The guitar is an instrument well suited to Orvieto: the list of specialists of that instrument who at one time or another have appeared at UJW is a long one; several of them have been more than once, such as the magnificent Jim Hall, a master of rarefied sounds and sophisticated melodies, a musician who symbolizes the quality constantly pursued by the organizers of UJW; and the bluesy guitar of Paul Scofield with his constantly dynamic, rhythmic groups.
Richard Galliano returned, this time with a true master of French jazz, the multi-instrumentalist Michel Portal; as did Roy Hargrove, once again with his hard bop revival sounds. Luis Bacalov rediscovered his Argentinian roots, and came with a project centred around the boundless sounds of tango. Another pianist, Chucho Valdes, a historical figure on the Cuban jazz scene, revives the colourful, dense atmospheres of Latin American music, while the trombone player Dave Douglas offers a form of modern jazz that attempts to go beyond the routine that many of his fellow musicians are trapped in.
