Leverkusener Jazztage

They've known each other for over 20 years and have been making music together for around 15. Nils Wülker and Arne Jansen are constantly reinventing the space in which their musical ideas flourish.

Double bassist, singer, composer and arranger Avishai Cohen is renowned for his virtuoso playing and emotional live performances. And he's unrivalled at finding the musicians who have the potential to take over from the jazz greats.

Cristina Branco does not define herself as a classic fadista, but rather as a ‘cantora de fado’, in other words, an artist who also sings fado. Whatever the labels: She has moulded this traditional song style deeply rooted in the Portuguese soul into her own shape.

Leave the dancers, lasers and other confections at home. In Kiev in 2017, Salvador Sobral won Eurovision with an appearance that was as wonderful as it was small-scale, where the Portuguese pianist and singer sang ‘Amar Pelos Dois’, a delicately nuanced ballad.

‘I'm Not The One’, a track by the fusion band Snarky Puppy featuring Malika Tirolien, has generated over two million views on YouTube. The singer delivers an electric, passionate and exciting performance. But it would be wrong to reduce her to this collaboration: Solo or with her band, the musician has her own distinctive style.

Cécile McLorin Salvant has been described as ‘the heiress of Billie Holiday’. When she sings, it's as if time and space disappear, with a modern-day voice reviving the soul of ‘Lady Day’. Winning award after award, this Franco-American singer is now one of the leading figures in jazz today.

Preserving and perpetuating traditions... Seun Kuti, the youngest son of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, is keen to preserve- and perpetuate- traditions. He was just 12 when he joined his father's group Egypt 80. Since Fela's death in 1997, Seun has kept the flame of this militant and musical heritage alive by putting it in today's context.

In 2018, Salif Keïta announced that he wanted to put an end to his illustrious career. But now, to the delight of his fans, he has changed his mind. Now 70, the Malian musician continues to tour the world.