A sample of today's finest jazz artists, providing an overview of the variety, internationality and fascination of today's world of jazz.

The Moscow Art Trio is one of the most exciting of the new jazz formations. Three musicians: Mikhail Alperin, Sergey Starostin and Arkady Shilkloper. They come from different styles. When they meet, they are the Moscow Art Trio. In their concerts…

Alexander von Schlippenbach is one of the top jazz avant-garde pianists and composers in Europe. The film accompanies the musician to rehearsals and concerts. It shows him working together with his wife, the pianist Aki Takase, with whom he leads the…

To mark the turn of the millenium, Mathias Rüegg's legendary Jazz Ensemble Vienna Art Orchestra gave an "alternative" New Years concert in Vienna's Sofiensale. "All that Strauss" presented the same famous Strauss pieces that had been performed by the…

This assemblage of authentic luminaries recreates the sound of Paris in the 50's and 60's when the City of Light was Europe's mecca for American jazz musicians. The Paris Reunion Band was formed as a homage to Kenny Clarke and the spirit of his…

"Roots Revisited" is what Maceo Parker, one-time saxist in James Brown's Band, calls his earthy soul and funk combo.

Elvin Jones is the archetypical modern jazz musician playing on instinct, not intellect. This is the kind of music he has played to perfection since his days with John Coltrane. There are some heavy-duty sidemen in his present "Jazz Machine": Sonny…

Georgie Fame is "Yeah, Yeah!" and " The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde", but with his unmistakable voice and his special hammond organ sound, he is also a past master of R&B. Now Georgie Fame is making a triumphal comeback with "The Blue Flames".

Bireli Lagrene plays with Babik Reinhardt in a tribute to Django Reinhardt.

Maria João and Aki Takase are a musical explosion all by themselves. Combine them with bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted- Pedersen and you've got a jazz trio that blows the walls off.