TAKE in a dash of jazz over the winter months with the Le 'Off' festival that opens on Saturday 12 November, 2011 in Eymet, the Dordogne.
Each month between now and April 2012 musicians drop in on the salle des fêtes in Eymet, with the sounds of Chicago mixing with Latin America, and music from a number of French bands.
The concerts take place on Saturday, starting at 7.30pm with tickets priced from €10.
A NEW English language programme is to be broadcast by EU Radio Nantes and is looking for people to take part.
New Perspectives will be hosted by Cate Chambers, the show will feature a chat with an expat about their life and work, a round-up of news and information and a noticeboard of things taking place.
EU Radio Nantes has been broadcasting since 2007 and features journalists from around Europe and you can listen to the station online, or if you are in the Nantes area it can be found on 101.3 FM.
Cate's show will start on Wednesday, February 9 from 9.45am until 10am.
EXPLORE the music of France via the Langues de France en Chansons website, which offers a chance to listen to some incredible musicians.
The site brings together around 75 different French dialects and languages from both mainland France and overseas, including Basque, Breton and Occitan, as well as Judéo-Espagnol, Romani and Yiddish.
Using a train journey as its method of discovering the different musical styles, you are taken past the names, faces and costumes that describe the music and you can click on each one to discover more.
FRANCE is set to rock on the longest day of the year as the annual Fête de la Musique takes place on June 21.
The celebrations feature across the country and there are set to be around 10,000 free events taking in everything from jazz to classical music.
The Fête de la Musique started in 1982 and has gone on to feature in many other countries including Germany, Ireland as well as the UK.
The official website has a list of the events taking place.
IF you are a fan of the jazzy sounds of Paris, with a dash of vintage Cadillacs from Cuba, enter the latest This French Life competition.
All you need to do is leave a comment to be in with a chance to win a copy of the Paris to Cuba CD by Mario Grigorov on the competition page.
And you can get a quick taste of the music by listening to a short clip of Snake Eyes, which features on the album and is sung by Melissa Newman.
Singer Renat Sette is performing in Cotignac (map), to the east of Aix en Provence, where the Sound of the Stones will be told in the Provençal language but with an English translation.
The video, right, dates from 2006, Renat Sette is the performer on the left, but even this short clip shows what a mesmerising, atmospheric performance is on offer.
Songs performed in just Provençal begin on Friday, October 24 (from 6pm), with the English translation available on October 25 (6pm), whilst a French translation is available on the Sunday (5.30pm). All are free entry.
EACH year the Les Azuriales Opera Festival is held against the backdrop of St Jean-Cap Ferrat, the unspoilt peninsula that juts out into the Mediterranean Sea from the corniches of the Côte d'Azur between Nice and Monaco.
Performances take place in the covered cloister of the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, a fairytale Belle Époque mansion built by the Rothschild family, surrounded by magnificent mature gardens where up to 200 people dine under the stars after an evening of opera.
THE competition offering you a chance to win the Sous D'autres Jazzitudes CD by Jacques Pellarin has come to a close. The winner was JK, who I am sure will enjoy listening to the cool, jazzy sounds of the accordion.
The Fête de la Musique is a major event which each year brings together millions of French people on the day of the summer solstice.
On June 21, towns and villages play host to musicians and artists offering everything from classical favourites to new and original music.
JAZZ, they say is a personal preference, but July brings The Humber Faculty Jazz Ensemble to the Auxois area of Burgundy.
If you want to hear an exciting blend of original compositions, a fresh approach to jazz standards and be included in an international treat, all set in the beautiful countryside of Burgundy the opportunity is too great to miss.
All from an ensemble which has just returned from a triumphant tour of Korea.
More on: Jazz en Auxois
