Stavanger International Jazz Festival

MaiJazz is the Stavanger International Jazz Festival. It is Stavanger's oldest festival, and takes place every year in May. The first MaiJazz festival was in 1989, and has become one of Norway's leading festivals. It presents both international artists and the best of national and local performers

About 200 volunteers get together to arrange around 40 concerts on 20 stages. The venues usually hold from 80 to 1800 people in and around Stavanger.

The MaiJazzs' anniversary festival in 2003, the audience from the different concerts totalled 12000.

Ticket sales (about 40%), is the main source of income with sponsor income (35%) and government help (25 %). Stavanger Aftenblad, Total, MaiJazz, Radisson Hotel, Norsk Kulturråd and Stavanger Council are the two most important government supporters.

There have been some very exiting artists performing at Festival in the later years. Jan Garbarek Group, Pat Metheny Group, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock to name just a few.

The Stavanger Symphony Orchestra has since 1994, joined the festival and invited solo artists to work with them.

So if you are ever in Stavanger in May, I strongly recommend a visit here on one or two of the days.

Photo by Stulka Music by Kenny G

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