it’s the conscious booking of just such musicians and bands who know the history of jazz, but, at the same time, are free and brave enough to develop their own musical expressions outside of historically imprinted attributions. 

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