The Nest Vol. 5: The premiere

11 July | North Sea Jazz Festival

The Nest is BIRD’s annual residency program, bringing together four promising artists for seven days of intensive collaboration. A week in which musicians from different backgrounds meet, exchange ideas, write new music, and develop an entirely new live performance together. No fixed formula, no predetermined outcome, only curiosity, experimentation, and the freedom to let something new emerge.

The Nest provides a platform for the next generation of creators. Artists who not only excel within their own projects, but are challenged to step beyond their comfort zones and explore new musical worlds together.

For The Nest Vol. 5, the following artists join forces:

Lezaam Beets – trombone / voice
Dane Paris – drums & percussion
Jaydian Daniel – keys
Eñaut – electric bass

In preparation for this premiere, the artists developed new material during a residency at Muziekwerf Rotterdam. Throughout the process, they were guided by mentor Nduduzo Makhathini. As an internationally acclaimed South African pianist, improviser, scholar, and Blue Note recording artist, Makhathini brings a powerful vision of music as a vehicle for collective memory, transformation, and transcendence.

Following an intensive week of creating, exploring, and making music together, The Nest Vol. 5 now celebrates its official premiere at North Sea Jazz Festival. What began as an open-ended process of ideas, conversations, improvisations, and experimentation comes together in a unique performance shaped by new compositions, unexpected encounters, and collective imagination.

For this special presentation, the residency artists are joined by:

Diana Dzhabbar – saxophone / flute
Julia Zahra – vocals

The Nest is about process, connection, and the magic of the unknown. This premiere marks the culmination of a week in which boundaries were challenged, new artistic relationships were formed, and music was given the space to unfold in the moment.

The premiere of The Nest Vol. 5 is made possible by North Sea Jazz Festival.