From Miles Davis to Count Basie and Etta James to Prince, Rotterdam\u2019s North Sea jazz festival has hosted the biggest names in music. As the event turns 50, musicians and organisers share their favourite memories from past years \u2013 and tell us why jazz isn\u2019t dead<\/p>\n
For a weekend in July each year, a vast warehouse complex in the port city of Rotterdam becomes home to the biggest names in jazz. Under the banner of the North Sea jazz festival<\/a>, the labyrinthine, windowless space has played host to performances from the likes of Miles Davis, free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman, singer Etta\u00a0James, saxophonist Wayne Shorter and even Prince.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had every major figure in jazz play for us over the past five decades,\u201d senior programme manager Sander Grande says. \u201cIt\u2019s the place where all the musicians want to hang and where audiences come to see art that is true and beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/318becfc786d32032e027a623a370c1bede9e7fc\/1178_318_2822_2258\/master\/2822.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=21973b38981645fea3c27e07a473c1f3\" "\\"\u2018I")
<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"