Jazz: music that brings people together and is constantly being reinvented
Supporting artists’ careers
Since 1995, the BNP Paribas Foundation has been supporting jazz and improvised music artists and helping them to develop their projects through support for recordings, promotion and distribution of their concerts.
In addition, we strive to publicise the artists themselves and expand their audience by facilitating interactions and meetings with the Banks’ networks in France and abroad.
I truly appreciate the Foundation’s “French-style” caring and intelligent support, that is personal, individual, based on exchange and dialogue, and always attentive to the artists’ unique desires.
Dan Tepfer, a pianist supported by the BNP Paribas Foundation since 2018.
Supporting young talents
Supporting creation also means trusting the talent of young, passionate jazz musicians. In addition to their artistic and technical qualities, they face many challenges and questions on their way to becoming professional.
The BNP Paribas Foundation is attentive to the emergence and professionalisation of young artists and supports initiatives aimed at identifying, developing and supporting the artistic projects of promising laureates beyond their national borders:
Jazz Migration
Jazz Migration is a programme supporting emerging musicians on the French jazz scene, founded in 2002 by the Association Jazzé Croisé (AJC). With four cohorts each year, it offers its laureates professionalisation training and assistance in distribution. The BNP Paribas Foundation has supported this one-of-a-kind set-up since 2018.
Artists residency
An artist residency programme is a special way to boost a career by offering talents the conditions for creating and exploring new horizons. Just look at the residency programme set up by the “Jazz sous les pommiers” festival, in Coutances, France: supported by the BNP Paribas Foundation since 2016, the residency fosters a regional outreach programme via concerts in schools, prisons and locals’ homes.
Propulsion
Propulsion is a programme implemented in eastern France, Luxembourg and Belgium.
ReZZo Jazz à Vienne
A must-see nationwide stepping stone created in 2004 by the Vienne Jazz Festival, ReZZo casts a spotlight on new jazz talents. It is a programme that both identifies and supports young artists emerging on France’s contemporary jazz scene.
Woman In Jazz (WIZZ)
Since the 2023/2024 season, the BNP Paribas Foundation has supported the creation of the Women in Jazz (WIZZ) project, which is a women’s mentorship programme in improvised music. It is led by Anne Pacéo, the Jazz sous les pommiers festival and the Les Gémeaux Theatre.
Awards
This is the third lever of BNP Paribas’ patronage to promote the emergence of new talents. In this context, the Foundation continues its association with the awarding of major prizes, such as:
- The Prix Django Reinhardt granted by the French Académie du Jazz for the best French jazz musician of the year
- In the Middle East, the Foundation supports the Bahrain Jazz Festival‘s Emerging Artist Prize
Disseminating creation
Our latest news