There probably isn’t another jazz festival like it in the world, mixing old school with new school with the school of the future: Cinematic Orchestra, Archie Shepp, ESG, Poni Hoax, Maceo Parker, ?uestlove, Macy Gray, Amp Fiddler and even Meshell Ndegeocello qui playing a set of Prince songs!

You have to admire their daring at Jazz à la Villette; placing jazz legends next to, er, Poni Hoax, must require guts. Frankly, w’d have to agree that jazz influences can be found in all types of modern music, and looking to the future may be the finest way of paying homage to the past, so more power to them!

The festival even goes beyond concerts, with a film festival for kids, and even a funk masterclass!We recommended booking a seat for an artist you know, plus one for an artist you’ve never heard of (try the links at the top of this post for example). You may be pleasantly surprised.

The 2011 Jazz à la Villette festival is in a number of different venues centred around Villette (map here) from 31st August – 11th September 2011

Official site: www.jazzalavillette.com

Facebook page (in French): www.facebook.com/jazzvillette

To chekc out the programme, click the button at the bottom left below, tfollowed by the + button to zoom in.