The 68th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival will take place at the Monterey County Fairgrounds September 26-28, 2025.

A non-profit jazz label with a mission. Devoted to preserving jazz and discovering the rising stars of tomorrow.



RAGSTRETCH (DK/NY)
 
Ragstretch takes its name from its members’ love of the traditional forms of New Orleans and Ragtime music, but presents a unique and original sound from a wide variety of influences. The versatility of the group is unparalleled, with band members drawing on all forms of jazz, stretching from Trad Jazz through Blues, Swing and beyond.
 
Featuring summer festival stalwart Chris Tanner (The Hoodangers) on clarinet and vocals, this exciting international ensemble also sees the return to Scandinavia of New York-based Australian trombonist Shannon Barnett (Flap!) and adds young Swedish talent Björn Ingelstam on trumpet and vocals.
 
With four band members now based in New York, including the hard-swinging rhythm section of Craig Fermanis on guitar (The Band Who Knew Too Much, The Snappers), Sam Anning on double bass (Kenny Werner, Ari Hoenig) and Rajiv Jayaweera on drums (Julie O'Hara, The Hoodangers), this unbeatable combination of Scandinavians and Aussies will excite your every nerve, soothe your soul and take you on a journey through the music of some of the jazz greats, as presented by a fresh new generation of virtuoso musicians. 



RAGSTRETCH (DK/NY)
 
Ragstretch er et navn inspireret af dette orkesters kærlighed til den traditionelle jazz og ragtime fra New Orleans. Ragstretch præsenterer deres helt egen swingende version af lyd - inspireret af et væld af musikalske indflydelser, med et repertoire spændende over blandt andet jazz, swing og blues.
 
Ragstretch beståer af 6 unge musikere, som mange i den danske jazzverden vil genkende. Fra Melbourne, Australien men bosat i New York vender den enestående kvindelige trombonist Shannon Barnett (Flap!) tilbage til Skandinavien. Med sig har hun sin musikalske kollega og festival veteran Chris Tanner (The Hoodangers) på klarinet og vokal. Denne frontline forstærkes desuden af unge svenske Björn Ingelstam på trompet og vokal.
 
Den hårdt svingende rytmesektion er ligeledes australsk men bosat i New York og består af Craig Fermanis (The Band Who Knew Too Much, The Snappers) på guitar, Sam Anning (Kenny Werner, Ari Hoenig) på kontrabas og Rajiv Jayaweera (The Hoodangers, Julie O’Hara) på trommer.
 
Denne uforlignelige internationale kombination af australiere og én svensker vil tage deres publikum med på en medrivende musikalsk rejse, præsenteret af en frisk ny generation af virtuose jazzmusikere.
 


Klassik und Jazz erfreuen sich immer größerer Beliebtheit. UNIVERSAL MUSIC Stars wie etwa Anna Netrebko oder Till Brönner unterstreichen diesen Trend und sind beste Beispiele für den Erfolg des umfassenden Engagements auf diesem Gebiet. 

Neben der intensiven Arbeit sowohl mit jungen Talenten als auch mit etablierten Künstlern entwickelt UNIVERSAL MUSIC CLASSICS & JAZZ als Marktführer in den jeweiligen Genres kontinuierlich neue, innovative Marketing- und Promotion-Strategien, um alternative und zeitgemäße Zugänge zur facettenreichen und spannenden Welt von Klassik und Jazz anzubieten. Die Unit baut hierfür nicht nur junge Künstlerinnen und Künstler auf und begleitet sorgfältig und verantwortungsvoll ihre musikalische Entwicklung, sondern sorgt vor allem auch kontinuierlich für die Erschließung und Pflege neuer Zielgruppen. Mit grenzüberschreitenden Projekten wie der „Yellow Lounge“, die Klassik an ungewöhnlichen Orten präsentiert, oder auch dem „Verve Club“, der die ganze Vielfalt des Jazz präsentiert, leistet UNIVERSAL MUSIC CLASSICS & JAZZ hier und auf manch anderem Gebiet seit langem wertvolle Pionierarbeit. Diese und weitere Aktivitäten bringen die unendliche Vielfalt der Genres einem stetig wachsenden Publikum näher, das musikalische Entdeckungen als Bereicherung seines Lebens zu schätzen weiß.

Management:
American International Artists, Inc.
Cynthia B. Herbst, President
+1 (518) 686-0972
Cynthia@aiArtists.com

Much like songbird Edith Piaf, Madeleine Peyroux spent her teenage years busking the busy streets of Paris. Just like the ‘little sparrow’, Madeleine befriended the city’s street musicians and made its Latin quarter her first performing stage. Years later, Peyroux would cite iconic Piaf as an influence on her music and record a rendition of the classic La Vie En Rose, soulfully capturing the tune’s romanticism and melancholy.
 
Born in Athens, Georgia in 1974, Madeleine “grew up in a house filled with music” and from an early age “instinctively realised music’s soothing power” but it was her teenage years in the French capital that turned the childhood notion into an all-consuming vocation for life.

Young Madeleine moved to Paris with her mother in 1987 following her parents divorce. “To soothe me during the upheaval”, she recalls, “I was given a guitar and took to playing in the streets almost immediately.”

Thirty years after her formative busking days Peyroux is the proud curator of nine beguiling albums and an accomplished performer with sell out worldwide tours under her belt. Her atmospheric version of Serge Gainsborough’s La Javanaise was used in the soundtrack of Oscar Winner The Shape of Water and her countless accolades
include the coveted BBC International Artist Of The Year honour.
 
Madeleine’s thirst for creative exploration is unfading and her willingness to face creative challenges remains as solid now as it was three decades ago.

With endearing passion and great curiosity the unstoppable genre-defying virtuoso continues her search for the good and examines life with the treasured William Congreve belief that Music has charms to soothe the savage beast.
 
Madeleine might attribute her success to “mostly luck” but to the industry and loyal fans alike, it is the immense talent and utter dedication to her craft that shines through.
“Peyroux is a tremendous talent and almost a total intuitive” reflects Larry Klein, “she has the capacity to get the magic. When she sings and plays her guitar, great things happen.”

Vanguard Records, part of Concord Bicycle Music’s Fantasy Label Group, is one of the world’s leading independent record labels. Its eclectic roster of quality artists includes Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, Switchfoot, O.A.R., Flogging Molly, Parachute, Sallie Ford, Matt Nathanson, Chris Isaak, Barenaked Ladies, Greg Laswell, Trevor Hall, Indigo Girls, and more. It’s rich history of catalog artists features Levon Helm, Merle Haggard, Joan Baez, Mindy Smith, Buddy Guy, Big Mama Thornton, Junior Wells, John Fahey, to name a few.

Ragstretch is following