Copenhagen Jazz Festival with Nana Rashid
As Copenhagen Jazz Festival sets its first tones, we asked jazz musician and dear friend Nana Rashid to guide us through a few of the concerts she is most looking forward to this season.
What we have always loved about jazz is its ability to hold contrasts. Intimate and expansive. Rooted in tradition yet constantly evolving. The festival captures this spirit particularly well, unfolding across the city through countless stages, rooms, and unexpected encounters.
To accompany the festival, Nana has curated a collaborative playlist for us – a collection of pieces that reflect the atmosphere of this year's programme.
ABOUT NANA RASHID
Nana Rashid is one of the distinctive voices of contemporary Danish jazz. As a singer and songwriter, she moves effortlessly between jazz, soul, and storytelling, creating music that is both intimate and expansive. We have long admired her thoughtful approach to music and her ability to create moments that feel deeply personal yet universally resonant.
For this year's Copenhagen Jazz Festival, we invited Nana to share a few of the concerts she is most looking forward to and to curate a playlist that captures the atmosphere and breadth of the festival.
Copenhagen Jazz Festival Recommendations
Brandee Younger & Cécile McLorin Salvant
"The first two recommendations are a double concert, so with one ticket you get the opportunity to experience two strong – and very different – artists.
I have not yet experienced Brandee Younger live, but I am really looking forward to it. I think she plays the harp incredibly beautifully and draws on ethno-jazz references in a way that I simply find absolutely beautiful.
Cécile McLorin Salvant is one of the most creative and versatile jazz singers I know. She uses her instrument in so many different ways, and she keeps surprising me. I always leave her concerts filled with inspiration and with a desire to go home and sing myself."
"The last concert I experienced with Jesper Thorn, the tears were simply streaming down my cheeks. Jesper is one of the instrumentalists I know who is best at telling stories and conveying emotions through his instrument. It is deeply moving every single time."
A Playlist for the Occasion
To accompany the festival, Nana has curated a collaborative playlist for us. The selection moves across moods and expressions, reflecting the same openness that defines Copenhagen Jazz Festival itself.
Whether listened to on a quiet morning, while moving through the city, or on the way to a late-night concert, the playlist offers an invitation to pause and discover something new - much like jazz itself.
"Something I love about Copenhagen Jazz Festival is that jazz is so endlessly versatile. There's room for the intimate, the wild, the experimental, the tradition-bound – and everything in between. I'm pretty sure there's a concert hidden in the programme that could make you fall in love with jazz."
With Love,
Nana Rashid & KINRADEN