Jazz Festival Tours For Big Bands And Large Jazz Ensembles

Offer your jazz students the experience of a lifetime! Perform at the major European jazz festivals!

Jazz was born in the United States but has found a dedicated and enthusiastic audience in Europe as is attested by the large number of jazz festivals held every summer in towns and cities across Europe. American jazz musicians often feel more appreciated by their European audiences than they do at home!

Ambassador Tours has collaborated with the Montreux Jazz Festival and The North Sea Jazz Festival for thirty years. Our jazz groups were among the first American groups to perform at the Jazz à Vienne Festival, the largest in France.

In addition, we work with other smaller festivals in France, Italy, Austria, and Spain. Generally, the festivals of Montreux and Vienne represent the core of our jazz tours. The two locations are relatively close and the festival dates always coincide (late June to mid-July). One, two, or even three festivals can be added around these festivals, depending upon the length of time available for travel.

Ambassador Tours submits applications to festivals in the fall of the previous year. If accepted by the festival authorities, your group will give 1-2 daytime performances at each festival on stages designated specifically for high quality “up-and-coming” amateur artists. Jazz groups must commit to the tour in the fall of the previous year - before notification of acceptance is received from the festivals (usually in January or February).

Generally speaking, jazz directors know when their students have reached a level commiserate to festival standards and it is rare that an application is denied. The North Sea Festival is perhaps the most competitive because the short duration of the tour limits the number of performances by amateur groups.

Ambassador Tours can also arrange supplemental performances in nearby towns and villages for the opportunity to experience traditional lifestyles in less cosmopolitan areas where audiences are very enthusiastic.

In addition to the opportunity to perform at the European jazz festivals, your students will receive free entrance or reduced ticket prices to the “big-name” artists’ concerts held each day at the festivals. Each student will also receive a festival T-shirt. The school will receive a festival poster. Some festivals also offer jazz workshops and master classes. Jam sessions are also often part of the jazz festival scene with major artists participating.

Tour planning should begin a year in advance. Hotels book up far in advance at jazz festival sites! Tour dates generally fall during the first two weeks of July to correspond with annual festival dates.

Smaller Combos And Ensembles
Big bands containing over 20 members and accompanied by family members and fans most often take advantage of our customized jazz festival tours outlined above. These extensive tours are not always possible for smaller combos and ensembles – the cost of coach transportation for small groups being prohibitive.

For smaller groups of 10-20 musicians, Ambassador Tours offers a shortened tour to perform at one festival – the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland or the Jazz à Vienne Festival in France.

Transportation requirements are minimal for these shortened tours, resulting in reasonable per person tour costs for smaller groups. The application deadline for this program is November 30 of the year before the tour is to take place.

Contact us for more information regarding a tour.

Ambassador Tours

We can arrange that!

back to top

	back to top
	back to top

back to top