Jazz à Vanves / Turbulences

Turbulences, the jazz that shakes up Vanves

Turbulences — Jazz à Vanves was born in 2011 from a conviction held by the Théâtre de Vanves: contemporary French jazz is a vibrant, inventive scene, often little known to the general public. By creating this dedicated festival, the theater intended to give visibility to this generation of musicians who are renewing jazz from Parisian and provincial stages, breaking down the barriers between improvisation, composition, and experimentation.

A theater, a city, a jazz

The Théâtre de Vanves, located at 12 rue Sadi Carnot in Vanves (92170), is a venue dedicated to contemporary dance that also hosts demanding musical performances. With Turbulences, it opened its doors to jazz in all its forms — bebop, free jazz, electronic jazz, new improvised music — for memorable evenings on its intimate stage.

The festival's proven formula relied on several nights of concerts: two sets per evening, each performed by a different group, with jam sessions to close, allowing musicians to play together, without stylistic boundaries. This alchemy between programmed concerts and collective improvisation gave Turbulences a particularly vibrant energy.

The 3rd edition: seven concerts, four nights

The third edition of the festival, held in June 2013, perfectly illustrated the spirit of Turbulences: seven concerts spread over four evenings, seven different formations for as many facets of contemporary French jazz. Diversity was the watchword: explorer double bassists, DIY pianists, electronic wind players, and unbridled rhythmists followed one another on the Vanves stage.

The artistic philosophy of Emmanuel Magis, director of the Théâtre de Vanves at the time, was to highlight musicians in the midst of their careers, neither beginners nor fully established — this zone of artistic turbulence where everything is still possible, where aesthetics are sought and found.

A festival that paved the way

Turbulences made its mark with its cutting-edge programming and its club atmosphere in a festival format. Several artists revealed or highlighted by the festival have since had remarkable careers in French and international jazz. The festival testifies to the vitality of the jazz scene in Hauts-de-Seine, a department that counts many professional jazz musicians among its residents.