That part of this year’s programme dedicated to the memory of past masters, commemorated the thirty years since the passing away of the great Thelonius Monk, a true genius, the “Picasso” of jazz. UJW remembered Monk with a performance by one of his most faithful followers, the pianist Stan Tracey, born 1926, a genuine cornerstone of British jazz music, who in calling to mind the maestro’s historic concert of 1959 at New York’s Town Hall, performed such wonderful classics as Friday the 13th, Monk’s Mood, Off Minor, and Crepuscule with Nellie.
The Festival, however, also looked to the fertile store of talent to be found in Latin America, and which continues to produce a series of exuberant, indefinable talents such as the pianist Michel Camilo, a virtuoso who loves showing of his multifaceted skills, Gonzalez Rubalcaba, a truly passionate pianist, and Chano Dominguez. As in the past, this year’s UJW also featured a good selection of the best of Italian jazz, with Danilo Rea, Gianluca Petrella and Paolo Fresu leading the way.
