# 2015 in jazz

This is a timeline documenting events of jazz in the year 2015.

## Events
### January

* 21 – The 4th Bodø Jazz Open started in Bodø, Norway (January 21 – 24).
* 23 – The 34th annual Djangofestival started on Cosmopolite in Oslo, Norway (January 23 – 24).

### February

* 5
** The 17th Polarjazz Festival started in Longyearbyen, Svalbard (February 5 – 8).
** The 10th Ice Music Festival started in Geilo, Norway (February 5 – 8).

### March

* 6 – The 11th Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival started in Jakarta, Indonesia (March 6 – 8).
* 27 – The 42nd Vossajazz started in Voss Municipality, Norway (March 27 – 29).
* 28
** Thea Hjelmeland was awarded Vossajazzprisen 2015 for the album Solar Plexus.
** Live Maria Roggen performs the commissioned work Apukaluptein at Vossajazz.

### April

* 2 - GoGo Penguin signs with Blue Note Records
* 23 – The 21st SoddJazz started in Inderøy, Norway (April 23 – 27).
* 30 – The International Jazz Day.

### May

* 5 – The 27th MaiJazz started in Stavanger, Norway (May 5 – 10).
* 6 – The 11th AnJazz started in Hamar, Norway (May 6 – 9).
* 7
** Julie Dahle Aagård played at Uhørt in Oslo, Norway.
** Lisa Ekdahl play at Rockefeller in Oslo, Norway.
** Bergen Big Band with Gabriel Fliflet and Ole Hamre played at Sardinen USF in Bergen, Norway.
** The 37th Trondheim Jazz Festival started in Trondheim, Norway (May 7 – 10).
* 8
** Per Mathisen Trio played at Draaben Bar in Sandefjord, Norway.
** Hanna Paulsberg Concept / Soil Collectors / MOPO played at Victoria - Nasjonal Jazzscene Oslo, Norway.
* 10 – Kampenjazz: Anja Eline Skybakmoen played at Cafeteatret Oslo, Norway.
* 15 – Per Mathisen Trio played at Victoria - National Jazz Scene in Oslo, Norway.
* 16 – Farmers Market played at Victoria - National Jazz Scene in Oslo, Norway.
* 22
** The 44th Moers Festival starts in Moers, Germany (May 22 – 25)
** Eivind Opsvik Overseas played at Victoria - National Jazz Scene in Oslo, Norway.
* 23 – Beady Belle played at Victoria - National Jazz Scene in Oslo, Norway.
* 28
** The 4th Torino Jazz Festival started in Turin (May 28 - June 2).
** The 43rd Nattjazz 2015 started in Bergen, Norway (May 28 – June 6)
** Bergen Big Band was the very first recipients of Olav Dale's Memorial Award at the opening of Nattjazz 2015.

### June

* 17 – The 27th Jazz Fest Wien started in Vienna, Austria (June 26 – July 11).
* 26 – The 35th Montreal International Jazz Festival started in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (June 26 – July 5).

### July

* 1
** The 51st Kongsberg Jazzfestival started at Kongsberg, Norway (July 1 – 4).
** Ellen Andrea Wang was recipient of the Kongsberg Jazz Award or DNB.prisen 2015 at the Kongsberg Jazzfestival.
* 2
** The 15th Stavernfestivalen started in Stavern, Norway (July 2 – 4).
** The 25th JazzBaltica starts in Schloss Salzau close to Kiel, Germany (July 2 – 5).
* 3
** The 37th Copenhagen Jazz Festival started in Copenhagen, Denmark (July 3 – 12).
** The 49th Montreux Jazz Festival started in Montreux, Switzerland (July 3 – 18).
* 7 – The 68th Nice Jazz Festival started in Nice, France (July 7 – 12).
* 10 – The 40th North Sea Jazz Festival started in Rotterdam, Netherlands (July 10 – 12).
* 11
** The 27th Aarhus Jazz Festival started in Aarhus, Denmark (July 11 – 18).
** The 50th Pori Jazz Festival started in Pori, Finland (July 11 – 19).
* 13 – The 55th Moldejazz started in Molde, Norway with Mats Gustafsson as artist in residence (July 13 – 18).
* 16 – Jan Ole Otnæs received the 2015 Molderosen at Moldejazz.
* 22 – The 20th Canal Street started in Arendal, Norway (July 22 – 25).
* 31 – The 59th Newport Jazz Festival started in Newport, Rhode Island (July 31 – August 2).

### August

* 5 – The 29th Sildajazz 2015 started in Haugesund, Norway (August 5 – 9).
* 6 – The 21st Hemnesjazz 2015 started in Hemnesberget, Norway (August 6 – 9).
* 8 – The 4th Kids in Jazz 2015 festival started in Oslo, Norway as part of the Oslo Jazzfestival (August 8 – 12).
* 10 – The 30th Oslo Jazzfestival started in Oslo, Norway (August 10 – 15).
* 11 – The 17th Øyafestivalen started in Oslo, Norway (August 11 – 15).
* 12 – Anneli Drecker played at Øyafestivalen.

### September

* 3 – The 11th Punktfestivalen started in Kristiansand, Norway (September 3 – 5).
* 18 – The 58th Monterey Jazz Festival started in Monterey, California (September 18 – 20).

### October

* 9 – The 32nd Stockholm Jazz Festival started in Stockholm, Sweden (October 9 – 18).
* 10 - Miles Ahead, a documentary about the life of Miles Davis releases

### November

* 13 – The 24th London Jazz Festival started in London, England (November 13 – 22).

### December

* 29 – The 10th RIBBEjazz started in Lillestrøm, Norway.

## Albums released

| Month | Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes |
| January | 13 | Songs For Quintet | Kenny Wheeler | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher, Steve Lake. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios. |
| January | 16 | Break Stuff | Vijay Iyer Trio | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| January | 16 | Imaginary Cities | Chris Potter Underground Orchestra | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| January | 16 | Made in Chicago | Jack DeJohnette | ECM | Produced by Dave Love, Jack DeJohnette |
| January | 22 | Encore | Eberhard Weber | ECM | Live recordings 1990–2007 |
| January | 20 | Meditation | Terje Isungset | All Ice | |
| January | 21 | Nangijala | Andreas Loven | Losen | |
| January | 30 | Pinball | Marius Neset | ACT | Produced by Marius Neset and Anton Eger |
| January | 30 | Bits & Pieces | Mopti feat. Bendik Baksaas | Jazzland | Produced by Bendik Baksaas, Christian M. Svendsen, Aleksander Sjølie, Harald Lassen |
| February | 3 | Wallflower | Diana Krall | Verve Records | Produced by David Foster |
| February | 6 | Gefion | Jakob Bro | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| February | 6 | The Half-finished Heaven | Sinikka Langeland | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| February | 16 | Ten Love Songs | Susanne Sundfør | Warner | |
| February | 20 | It´s OK To Play | Øystein Blix | Losen | |
| February | 20 | Phoenix | Cyminology | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| February | 27 | Midwest | Mathias Eick | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| February | 27 | Bird Calls | Rudresh Mahanthappa | ACT | Produced by Rudresh K. Mahanthappa |
| March | 6 | A Clear Midnight (Kurt Weill And America) | Julia Hülsmann Quartet with Theo Bleckmann | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| March | 6 | Trees Of Light | Anders Jormin / Lena Willemark / Karin Nakagawa | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| March | 17 | Time Within Itself | Michael Waldrop Big Band / Jack Cooper / Jimi Tunnell | Origin | Produced by Michael Waldrop |
| March | 20 | Grieg, Tveitt & I | Dag Arnesen | Coco & Co | |
| March | 20 | In Maggiore | Paolo Fresu / Daniele di Bonaventura | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| March | 20 | This Is The Day | Giovanni Guidi Trio | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| March | 22 | Hit The Wall! | Mats Gustafsson together with Thurston Moore | Smalltown Superjazzz | |
| March | 23 | Lucidity | Atomic | Jazzland | Produced by Atomic, co-producer Sten Nilsen |
| March | 24 | Duets | Stanley Jordan, Kevin Eubanks | Mack Avenue | |
| March | 27 | Kjølvatn | Nils Økland Band including Rolf-Erik Nystrøm, Sigbjørn Apeland and Mats Eilertsen | ECM | |
| March | 27 | Slow Eastbound Train | Daniel Herskedal | Edition | Produced by Erik Johannessen |
| March | 27 | Young At Heart | Ida Sand | ACT | Produced by Nils Landgren, executive producer Siggi Loch |
| April | 7 | Vol. 3 | Team Hegdal | Particular Recordings | |
| April | 17 | Dallëndyshe | Elina Duni Quartet | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| April | 17 | Én | Duplex | NorCD | |
| April | 17 | En Konsert For Folk Flest | Motorpsycho + Ståle Storløkken | Rune Grammofon | |
| April | 17 | Surrounded By Sea | Andy Sheppard Quartet | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| April | 17 | You've Been Watching Me | Tim Berne's Snakeoil | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| April | 24 | Rocks & Straws | Anneli Drecker, lyrics based on poems by Arvid Hanssen | Rune Grammofon | |
| April | 24 | Slow Snow | Tore Brunborg | ACT | Produced by Tore Brunborg |
| May | 1 | Terje Isungset & Stian Westerhus | Terje Isungset, Stian Westerhus | All Ice | |
| May | 4 | Only Sky | David Torn | ECM | Produced by David Torn |
| May | 5 | The Epic | Kamasi Washington | Brainfeeder | |
| May | 8 | Barber / Bartók / Jarrett | Keith Jarrett | ECM | |
| May | 8 | Creation | Keith Jarrett | ECM | |
| May | 8 | Now This | Gary Peacock Trio | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| May | 9 | Ospitalita Generosa | Per Mathiesen Trio | Alessa | |
| May | 15 | The Goldilocks Zone | Olga Konkova Trio | Losen | |
| May | 19 | Firehouse | Gard Nilssen's Acoustic Unity including with Petter Eldh and André Roligheten | Clean Feed | |
| May | 22 | Imágenes (Music For Piano) | Dino Saluzzi - Horacio Lavandera | ECM | |
| May | 26 | The Bad Plus Joshua Redman | The Bad Plus and Joshua Redman | Nonesuch Records | |
| May | 29 | Jazzpaña | Gerardo Núñez live with Ulf Wakenius | ACT | Recording producer Christoph Terbuyken |
| June | 1 | Starfire | Jaga Jazzist | Ninja Tune | |
| June | 3 | Weathering | Kvien & Sommer | Full Of Nothing | |
| June | 5 | Rainy Omen | Finland (Morten Qvenild, Ivar Grydeland, Jo Berger Myhre, Pål Hausken) | Hubro | |
| June | 12 | Amores Pasados | John Potter | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| June | 16 | Space Time Continuum | Aaron Diehl | Mack Avenue | Produced by Maria Ehreneich |
| June | 26 | Nomad Songs | Stephan Micus | ECM | |
| July | 21 | Bugge & Friends | Bugge Wesseltoft | Jazzland | |
| July | 24 | Tears Of The World | Knut Reiersrud & Mighty Sam McClain | ACT | Produced by Knut Reiersrud and Nikolai Hængsle Eilertsen |
| August | 11 | Individuals Facing the Terror of Cosmic Loneliness | Stein Urheim and Mari Kvien Brunvoll | Jazzland | |
| August | 21 | Silver Mountain | Elephant9 | Rune Grammofon | |
| August | 21 | Vårres Egen Lille Krig | Vidar Vang | VV Records | |
| August | 28 | Bridges | Adam Baldych & Helge Lien Trio | ACT | Mixed and mastered by Klaus Scheuermann |
| August | 28 | Just The Two Of Us | Cæcilie Norby and Lars Danielsson | ACT | |
| August | 28 | In The Morning (Music Of Alec Wilder) | Stefano Battaglia Trio | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher, Torino Jazz Festival |
| August | 28 | Time Before And Time After | Dominique Pifarély | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| August | 28 | Wild Dance | Enrico Rava Quartet with Gianluca Petrella | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| September | 2 | Buoyancy | Nils Petter Molvær | Okeh Records | Produced by Jo Berger Myhre, Nils Petter Molvær |
| September | 2 | Bushman's Fire | Bushman's Revenge | Rune Grammofon | |
| September | 2 | Jazz, Fritt Etter Hukommelsen | Bushman's Revenge | Rune Grammofon | |
| September | 4 | For One to Love | Cécile McLorin Salvant | Mack Avenue | Produced by Al Pryor |
| September | 4 | Luys i Luso | Tigran Hamasyan with Yerevan State Choir conducted by Harutyun Topikyan | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| September | 4 | Personal Piano | Morten Qvenild | Hubro | |
| September | 6 | Ville Ord | Frida Ånnevik | Grappa | Recipient of the Spellemannprisen lyricist award |
| September | 11 | Hommage À Eberhard Weber | Pat Metheny, Jan Garbarek, Gary Burton, Scott Colley, Danny Gottlieb, Paul McCandless, Michael Gibbs, Helge Sunde, and SWR Big Band | ECM | |
| September | 11 | When You Cut Into The Present | Møster! | Hubro | |
| September | 16 | Sunrain | Haakon Graf Trio, including Erik Smith and Per Mathisen | Losen Records | Produces by Graf, Smith, and Mathisen |
| September | 18 | Echo | Anja Eline Skybakmoen | Triogram | |
| September | 18 | Megalodon | Megalodon Collective including with Henrik Lødøen | Gigafon | |
| September | 18 | Waldemar 4 | Trygve Waldemar Fiske | Gigafon | |
| September | 25 | Circadian Rhythm And Blues | Hayden Powell | Periskop Records | |
| September | 25 | Mønster | Espen Berg Trio | Atterklang | Produced by Espen Berg Trio. AKLANG314 |
| September | 25 | Past Present | John Scofield | Impulse! | |
| September | 25 | The String Project | Philip Catherine live in Brussels | ACT | Produced by Philip Catherine |
| October | 2 | Return to the Fire | Tim Garland | Edition | |
| October | 2 | Chiaroscuro | Giya Kancheli | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| October | 2 | Time Is A Blind Guide | Thomas Strønen | ECM | Produced by Sun Chung, Thomas Strønen |
| October | 8 | JazzBukkBox a box with three albums: Lærad The Tree, Live in Germany and WorldJazz | Karl Seglem | NorCD | |
| October | 9 | Band Of Gold | Band Of Gold including Nikolai Hængsle Eilertsen and Nina Elisabeth Mortvedt | Jansen Plateproduksjon | |
| October | 9 | Nachtfahrten | Michael Wollny | ACT | Produced by Siggi Loch |
| October | 12 | Golden Years | Pixel | Cuneiform | |
| October | 30 | Mette Henriette | Mette Henriette | ECM | |
| October | 30 | Winter Light | Scott DuBois | ACT | Produced by Scott DuBois |
| October | 31 | Cubistic Boogie | David Arthur Skinner | Losen | Produced by David Arthur Skinner, executive producer Odd Gjelsnes |
| November | 6 | This Is Not A Miracle | Food | ECM | |
| November | 12 | Aimless Mary | Needlepoint | BJK Music | |
| November | 20 | Pieces Of Solitude | Natalie Sandtorv | Va Fongool | |
| November | 20 | Trail of Souls | Solveig Slettahjell with Knut Reiersrud and In The Country | ACT | |
| November | 27 | The Day I Had Everything | Malija including Mark Lockheart, Liam Noble, and Jasper Høiby | Edition | |
| November | 27 | Just The Two Of Us | Cæcilie Norby with Lars Danielsson | ACT | Produced by Cæcilie Norby & Lars Danielsson, executive producer Siggi Loch |
| November | 27 | Time Is Coming | Hildegunn Øiseth | Losen | |
| December | 1 | Before the Storm | Nakama | Nakama Records | Produced by Nakama & Christian Obermayer |
| December | 5 | Love Swings | Ike Moriz | Mosquito Records London Pty Ltd. | Recorded at Paris Studios, Cape Town |

## Deaths
### January

* 1 – Jeff Golub, American guitarist (born 1955).
* 3 – Ivan Jullien, French trumpeter (born 1934).
* 4 – Pino Daniele, Italian singer, songwriter, and guitarist (born 1955).
* 19 – Ward Swingle, American vocalist and pianist, The Swingle Singers (born 1927).

### February

* 3 – William Thomas McKinley, American composer and pianist (born 1938).
* 12 – Richie Pratt, American drummer (born 1943).
* 21 – Clark Terry, American trumpeter (born 1920).
* 22 – Erik Amundsen, Norwegian upright bassist (born 1937).

### March

* 8 – Lew Soloff, American trumpeter, composer, and actor (born 1944).
* 13 – Daevid Allen, Australian poet, guitarist, singer, composer, and performance artist, Soft Machine and Gong (born 1938).
* 15
** Bob Parlocha, American saxophonist and gourmet cook (born 1938).
** Mike Porcaro, American bassist, Toto (born 1955).
* 20 – Paul Jeffrey, American tenor saxophonist, arranger, and educator (born 1933).
* 21 – Jørgen Ingmann, Danish guitarist (born 1925).
* 26 – John Renbourn, English guitarist and songwriter (born 1944).
* 27 – Johnny Helms, American trumpeter and bandleader (born 1935).
* 31 – Ralph Sharon, Anglo-American pianist and arranger (born 1923).

### April

* 6 – Milton DeLugg, American pianoist, accordionist, and composer (born 1918).
* 27 – Marty Napoleon, American pianist (born 1921).

### May

* 3 – Ben Aronov, American pianist (born 1932).
* 6 – Jerome Cooper, American drummer (born 1946).
* 14 – B.B. King, American guitarist (born 1925).
* 20
** Bob Belden, American saxophonist (born 1956).
** Simon Flem Devold, Norwegian clarinetist and columnist (born 1927).
* 23 – Marcus Belgrave, American trumpeter (born 1936).
* 28 – Ray Kennedy, American pianist (born 1957).
* 31 – Slim Richey, American guitarist (born 1938).

### June

* 8 – Paul Bacon, American musician and book and album cover designer (born 1923).
* 9 – James Last, German composer and big band leader, James Last Orchestra (born 1929).
* 11 – Ornette Coleman, American saxophonist (born 1930).
* 12 – Monica Lewis, American singer and actress (born 1922).
* 13 – Big Time Sarah, American singer (born 1953).
* 19 – Harold Battiste, American saxophonist, pianist, and composer (born 1931).
* 21 – Gunther Schuller, American composer, conductor, and horn player (born 1925).
* 30 – Eddy Louiss, French Hammond organist, Les Double Six (born 1941).

### July

* 6 – Masabumi Kikuchi, Japanese jazz pianist and composer (born 1939).
* 15 – Howard Rumsey, American upright bassist (born 1917).
* 17 – John Taylor, British pianist and composer (born 1942).
* 19 – Van Alexander, American bandleader, arranger, and composer (born 1915).

### August

* 13 – Harold Ousley, American tenor saxophonist and flautist (born 1929).
* 14 – Jazz Summers, British music manager (lung cancer), Scissor Sisters, The Verve, and Snow Patrol (born 1944).
* 30 – Hugo Rasmussen, Danish bassist (born 1941).

### September

* 27 – Wilton Felder, American saxophonist and bassist, The Crusaders (born 1940).
* 29 – Phil Woods, American saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader and composer (born 1931).

### October

* 3 – Dave Pike, American vibraphone and marimba player (born 1938).
* 9 – Larry Rosen, American drummer, entrepreneur, and music producer (born 1940).
* 20 – Don Rendell, English saxophonist, flautist, and clarinetist (born 1926).
* 22 – Mark Murphy, American singer (born 1932).
* 24 – Nat Peck, American trombonist (born 1925).

### November

* 5
** Kjell Öhman, Swedish pianist, hammond organist, and accordionist (born 1943).
** Nora Brockstedt, Norwegian singer (born 1923).
* 9 – Andy White, Scottish drummer (born 1930).
* 17 – Al Aarons, American trumpeter (born 1932).
* 23
** Bengt-Arne Wallin, Swedish composer, arrangeur, trumpeter, and flugelhornist (born 1926).
** Cynthia Robinson, American trumpeter and vocalist, Sly and the Family Stone (born 1944).
* 25 – Svein Christiansen, Norwegian drummer (born 1941).

### December

* 9 – Rusty Jones, American drummer (born 1942).
* 28 – Joe Houston, American tenor saxophonist (born 1926).
* 31
** Natalie Cole, American singer, songwriter, and actress (congestive heart failure) (born 1950).
** Dal Richards, Canadian big band leader (born 1918).