The 2024 Taihu Jazz Festival will be held at the NCPA Taihu Stage Art Centre from May 22^nd to 26^th. This year’s Festival is hosted by the NCPA and organised by the NCPA Taihu Stage Art Centre, the Taihu Town People’s Government of Tongzhou District, Beijing, and the Beijing Contemporary Music Academy. Over 50 jazz performances will be presented by more than 200 jazz musicians from at home and abroad, to build an artistic highland of "Jazz China" and an international jazz exchange platform. Additionally, a colourful cultural and creative bazaar, interactive activities and music will be presented to enable the entire audience to enjoy this grand jazz party.

At the press conference held on April 18th for the Taihu Jazz Festival 2024, GUAN Jianbo, Vice President and a member of the CPC Leading Group of the NCPA, LIU Wei, Deputy Head of the Publicity Department of the Tongzhou District Committee, HAN Zhijie, Deputy Mayor of Taihu Town, Tongzhou District, SONG Zizhen, Director of the Beijing Music Radio, HUANG Yong, Music Director of the Taihu Jazz Festival, and LI Xiaochuan, a representative of the musicians, as well as the person in charge of the China Youth Daily, gave a detailed presentation and interpretation.

The NCPA Taihu Jazz Festival, established in 2021, has been held for three consecutive years, becoming one of the best and largest jazz festivals in China. It’s gradually becoming a world-class festival. A high number of Chinese jazz compositions with Chinese characteristics and rich in traditional Chinese cultural heritage have been created and presented from here, making the NCPA Taihu Stage Art Centre the most influential platform for the launch of Chinese jazz compositions.

The NCPA Taihu Jazz Festival, scheduled for 2024, is poised to kick off soon. With a highly designed performance schedule, this event surpasses all previous ones in terms of scale and quantity. This year’s festival, which integrates culture and tourism, boasts a variety of jazz music, which satisfies the audience's cultural needs.

In terms of scale, the Taihu Open-Air Theatre will not just be the only venue for performances, whereas the Taihu Theatre, Snowflake Stage, Scenery Workshop, and Instrumental Interaction Stage will be, for the first time, placed into use during the Festival. The venues will be open every public afternoon with a number of jazz concerts to be held on different stages to provide a multi-dimensional jazz experience for the audience. It’s worth noting that the audience will only be required to purchase tickets for performances at the Taihu Open-Air Theatre and Taihu Theatre, while it’s merely necessary to make an appointment for those held in the afternoons and evenings at the Snowflake Stage, Scenery Workshop and Instrumental Interaction Stage.

In addition to the larger scale of performance, this year's Festival also features outreach performances. The jazz musicians will travel to colleges and universities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region to share high-quality artistic resources with a wider audience and young students. Additionally, performances of the Festival will also be streamed online to provide netizens with an audiovisual feast of jazz.

The Chinese top musicians and jazz bands, such as LI Xiaochuan Jazz Band, FENG Mantian, JIA Yinan, LUO Ning, Aaron Parks, the XIAO Jun Jazz Band, the CHENG Fangyuan Jazz Band, the CMA All-Star Big Jazz Band and the RONG Chenchu Quintet, will perform one after another at the Taihu Open-Air Theatre and Taihu Theatre. This time, they will premiere their new jazz works to refresh the audience. Additionally, about 30 youth jazz bands will also perform at the Taihu Theatre, Snowflake Stage, Scenery Workshop and Instrumental Interaction Stage in the afternoons and evenings to showcase the charm of live jazz.

Since its inception, the NCPA Taihu Jazz Festival has prioritized blending traditional Chinese culture and Chinese traditional music into jazz. Every year, there are numerous Chinese jazz works that leave a deep impression on the audience. This year's Festival will, as before, draw inspiration from traditional Chinese culture with the participation of FENG Mantian, LI Xiaochuan, and the CMA All-Star Big Jazz Band. The musicians will present new jazz adaptations of classic Chinese folk songs, folk music, and operatic music, offering the audience a new sensory experience.

Furthermore, all other Chinese jazz musicians participating in this year's NCPA Taihu Jazz Festival will premiere their new jazz compositions. Their interpretation of their own original compositions will set a new trend for a greater appreciation of jazz in China.

This year's NCPA Taihu Jazz Festival will also feature a larger number of renowned foreign jazz musicians. One of the most notable is that these foreign jazz musicians have a strong connection to China. French musician Laurent Maur is one of the world's top harmonica artists. He has traveled to China twice and has remained captivated by Chinese culture. He has composed a number of musical works that reflect on the Sino-French friendship. Cuban quena artist Rodrigo Sosa is recognized as "Quena Virtuoso" and has received praised for his "novel interpretation" of Latin American folk music. This year's NCPA Taihu Jazz Festival will feature a special piece composed by Hungarian musician Barash Baghi, a respected composer and jazz drummer in the Hungarian jazz scene today. His quartet, Jazz Suite: China, will be presented to express his affection for China.

At the festival, there will be more than beautiful music to enjoy. Nonetheless, it’s also a time to enjoy food, watch cultural and creative products, and do some shopping in the bazaar. This year, there will be more and larger sellers, including many brand agencies. For anyone who comes to enjoy jazz music, food, or life, they will feel pleased by the musical and cultural life at the NCPA Taihu Stage Art Centre, which is a place filled with amazing surprises.