Diplomats with Katara’s Darwish Ahmed al-Shibani at the opening of the jazz festival. Right: A performance from the opening evening of the festival.

The second edition of the Katara European Jazz Festival started on Wednesday at Katara - the Cultural Village with the participation of the embassies of Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.
The festival brings some of the finest proponents of European jazz, a highly regarded art form captivating global audiences since the early 20th century. Each embassy will host one jazz group representing its country. The festival, which features jazz musicians and workshops at Qatar Music Academy for local music students, will conclude on Sunday.
The festival was launched in the presence of ambassadors Eric Chevallier (France), Etienne Thevoz (Switzerland), Ignacio Escobar Guerrero (Spain), Guido De Sanctis (Italy) Hans-Udo Muzel (Germany), Sanjiv Arora (India) and Austrian embassy’s charge d’affaires Sieglinde Fedele di Catrano.
Speaking on the occasion, Darwish Ahmad al-Shibani, marketing and public relations director at Katara, said the increase in the number of participating countries at the festival indicates a keenness and willingness to boost the cultural and artistic interaction.
“It is a vivid illustration of the cultural communication and humane dialogue among people. The Katara European Jazz Festival is now one of the most important creative platforms, launched with the aim of disseminating a diverse musical culture that reflects the European-Qatari cultural partnership.”
The festival got off to a start with Falb Fiction: Around the World by Austria’s Viola Falb. She conveyed the fascinating impressions she got through her tour of Bangkok, Berlin, Svalbard, Papua and New York.
Next was Germany’s Shreefpunk Reloaded by Matthias Schriefl, who has shared the stage with successful international jazz musicians and won many awards, including the West German Broadcaster’s Jazz Award for improvisation.
Today, there will be a performance by Francesco Bearzatti Tinissima 4et from Italy at 8pm. Tomorrow, the Albin Brun Alpin Ensemble from Switzerland will perform at 7pm, and Biel Ballester Trio from Spain at 9pm. The finale is a show by Michiel Borstlap from the Netherlands at 8pm on Sunday.