The festival which first took place in 2003 has grown gradually from its original 8, 000 audiences to over 55,000 visitors in the recent (2014) event, which featured prominent artists such as Billy Childs, Al Foster, Larry Carlton, Wallace Roney, Kirk Lightsey, Sean Jones, Tony Lakatos and Nestor Torres
The 12th edition of the Dubai Jazz festival 2014 brought a unique and modernized take on Rock, Pop and Jazz featuring Chester Bennington, Oily Murs, Santana, Stone temple Pilots and more and took place between 14th through to 20th February at the Jazz garden stage
The festival which is organized by Chill out productions; is considered to be one of the most popular fixtures in the Dubai’s music calendar for the past couple of years, with the number of attendance growing significantly every year and the artist becoming more eclectic and greater. The festival was expanded in 2005 to allow for a three day performance by the various artists as well as to allow the festival to be performed in three different stages across the DMC area. The expansion also resulted in increased frequency of presentation to 6 per night which in turn gave the attendees greater value. The impact of these adjustments were recognized in the following year, as the festival was bestowed the ‘what’s on Favorable Festival’ award in 2006.
In the beginning, the festival attracted only expats, local residents and visitors from other GCC countries but over the years the festival has achieved greater international appeal with more European performers and attendees flocking to the events. In 2007 for instance, the festival recorded a significant number of European visitors in a year that saw enthralling performance from artists such as Toto and Jamie Cullum among others. 2008 was another milestone year that was characterized by free concerts that took place across the seven days and was graced by artists such as Robin Gibb and David Gray of the Bee Gees. 2009 saw performances from the likes of John Legend and James Blunt, Morrison in 2010 and Gray Macy in 2011.
In 2011, the organizers also collaborated with UK Jazz services and the British Council in Dubai to encourage more visitors from the UK to take flights to Dubai, as more diverse artist covering different genre of music were invited. After the introduction of jazz in United Arab Emirates, there has emerged a strong community who are lovers of this genre.
Whether you are a fan of rock, pop, R&B, blues or Jazz, the Dubai International Jazz festival is sure to provide you with something that will definitely impress you. If you haven’t visited UAE before the festival offers you’re an ideal opportunity to explore and experience Dubai. It is definitely an experience of a life time, one that all music lovers shouldn’t miss.