From 19 July to 30 August, a special edition of the BargaJazz Festival, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.
The event will take place in Barga and in many towns across the province of Lucca. As always, the centrepiece is the competition for arrangements and compositions for jazz orchestra, dedicated this year to the music of Stevie Wonder – a composer who, whilst belonging to the world of soul and pop, has had a huge influence on contemporary music as a whole and to whom many jazz musicians paid tribute. The BargaJazz Orchestra will welcome Grègoire Maret, an internationally acclaimed virtuoso on the chromatic harmonica, who will perform as a soloist on pieces arranged especially for him by the organised especially for him by
The first event takes place on Sunday 19 July in the village of Calomini (Fabbriche di Vergemoli) with a sunset concert by the Fat Fingers Sax Quartet.
On Saturday 25th at 9.30 pm in S. Andrea di Compito (Capannori), in collaboration with the HIHO Festival, Federico Frassi’s project entitled “Grolnik and me” will be presented. Confirmed for the evening of 26 July is the collaboration with Castiglione di Garfagnana, which this year is hosting Elisa Mini’s quartet, presenting a programme dedicated to the Brazilian music of Tom Jobim.
A particularly picturesque setting has been chosen for Nicolao Valiensi’s project entitled “Viaggio d'Inverno”, which will take place on 30 July, from 7.00 pm, in the garden of Casa Pascoli in Castelvecchio (Barga). During this event, organised in collaboration with the Giovanni Pascoli Foundation and the Barga Municipal Youth Council, those who wish to do so will be able to enjoy an aperitif basket on the lawn.
The partnership with the municipality of Coreglia Antelminelli continues, with two concerts to be held there: the Paola Bivona Quintet in the village of Gromignana on 31 July and the Maurizio Geri Swingtet on 9 August in Piazza Antelminelli in Coreglia.
Another stop in Garfagnana is on 13 August in Molazzana, at the open-air theatre, where the Koro Almost Brass wind quintet will perform, featuring Cristiano Arcelli on alto saxophone, Fulvio Sigurtà on trumpet, Giovanni Hoffer on French horn, Massimo Morganti on trombone, and Glauco Benedetti on the tuba.
The concert series in Barga kicks off on 8 August at the Teatro dei Differenti with the American trumpeter Jason Palmer and Lorenzo Simoni’s quartet.
A new venue for concerts is the Bastione del Fosso, in the green space behind the monument to Antonio Mordini, where Lebanese pianist Tarek Yamani will perform on 18 August. The BargaJazz Contest returns on 19 August – a competition for up-and-coming bands whose members are under 35, which every year attracts young bands from all over Italy.
On Thursday 20th, also at the Bastione del Fosso, singer Claudia Tellini’s project dedicated to the music of Stevie Wonder will be presented.
On the evenings of 21st and 22nd August, at the Teatro dei Differenti, the BargaJazz Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Mario Raja, will take centre stage for the arrangement and composition competition.
The festival continues on 27 August with Roberto Castello’s music and dance show CHAMA, featuring the Enganzibao Orchestra and Zam Moustapha Dembelé.
On Friday 28th, it will be the turn of Spanish singer Bea Asurmendi, accompanied by a group of young Italian musicians who have made a name for themselves on the London scene in recent years.
On 29 August, a special production will be presented to mark the 40th anniversary of BargaJazz: Bruno Tommaso’s Jazz Requiem Mass, featuring a 12-piece ensemble, singers Federica Raja and Marica Calogero, and Nicola Raffone as narrator.
Sunday 30 August marks the festival’s closing day, featuring BargaINjazz from 5.00 pm with the Fantomatik Orchestra, whilst various squares will host a variety of bands from SienaJazz University. Piazza del Teatro will be the venue for jam sessions organised by the BargaJazzClub. At 6.00 pm, there will be a concert at the Cathedral of St Christopher featuring Vittorio Alinari, who will present a solo project inspired by the songs of medieval pilgrims. To round off the day, there will be another concert on the Bastione del Fosso by the band Raindogs.
The festival will also feature a programme of seminars and side events: on 20 August at 6.00 pm, at the Ricci Foundation, Francesco Martinelli will lead a seminar on the music of Stevie Wonder and his influence on the world of jazz, whilst on 21 August the Lucca Press Club will host a discussion entitled ‘Telling the story of jazz through words and images’ with Enrico Stefanelli, Claudio Donà and Francesco Martinelli.