The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Every jazz lover’s favourite time of the year is finally here; the 13th Cairo International Jazz Festival has just started on Thursday, October 28, and will last for nine days.

During the festival, audiences will get the chance to enjoy 20 bands and 95 artists from 13 countries, including the United States, Germany, Austria, Portugal, and the Netherlands, as well as Sudan, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Denmark, and, of course, Egypt.

The activities of the new edition of the festival will be held at the Tahrir Cultural Center in downtown Cairo and additional spaces in cooperation with the Music Department of the American University. Other venues include the Jesuit Cultural Center in Alexandria, the Goethe Institute, Cairo Jazz Club, Room Art Space, Music Hub, and the Higher Institute of Music, to give more people the chance to enjoy these performances and to add variety to the entire experience.

Along with its concerts, the festival will present a variety of educational and artistic workshops that will enrich the experience even further. In addition, they have organised photo exhibitions that will review the history of jazz music, and a special lecture on the History of Jazz in International Diplomacy will be presented by Mr James Ketterer, Dean of the School of Continuing Education at the American University.

The Cairo Jazz Festival will open with a concert by Egyptian singer Noha Fikry with her quartet at the Ewart Memorial Hall at the Tahrir Cultural Center, where the iconic Egyptian musician Hany Shnouda will be honoured for his outstanding contribution to modern Egyptian art and the music industry. The festival will also honour the pioneer of jazz music in Egypt, musician Magdy Baghdadi, founder of the Baghdadi Big Band.