RARE BIRDS 2025 – Internationales Musikfestival Potsdam: Nik Bärtsch's RONIN / Els Vandeweyer & DJ Illvibe / Aly Keïta & Maria Portugal / Das Kondensat feat. Liz Kosack / Jugend jazzt

In the organizer's words:

Since 2015, the Potsdam Jazz Festival has hosted top international and regional musicians on stage at the fabrik. With the 11th edition, the festival is changing its name to RARE BIRDS!

RARE BIRDS - International Music Festival Potsdam appeals to a curious audience to discover rare musical gems and treasures. This year's focus is on rhythm, grooves and percussion and brings together artists from Switzerland, Ivory Coast, Brazil, Belgium, Germany and the USA.

Nik Bärtsch's RONIN (Switzerland) have been touring worldwide since 2001 and call their music Zen Funk or Ritual Groove Music. RONIN follows a crystal-clear aesthetic vision: to achieve maximum effect with minimal means, creating trance-like states in the audience. Balafon player Aly Keїta (Ivory Coast), winner of the German Jazz Award 2022 and freshly returned from the Martha Argerich Festival, meets drummer and percussionist Mariá Portugal (Brazil) in a blind date concert. A spontaneous encounter between two musical cultures in which rhythm is the defining force. The Kondensat from Berlin plays a wild mixture of grooving dub soundscapes and has expanded into a quartet with the American keyboardist, graphic artist and make-up artist Liz Kosack. DJ Illvibe (aka Vincent von Schlippenbach) from Berlin will conjure up a grooving tête-à-tête on his turntables with Belgian vibraphonist Els Vandeweyer . Record and vibraphone, a very special combination that goes beyond the expected! RARE BIRDS also offers a stage for the younger generation: with the Jugend jazzt competition, the festival is cooperating with the Brandenburg State Music Council for the second time. Jugend jazzt will be held as part of the festival, and the winners will open the evening on Saturday.

The name RARE BIRDS is also a tribute to the legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker. His playing is reminiscent of the free and rapid flight of a bird. Like a rare bird with its wonderful song, jazz occupies a special role: little heard and absolutely worth protecting. The program of RARE BIRDS 2025 promises a cosmos full of colourful and very different languages and styles, diverse and exciting!