German Jazz Prize

The German Jazz Prize pursues the overarching goal of creating, living and communicating more cultural diversity in musical practice and teaching, in cultural management as well as in sound carrier production and documentation.

As contemporary, improvised music that draws from both African-American and other global art music and ethnic music traditions, jazz music is an independent and vibrant part of the musical culture in Germany. As an Afro-diasporic art form, jazz is a formative part of current musical discourse, picks up on the themes of our present to a particular degree and reflects them artistically.

The purpose of the German Jazz Prize is to honour its innovative strength in all its facets and to convey new approaches to jazz to a diverse audience. With this purpose the Federal Governement Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Claudia Roth awards this prize.

The Initiative Musik has been entrusted with its realisation.