Following its hugely successful festival debut last year, the A-Minor Festival is back for a second edition. The “A-minor” in the name doesn’t imply a gloomy mood at all—in the Halle dialect, the phrase “Ey meine:r!” is just as much a friendly greeting.

In other words: Six days of shared jazz enjoyment and a friendly atmosphere along the Saale River. We’re especially looking forward to the Mia Dyberg Trio, the Halle Large Ensemble, and TAU, to name just a few of the acts. In addition, a diverse program of other events will be offered: a film about jazz legend Sun Ra, several workshops with the musicians, a discussion evening on classism in jazz, and another on the future of the cultural landscape in Saxony-Anhalt following the state election. 

According to the festival announcement, a defining characteristic of jazz is “openness tooutside influences, which are viewed not as a threat but as an enrichment and which help to expand musical diversity and the range of possibilities.” This is something we should especially embrace today—for example, by attending the festival.