ROYAL ARTS VISIONS; Marseille Jazz of the Five Continents

Marseille Jazz of the Five Continents

Vieille Charité@Clara Lafuente

July 1-13, 2025

Special 25th Anniversary Edition

All the diversity of international jazz

in Marseille's heritage sites

Citadelle de Marseille @Jean-Charles Verchère

Vieille Charité@Clara Lafuente

Théâtre silvain@Clara Lafuente

The 25th edition of Marseille Jazz of the Five Continents has arrived!

An important year for the festival, which is donning its most beautiful colors, as reflected in its poster created by the renowned illustrator and director Javier Mariscal, who honors us by supporting the festival through his art.

Théâtre silvain@Clara Lafuente

To take us around the world, the festival, always deeply rooted in its time and its territory, remains faithful to its itinerant character within the city and unfolds in iconic and heritage sites of Marseille: the Théâtre de la Sucrière, the rooftop terrace of the Friche la Belle de Mai, the Centre de la Vieille Charité, the Citadelle of Marseille, the festival's new venue, the Pierre Barbizet Conservatory, and the Théâtre Silvain, which will host five unique evenings.

Nearly 25,000 festival-goers attended the 24th edition's concerts, reflecting the richness of generations, origins, and tastes. These are memorable moments where audiences and artists blend in vibrant harmony, creating the festival's magic.

Théâtre silvain@Clara Lafuente

2025, an anniversary year with major events:

To kick off the festivities, a concert event is scheduled for April 23rd as part of the 100th anniversary of the Marseille Opera, featuring the Kyle Eastwood Symphonic, conducted by composer and trumpeter Gast Waltzin. This project is a son's tribute to his father, a legendary actor, director, and musician.

Théâtre silvain@Clara Lafuente

Marseille Jazz is also offering a bold new format: "Ici Jazz Fest!" This capsule festival, featuring 25 concerts in 25 venues over four days from May 22nd to 25th, aims to showcase Marseille's jazz scene in all its diversity and offer a unique and free format open to all in venues as varied as bars, community gardens, hospitals, and even convents. A capsule festival to tide us over until summer.

The Metropolitan Tour, with 21 concerts this year in more than 20 municipalities across the Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolitan area, from April 12 to November 29. The public will be able to attend tribute evenings to Duke Ellington and Quincy Jones, among others, discover the recording artist and author Tania de Montaigne and flautist Jocelyn Mienniel, and not forget the immersive evening "REVIVAL KÖLN KONZERT 75," for Keith Jarrett fans.
The Marseille Jazz des Cinq Continents Festival, from July 1 to 13, has become one of Marseille's major summer events, and will be dedicated to encounters with artistic creations specially designed for this edition.

A summit meeting at the Vieille Charité center (July 1st) with the Poetic Ways project association, led by saxophonist Raphaël Imbert and accompanied by the Divertimento Orchestra conducted by Zahia Ziouani, will transform the Vieille Charité into an Opera Jazz Club for one evening.

Orchestre Divertimento@Eric Hong

This same venue will host two other major projects (July 2nd): one by one of the greatest contemporary jazz singers, Youn Sun Nah, accompanied by two renowned pianists, Eric Legnini and Tony Paeleman, for an evening alternating original compositions and covers of great standards. And finally (July 3rd), saxophonist Nubya Garcia will present her new project, Odyssey; an electrifying journey blending jazz, funk, electro, and soul.

Youn Sun Nah@Seung Yull Nah

Eric Legnini@Marc OBIN

Tony Paeleman@Stanislas Augris

Nubya Garcia@Danika Lawrence
The audience will be welcomed by Marie Carnage, an ensemble returning to the roots of New Orleans jazz, performing the great jazz and ragtime classics of the 1920s and 1930s (also on July 4th at the Citadelle).
Pianist Tigran Hamasyan and his trio will perform at the Citadelle in Marseille (on July 4th) with a modern opera inspired by an Armenian mythological initiation tale: "The Bird of a Thousand Voices."
The journey continues with a stopover on July 5th at the Théâtre de la Sucrière for an enchanting moment in the presence of flautist and composer Ludivine Issambourg, who will sweep us away into her modern jazz funk universe with her whirlwind of electro and funk.
The second concert will be an opportunity to immerse ourselves in the world of one of the key figures of the new generation of flamenco jazz, Antonio Lizana.

Antonio Lizana@Ana Solinis
A staple of the festival and of Marseille life, the Toit-Terrasse de la Friche Belle de Mai will be, on July 8th, a place of possibility with the arrival of two ambassadors: one of jazz, the other of techno.
Emile Parisien 4tet and Jeff Mills, a living legend of Detroit electronic music, will offer us an unforgettable concert defying all aesthetics.

Emile-Parisien@Samuel-Kirszenbaum

JeffMills@JacobKhrist3
Finally, the Théâtre Silvain will open its doors with five captivating evenings featuring well-defined artistic universes.
The first evening (July 9) will kick off with a new creation by multi-instrumentalist Mino Cinelu, alongside pianist Bojan Z and guitarist Juan Carmona. It will be followed by a concert by the kings and queens of electrojazz from around the world: Caravan Palace, who will present their latest album, Gangbusters Melody Club.
The second evening (July 10) will be a gentle affair, with the delicate harp sound of Sophye Soliveau, followed by the powerful soul of Thee Sacred Souls, straight from San Diego, California.

Caravan Palace@FlorentDrillon

Juan Carmona@DR

Mino Cinelu@DR

SophyeSoliveau@Élodie Martial-LaDynamo

Thee Sacred Souls@Mt.Rub
A festival regular, Anne Paceo, will join the festivities (July 11) to present her new project, Atlantis, inspired by the sea. She will be replaced by the group KOKOROKO, a worthy representative of the London jazz fusion and Afrobeat scene, one to watch very closely, according to The Guardian magazine.
The journey continues on July 12 with a major figure in modern jazz; Erik Truffaz for a jazz journey exploring the greatest themes in cinema before welcoming a great jazz voice: Dee Dee Bridgewater with her supercharged female quartet, each with incredible groove and virtuosity. Dee Dee's undeniable stage presence and unprecedented expressiveness will once again set the stage ablaze with a high-energy show: "We Exist."

KOKOROKO@DR

Anne Paceo@SylvainGripoix

Dee Dee Bridgewater@DR
To end on a high note and in a joyful way, the Théâtre Silvain will be illuminated (on July 13) by the presence of two artists wishing to share their musical roots with us.
Alune Wade, a Senegalese artist considered one of the major figures of contemporary Afro-jazz, with his eclectic compositions that transport us through its history. On these mixed notes, the final concert will take us straight to the Antilles with a creation specially created for the festival; the alliance of the iconic Kassav' singer, Jocelyne Béroard, and Martinican singer Tony Chasseur, a closing evening to warm the hearts.

Alune Wade@ Wlad Simitch

Jocelyne Béroard & Tony Chasseur@ Atrium
In the courtyard of the Pierre Barbizet Conservatory, Jazz Club 222, open for three years, will extend the evenings of the final weekend. This year will once again see the exceptional encounter between musicians from Marseille and those of the Reverence collective from Atlanta, led by saxophonist Kebbi Williams. Alongside him, Raphaël Imbert will oversee the artistic direction of this project. The club is also preparing to welcome two groups from the emerging scene: [Na], winner of the Jazz Migration springboard, and Ninanda, winner of the REZZO springboard at Jazz à Vienne, as well as pianist Wajdi Riahi and his Trio, where each piece performed is a unique ecosystem in which the trio touches the earth and the heavens with a single impulse. Ideal evening endings to soak up the new waves of jazz...

[Na]@vincent_arbelet

Ninanda - DR

MarseilleJazzCollective@DR
The Marseille Jazz des Cinq Continents offers a panoramic view of current jazz trends and its diverse international influences, exploring sounds from Armenia, Senegal, the West Indies, the United States, Korea, the United Kingdom, and many more.