If you haven’t heard yet, the 5th Annual Shanghai Jazz Festival is happening at Jing’an park this year from September 19-21.  This is the one JZ club puts on annually in the fall, known in previous years as “JZ Festival” or “JZ Fuxing International Jazz Festival”, as opposed to others like “Jazzy Shanghai” usually held in the spring, or the Toshiba Jazz Festival that never made it past the “first annual” in 2004, as great as it was.

This festival has always been interesting and eclectic, bringing in Chinese pop names, well-known jazz greats, as well as other groups from completely different genres.  This year the headliners include European diva Laura Fygi (backed by the JZ all-star big band!), legendary British DJ Gilles Peterson, and genre-bending UK band Incognito.  The entire foreign and local lineup, as well as all the other details can be found on the festival’s website.

My favorite year of all the festivals JZ has put on was the last one at Fuxing park in 2006.  There was a solid lineup, mostly good weather, and some great sunny afternoons on the grass enjoying the music–mostly everything a jazz festival should be.  I think they have got the right idea this year with JingAn park, as the district seems quite supportive of jazz compared to the others.  It’s also a very different sort of place, one that I would never have thought possible for a jazz fest.