銆€銆€KATHMANDU, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- The sound of Jazz is back again in Nepali capital of Kathmandu when seven international and five local bands will perform in a week-long Jazz festival, the Surya Nepal Jazzmandu 2012, from Nov.1.

銆€銆€"The biggest Jazz party in the Himalayas" will feature artists from round the globe including Norwegian trio Suzy&2, Tito Puente Jr and Marlow Rosado from USA, Adil and Vasundhara from India, Thai Rootman, French Nojazz and Swiss Beat Kaesli &Ben Stivers.

銆€銆€The international artists will perform along with finest Nepali classical and jazz bands such as, Kutumba, Urjazz, Gandharva and Dhimey Girls.

銆€銆€Various local-level jazz performances and competitions are also scheduled on the sidelines of the festival. 'Jazz for the Next Generation' a band competition, is one of them. The competition will be organized in collaboration with the Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory and will be judged by the visiting Jazz pioneers, a press release issued by Jazzmandu reads.

銆€銆€With an aim to promote local music education and to provide budding musicians with a welcome platform to showcase their musical skills, various jazz workshops will also be held in different venues.

銆€銆€"Jazz for the Next Generation is just a new aspect of what we were already doing to promote Jazz," one of the founders of Jazzmandu, Navin Chhetri said in the statement. "The educational aspect of Jazzmandu has always been a big priority for us, and we used to have jazz concerts especially for school students.. Workshops and Master classes for young musicians are also a big priority."

銆€銆€This is the 10th time Kathmandu is experiencing the exceptional concert with fusions of jazz, European, African, American and Eastern music traditions.