It’s not so long ago that I was writing about the Kulturzentrum in Dottendorf as an ‘insider tip’. After visiting the opening Dottendorfer Jazznacht concert of 2025 featuring top jazz vocalist Jeff Cascaro it’s clear that those days are now gone. All 190 tickets were sold out well in advance, and the same is also true of next month’s appearance by Jakob Manz & Johanna Summer. If the quality of Jeff Cascaro’s appearance is a sign of things to come, then I suspect the quantity of tickets is the only bad news for Dottendorf’s Jazz lovers.

It seems as if, rather like Santa Claus, Simon Kempston has always paid us a visit every December. Such is the allure of applause and the chance to sing ‘Jock Stewart’ at Folk Club Bonn that Simon always has a new CD to offer us to secure his place as special guest (this year’s ‘My Dreams Are Theirs’ is a corker too!). Simon has become a much-loved regular, but this December saw a far less regular event, a first even – MC John Harrison had officially sanctioned the use of amplification. What!!! All will be revealed…

The return to Bonn of one of my favourite Jazz guitarists had a special twist this week. Torsten Goods was celebrating, not just his return to Dottendorfer Jazznacht, but also his 44th Birthday. The George Benson-inspired son of an Irish mother and German father was in good spirits and top form for his show.

The opening concert of this year’s Stadgarten Season at Alter Zoll was a showcase evening for JazzTube. An interesting musical mix, with the Leon Dehne Quintet providing a more traditional Jazz show after which Bernard & The Mibus indicated how young Jazz musicians are taking the music – with a strong hip-hop element to their musical mix. It will be interesting to see what the Kulturamt here in Bonn has put together in 2024.

‘Overdose d’Amore’ is the title of Zucchero‘s 2024 Tour, and in these troubled times, you certainly can’t have too much love for sure. Just to be safe on this point the support slot is taken by Jack Savoretti who is himself no stranger to romantic lyrics and hit records. 4,500 fans were ready to share the love on Thursday evening at Kunst!Rasen.