After a year’s break, Umbria Jazz returned hoping that the public’s wild enthusiasm would have loosened somewhat. In an attempt to encourage a more relaxed atmosphere, a new formula was launched designed to separate the legions of general spectators from those on a budget preferring to rough it, consisting in the holding of two concerts at the same time in two different Umbrian towns. However, when it came to it, this only really worked in the cities of Perugia and Terni, and proved a disaster in the other towns around Umbria, with concerts cancelled and an assortment of other problems.
This marked the end of the first coming of Umbria Jazz, but looking back on that year, the music itself was superb once again: Lionel Hampton led an All Star Big Band with guest musician Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard played with his quintet; then there was Buddy Rich’s Big Band, Carla Bley, McCoy Turner’s sextet, but above all the Bill Evans Trio with the wonderful veteran drummer Philly Joe Jones making his return in an unforgettable set which also included saxophonist Lee Konitz.
