WiekeGur.

The North Sea Jazz Festival was created by Dutch Jazz promoter Paul Acket, who in 1976 started what would become the most prestigious Jazz festival in the world. From an initial audience of about 9000, the festival has grown into an international spectacle, with 16 stages presenting 220 acts over a period of three days and over 100,000 people in attendance.

Held in the Hague, on the North Sea in Holland, the annual event was pronounced “The World’s Best Jazz Festival” by JazzTimes magazine in 1990. It was also listed in Time Magazine’s Top Ten Events of the World.

The North Sea Jazz Festival has become world-renowned for the many musical genres which it offers each year, ranging from traditional New Orleans Jazz, Swing, Bop, Free Jazz, European House, Fusion, Avant Garde and electronic Jazz to Blues, Gospel, Funk, Soul, Grove, HipHop, R&B, World Beat and Latin.

In 1990 two sub-festivals were introduced: “North Sea Jazz Heats”, a free festival performed in pubs throughout Den Haag, and the exclusive “Midsummer Jazz Gala”. Both take place on the evening before the actual festival. Artists that have performed at the Midsummer Jazz Gala include; Tony Bennett, Herbie Hancock and Oscar Peterson.

In that same year Elfa Secioria, Elfa’s Singers, Elfa’s Combo and Harvey Malaihollo presented Indonesian Jazz Night in pubs and North Sea Jazz Rembrandt Zaal singing various jazz numbers including several Indonesian songs composed by Elfa Secioria and Wieke Gur.

In 2006 North Sea Jazz moved to her new festival location Ahoy’ in Rotterdam.