This month Maggie McKenzie of Dana Travels was challenged to research
an unusual birthday surprise for a jazz aficionado. While Doha has a
variety of fabulous jazz venues, Maggie decided to look further afield…
Let me share a lesson in life. Whenever a dear friend calls breathless and starts a conversation by saying, “I don’t like to ask/I hate to bother you/I wouldn’t call but … I need your help … I forgot …’’, immediately pretend that you have entered a tunnel and your mobile connection has been lost. Or, as happened to me recently be prepared to help with the strangest of requests.
My conversation went something like this, ‘’I hate to ask but I know you are a GREAT researcher of all sorts of subjects. I need to arrange a birthday surprise for ‘Bill’ and I thought you would be the ONLY person to help (another life lesson – two praise points in one sentence are always followed by a call to action). I need something FABULOUS … any ideas? I’m running to a meeting but I’ll call you later … thank you, thank you, thank you.’’ The full conversation lasted 28 seconds with no pauses and left me with a moral dilemma. Do I step away from my on-going work project and jeopardise my imminent deadline to help a friend in need, or do I pretend I entered a tunnel and my mobile connection has been lost?
With the thought that an ‘imminent deadline’ was a moveable feast (temporarily at least), I started to break up the problem into three key words … Jazz, Bill, Birthday. In the past Bill had regaled friends on multiple occasions with tales of trawling across Europe as a student attending jazz festivals. So with the Google search bar staring at me I typed in … ‘Jazz Festivals 2017’ and the harmonised world of saxophones, trumpets and trombones opened up before me.
As expected my search found literally dozens upon dozens of jazz festivals ranging from a few hours in an evening to a month-long series of concerts traversing different cities in one country. Amazing – I love Google!
If, like my friend, you have a jazz fans birthday on the horizon or you just feel like doing something different here’s my favourite selection of four jazz festivals across Europe this summer. All the cities are direct flight routes from Qatar so what’s stopping you…
Copenhagen Jazz Festival
Founded in 1979 the 10 day Copenhagen Jazz Festival will transform the Danish capital into the world’s largest jazz club from the 7th to the 16th of July. For ten days, around 100 venues including street players, cafes, concert halls and open-air stages across the historical heart of the capital play host to approximately 1000 concerts. Copenhagen is a seven hour flight from Doha, pretty similar to the UK, so consider jazzing up your July and enjoy some Danish culture at the same time.
Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival
If you would like to inject some culture into your jazz festival weekend, head to the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh from the 15th to the 24th of July. Founded in 1978, the Edinburgh Jazz Festival actively supports Scottish musicians linking them with international artists to make this festival one of the most successful in the British jazz festival circuit. Held over ten days, across nine different city venues and featuring over 50 different acts, Edinburgh Jazz Festival will be difficult to beat this summer.
Paris Jazz Festival
While Paris is famous for being one of the most romantic cities in the world, over the summer, for seven weekends in June and July, Paris is transformed into the jazz capital of Europe. Over 30 different concerts, entertainment, activities and music workshops for adults and children will be held at the amazing Floral Park Botanical Garden in Paris.
Skopje Jazz Festival
While the Macedonian, Skopje Jazz Festival isn’t held until October, it’s still worth considering for an avid jazz fan as Qatar Airways flights to Skopje will be launched over the summer. Part of the European jazz network and the European forum of World music festivals, the Skopje Jazz Festival has been held since 1982 and has grown consistently over the years attracting large audiences to watch the most prominent names from the jazz world.
Visit your favourite jazz festival this summer and arrange your tailor-made package of flights, accommodation and car hire by calling the Dana Travel team on +974 4491 6111 or +974 5076 7978 or visit www.danaqatar.com
JAZZ
