Since 1992, the national festival for young jazz talents has offered a stage to young musicians whose music aspires to the future, provokes listening habits and lends weight to the hope of a jazz scene that continues to grow in vitality. Jakob Maes opens the three-day festival with his quintet, playing in an unusual line-up. The five from Leipzig and Munich daringly explore the boundaries between jazz and new music. The JMJ Trio from Dresden continues the evening with folkloristic motifs, modern beats and the joy of experimentation. Pentatrip from Mannheim conclude the evening blissfully, reminiscing about Sonny Rollins. SKlation is the order of the day on the second festival evening. The Dresdeners love it free and present a strong, innovative trio sound. Before TKTRIO from Hamburg, a dynamic piano trio, plays, the Berlin-born pianist Johanna Summer combines influences from classical and popular music to create her own improvisational sound language. SiEA is not only musically dazzling - the ten-piece avant-garde pop tentet, which could turn any village disco into a chic shed, also captivates with performative elements and extravagant uniformity. Neo Loop Jazz is what Olicía calls their music, consisting of polyrhythmic dancefloor and electronic elements, with which they set a velvety point under the festival, humming, clanking and droning. But wait! No longer a newcomer, but old's'cool - Jazzkantine go in finest joggers on a time travel to the hip hop of the 80s.

On the opening night with Jakob Maes Quintet: Hannah Weiss (voc), Jakob Maes (tp), Valentin Gerhardus (p), Robin Jermer (kb), Marius Wankel (dr) - JMJ trio: Mikolaj Suchanek (p), Jonas Mielke (b), Jannik Kerkhof (dr) - Pentatrip: Jonas Jung (tb), Carl Krämer (as, ts, fl), Simon Zauels (b), Micha Jesske (dr), Tobias Altripp (p) - (4.-6.4.)