The First 50 Years of Umbria Jazz (and still looking good!)
Summer 1973: posters on the walls were announcing a new event. It was called Umbria Jazz, would take place from 23 to 26 August in three cities of the region and would have more unique than rare features, especially for a jazz festival: the venues were squares and parks; concerts were free; the festival was itinerant (every night a different city).
Fifty years have passed since then. Formulas have changed several times, as well as the institutional structures, and many UJ events took place on every continent. The festival has opened up to other music genres, from great Brazilian artists to rock stars, but always with jazz music as the beating heart. Italian jazz music has been supported and promoted internationally, and – thanks also to UJ – it has grown to be one of the most significant movements in the world.
The fifty anniversary is a point of arrival and restart simultaneously. Celebrating it doesn’t mean resting on the laurels of our history but taking responsibility for the future of an extraordinary and unique cultural heritage to be preserved and protected.
The musicians of the 50th Anniversary
Eighty-two bands, about 550 artists, more than 230 events, eleven venues. Numbers say much about a majestic edition worthy of such an important anniversary. Quality matters more than quality. The festival of the Arena offers as usual, more than usual, a line-up of stars: BOB DYLAN, the history of popular music of the last sixty years, BEN HARPER’s musical genius, the orchestral interpretation (with the UMBRIA JAZZ ORCHESTRA and ORCHESTRA DA CAMERA DI PERUGIA) of the Police’s songs with STEWART COPELAND, rock and blues music of guitar maestro JOE BONAMASSA, elegant pop music by MIKA, the more sophisticated songwriting by PAOLO CONTE. The Arena also offers jazz stars such as BRAD MEHLDAU, BRANFORD MARSALIS, HERBIE HANCOCK, STEFANO BOLLANI, Clint Eastwood’s film soundtracks played by his son KYLE with his quintet, the UMBRIA JAZZ ORCHESTRA and the strings of the ORCHESTRA DA CAMERA DI PERUGIA, SOMI’s afro/jazz/soul, SNARKY PUPPY’s multicultural energy and the search of the roots of American popular music by RIHANNON GIDDENS in duo with FRANCESCO TURRISI.
The festival of jazz music is at the Teatro Morlacchi. First, there are two top-level trios, one of KENNY BARRON and the other of DANILO PERÉZ with JOHN PATITUCCI and ADAM CRUZ. Another piano legend, FRED HERSCH, performs in duo with ENRICO RAVA, while “Play Petrucciani” is an Italian-Spanish project featuring DOMĺNGUEZ, FLAVIO BOLTRO, MARTĺN LEITON, MICHAEL OLIVERA and STEFANO DI BATTISTA dedicated to great pianist Michel.
The Italian musicians are MAURO OTTOLINI with his ORCHESTRA OTTOVOLANTE in a reinterpretation of the Italian songs of the Golden Age, GIANLUCA PETRELLA with the COSMIC RENAISSANCE, the classic QUARTET by FABRIZIO BOSSO, PAOLO FRESU with his project “Ferlinghetti” about the Beat Generation. THE SWINGERS ORCHESTRA retraces jazz history during the Swing Era. Finally, two stars of the Festival: the rising star of vocality, SAMARA JOY, and guitar master BILL FRISELL with his new quartet.
There is a festival within the festival at the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria, the one of the piano solo performances: DADO MORONI, DANILO REA, RITA MARCOTULLI, ENRICO PIERANUNZI, DAVID VIRELLES from Cuba, NDUDUZO MAKHATHINI from South Africa. German pianist OLIVIA TRUMMER will perform in duo with NICOLA ANGELUCCI, the drummer of the Fabrizio Bosso quartet. Two not-to-be-missed concerts are the ones of the trio of BRANDEE YOUNGER, who will play the harp – a rare instrument in jazz music – and the solo performance of MARC RIBOT, one of the most creative guitarists in the world. There are interesting projects, including the sax/guitar chamber duo by PIETRO TONOLO and GIANCARLO BIANCHETTI. VANESSA TAGLIABUE YORKE presents a sophisticated and cultured project dedicated to the Roaring Twenties. Finally, two drummers lead their projects: JOEY BARON forms the trio called MiXMONK with ROBIN VERHEYEN, tenor sax, and BRAM DE LOOZE, piano, while ENRICO MORELLO, a long-time member of Enrico Rava’s bands, presents “Cyclic Signs”.
The music in the squares includes more popular genres: swing, blues, soul, funky, and gipsy. Traditional vocal group THE NEW ORLEANS MYSTICS and the all-female orchestra SHAKE ‘EM UP JAZZ BAND are from New Orleans, pianist and singer MITCH WOODS from New York and soul multi-cultural band MWENSO AND THE SHAKES from Harlem. Multi-Grammy Award-winning RANKY TANKY proposes original music with an explosive live impact.
There are also J.P. BIMENI from the bursting London music scene and RAY GELATO, an audience favorite at Umbria Jazz.
There are many Italian musicians for this edition: MODALITÀ TRIO featuring Massimo Moriconi, Nico Gori and Ellade Bandini; ironic swing music by SUGARPIE & THE CANDYMEN; the gipsy echoes by ACCORDI DISACCORDI; the spectacular orchestral impact of the TRIBUNAL MIST JAZZ BAND, consisting of lawyers.
Of course, FUNK OFF, the modern marching band, will perform on the streets.
There will be three concerts of the BERKLEE/UMBRIA JAZZ CLINICS AWARD GROUP, the bands formed by the best students of the Berklee classes.
Lastly, there are the COLLEGE BANDS from high schools and universities: Philadelphia Jazz Orchestra; Harmcore, Prague; SRU Jazz Ensemble featuring the SRU Jazz Singers, Pennsylvania; University of New Hampshire Jazz Band, Durham; El Cerrito High School Jazz Ensemble, California; Soul Research Foundation, Salt Lake City; Crescent Super Band, Salt Lake City.THE HOUSE QUINTET featuring PIERO ODORICI, DANIELE SCANNAPIECO, PAOLO BIRRO, ALDO ZUNINO XAVER HELLMEIER will be the protagonist of the ‘round midnight concerts and jam sessions. The project, “Dear Dexter”, is a tribute to saxophone and bebop legend Dexter Gordon.
Artwork: “Jazz Cascade” by David Tremlett
