Germany, Spain, Australia and New Zealand

Currently taking place is the Frankfurt Jazz Festival – this is a city that prides itself in being the German Jazz Capital with a history that dates back to the 1920’s; swing music survived the war years, and flourished with the arrival of US forces when German musicians were able to play the their American counterparts.

This year the Frankfurt Music Festival is titled ‘What You See is What you Get’ and the program includes Saxophonist Ted Nash’s ‘Portrait in Seven Shades’; it is inspired by the work of seven artists including Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse and Salvador Dali – their masterpieces are projected behind the musicians while the work is performed. Trumpeter Dave Douglas and his Keystone sextet will perform music as an hommage to Rosco ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle and Jon Hassell will perform music inspired by the work of video artist Kurt D’Haeseleer.

Barcelona International Jazz Festival featuring the work of Concha Buika , Ornette Colman, Paolo Conte and a Jaco Pastorius tribute by Richard Bona and Marcus Miller. Singer Robin McKelle will perform at The Palacio del Flamenco during a gala dinner prepared by the Catalan Chef Isma Prados.

In addition to the music program, Cinejazz will present a number of films such as ‘Lets Get Lost’,

‘Anita O’Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer and ‘New Orleans Music in Exile’.

Big Day Out. Although it doesn’t take place until January and February of next year, tickets are already selling out for some of the venues – Big Day Out is a touring festival that will land at the following places – Auckland, Australia’s Gold Coast, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth. This is the first time Arcade Fire have ventured to this part of the world and they are joined on the bill by LCD Soundsystem, Bjork, Paul Kelly, Battles and Rage Against the Machine amongst others. Along with the music there is art – namely The Flaming Lotus Girls, a female collective from San Francisco and regular Burning Man participants. They will bring the Hand of God to Big Day Out – a four metre copper sculpture of a woman’s hand that shoots flames out of each fingertip. There is also an installation called CeLL , an industrial strength music box housed in a shipping container, and finally Berlin’s Dead Chickens will bring their ‘Der Seelenchor’ monster to Big Day Out as a statement on sex power,manipulation, oppression,decadence and apocalypse. And you thought you were just going to a see a rock concert!

kcrw.com/globalgigguide.

Global@kcrw.com otherwise check back with us next week for more information on Global Gigging.