Jazz In Brussels - History Of Jazz In Belgium 1980s

The 1980s

At the turn of the 1980s, jazz came back in force, although it did not find its way to the general public. This return is due in part to the emergence around 1984 of the compact disc, enabling reissues of many jazz classics; the illustrious labels (Blue Note, Pacific, Verve, Impulse!..) were again widely available. However, the total sales of jazz records (about 3-5%) remained low, and attendance to clubs did not profit from the new media. The theme of jazz came up more regularly in advertising and in the daily and weekly press, as well as on the radio. Television still did not pay much attention to jazz. The best sign of this new found health, at European level, was the appearance - and even, in some countries like France, proliferation - of new festivals in the late 1970s, and especially in the 1980s.

Festivals originated in this period are: the festivals of Gouvy, Franchimont, Mortroux, Ostend, Brosella, Rossignol (Gaume Jazz Festival), Oupeye (Jazz au Château), the Belga Jazz Festival, the Festival des Lundis d’Hortense.