As has been the case for 31 years, Orvieto is still the heart of Umbria’s winter cultural and tourist offerings. Umbria Jazz Winter (December 28 – January 1) is back with its mix of good music, hospitality, and quality of life for a good holiday among jazz, history, cuisine, museums and craftsmanship in the acropolis of one of the most beautiful towns in the region.
Everything takes place in the center of Orvieto, where more than ninety events (plus UJ4KIDS) are held in five days, with twenty-five bands, all resident, with 150 artists on the six stages set up in the Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo (Sala Expo and Sala dei 400), the Teatro Mancinelli, the Museo Emilio Greco, the Teatro del Carmine and the Palazzo dei Sette. The streets of the center are a very special location, with the marching band (Funk Off, of course), while the Duomo will host the gospel choir in the afternoon of New Year’s Day. The Festival starts early in the morning and ends late at night without stopping. In no other Italian town is it possible to listen to so much music at this time of year.
The union with another Orvieto excellence, good food and excellent wine of noble traditions, also takes place, all to the rhythm of jazz, at at the Sala Expo (jazz lunches and jazz dinners) and the Palazzo dei Sette, which operates non-stop as a bistrot and meeting point.
The farewell to 2024 and the New Year will obviously be celebrated with the soundtrack of Umbria Jazz. Two dinners will be set up in the Sala Expo and the Palazzo dei Sette, while a concert featuring Funk Off and Mwenso & the Shakes will take place in the Sala dei 400. Finally, the concert by the Benedict Gospel Choir at the Teatro Mancinelli will start at 1 am.
Not just played music, but also narrated music. Ashley Kahn, one of the most important contemporary jazz critics, will submit Ethan Iverson to a blindfold test, in collaboration with DownBeat, the magazine that invented the test 60 years ago.
The Fondazione di Partecipazione Umbria Jazz still carries out the initiatives dedicated to children, in collaboration with schools and institutions, to make music more familiar, encourage the development of sensitivity to sound, accustom listening, and stimulate creativity. Music is a formidable tool for socializing, sharing and inclusion.
The spotlight is on Paolo Fresu, on stage with his trio (with Dino Rubino and Marco Bardoscia), with the Devil Quartet, and with a project that will see him supported by his closest collaborators.
A new production by the Umbria Jazz Orchestra with Ethan Iverson, who has arranged a repertoire of great film music. This is an exclusive of UJWinter.
The Festival dedicates a special space to the minimal and evocative formula of the trio. From America come the trio of Joel Ross, the latest star of the vibraphone, and the piano trios of Ethan Iverson and Emmet Cohen, while the Italian groups are the trios of Dino Rubino, Francesca Tandoi (who will have Max Ionata as a special guest and who can also be heard in duo with guitarist Eleonora Strino) and Lorenzo Hengeller.
An interesting look at the origins of jazz will be offered by three bands that retrace the music that was played in the 20s and 30s with philological rigor: the Chicago Stompers, the Dixie Blue Blowers, and the Hot Gravel Eskimos. A step back in history to enjoy jazz performances that retain an enviable freshness thanks to these specialists.
Two regulars at the Festival are the gospel choir (the Benedict Gospel Choir) and the marching band (Funk Off), also in the on-stage version. Spirituality and fun are two very different faces of the Orvieto event, but they are both part of this particular time of the year.
Mwenso and the Shakes, named after their charismatic leader Michael Mwenso, are a group of global artists whose music aims to combine entertainment and art. Theirs is a genre in which jazz and blues converge, with models such as Fats Waller, Muddy Waters, James Brown and many other American icons.
Twenty-five-year-old Cameroonian-American singer Ekep Nkwelle is the new revelation among female jazz vocalists. Umbria Jazz is glad to present her to the Italian public, as they did recently for Cécile McLorin Salvant, Jazzmeia Horn, and Samara Joy.
Irony, polite entertainment, musical culture, good taste and impeccable quality are the ingredients of the Nick the Nightfly Quintet, The Good Fellas, and the Nico Gori Young Lions Quartet.
The quintet led by Piero Odorici and Daniele Scannapieco is the resident band of Umbria Jazz. It is made up of expert jazzmen, among the best exponents of their instruments. The band knows how to perfectly convey the fiery atmosphere of jam sessions loved by night owls.
An original way of recounting the centuries-old history of jazz. An exclusive project for Umbria Jazz Winter with a current and experimental sound reinterpretation by Enzo Pietropaoli and Michele Rabbia, a visual project by Massimo Achilli and a narration by Guido Barlozzetti, who is the mastermind behind this work. The location is the Teatro del Carmine.
The first notes of Umbria Jazz Winter will be played by the young promises of jazz. Umbria Jazz offers a prestigious showcase for emerging musicians. The Orvieto program includes two bands. The Scannapieco – Geremia 5et won Conad Jazz Contest 2024. The Berklee/Umbria Jazz Clinics Award Group is a band composed of the best students of the Berklee classes.
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A POSTER JAM SESSION
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