Herbie Hancock to headline Angra Jazz festival

With an impressive line-up of artists from around the world, jazz will be a central feature of Portugal's cultural offering in the summer months, from the northern most region of Minho to the southern tip of the Algarve.

This year's highlight will be the 10th annual Angra Jazz festival, in October, performed in the old converted bullring on the beautiful island of Terceira, in the Azores. Multiple Grammy Award winner Herbie Hancock will headline. Angra Jazz 2008 promises to be a treat for jazz devotees and a great chance to visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Terceira.

In addition, Portugal's 25th Annual Jazz Festival will run from 1-9 August at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon. The festival is one of the oldest in Portugal and over the years has brought celebrated jazz musicians to the country, including Bill Frisell and the Art Ensemble of Chicago. This year's offering, focused around the concept of "extensions" ,promises to be one of the most successful ever with jazz legend Eric Dolphy and Japanese group Otomo Yoshihide Orchestra set to headline.

Lagos Jazz from 13-17 August is the Algarve's jazz offering for the summer. Lagos Jazz is an opportunity for local talent to perform alongside world-class musicians – this year, globally renowned jazz piano ensemble Mulgrew Miller Trio will play alongside the local jazz orchestra and various national musicians.

The historic city of Guimarães, in the north of Portugal, hosts a jazz festival each year in the city's cultural centre. This year's line-up is yet to be finalised, but to get a taste of what Guimarães has to offer, 2007's highlights included The Pharoah Sanders Quartet, The Ravi Coltrane Quartet and The Jan Garbarek Group.

Portugal's jazz programme, with its mix of local and world-famous names, promises to be an exciting and entertaining series of events, diversifying the country's tourist offering and highlighting it as a prime cultural destination in Europe.

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