51st Umbria Jazz Festival: a journey through the different facets of jazz
The 51st Umbria Jazz offers a wide variety of concerts and musical spaces, from the most orthodox jazz to pop/rock and Latin American music
2' min read
2' min read
At the large and famous Umbria Jazz festival, there are opportunities to hear all facets of the great 'mare magnum' of jazz - with diversions into Latin American music and pop/rock. This starts in the morning and ends late at night; also many opportunities to listen to jazz while having a drink. Instead, we discover Lecce and the Salento with the Classiche Forme chamber music festival directed by one of the greatest pianists, the young Beatrice Rana, who dedicates it to her land. In Rome, to hear great female jazz voices, not present in Perugia.
Perugia
From 12 to 21 the 51stUmbria Jazz, where it starts at noon with the marching band parade and ends late at night in the cosy dimension of the jazz club. From the streets of the city centre, the scene of the Funk Off parades, one passes through the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria, the Teatro Morlacchi, Piazza IV Novembre, the Carducci Gardens, Via dei Priori, the Terrazza del Mercato Coperto, all the way to the Santa Giuliana Arena; each space with its own precise musical identity. Santa Giuliana, the largest space, is the venue for major events, both pop/rock and jazz. The Teatro Morlacchi, the hub of the city's cultural life, hosts the most orthodox jazz concerts for purist fans. The Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria is the precious, cosy treasure chest of sophisticated, almost 'chamber' jazz, prone to research. The open-air stages in Piazza IV Novembre, in the Carducci Gardens and on the Terrace of the Covered Market are dedicated to more accessible genres, for an audience that wants to listen to good soul, blues, swing music. The midnight club in the Secret Bistrot is jazz for those who stay up late with a passion for jam sessions, an identifying rite of jazz in every era. The numerous appointments include Lenny Kravitz on the 13th; Brad Mehldau on the 15th exceptionally in quartet with Chris Potter's sax, Patitucci's double bass, Blake's drums; Roberto Fonseca on the 19th.
Lecce
From the 13th to the 21st in Lecce and the Salento region the 8th edition of Classiche Forme, where we can listen to a pianist like Beatrice Rana in chamber music concerts with original and sophisticated layouts and performers chosen by her, in exceptional spaces such as the 17th-century Chiostro del Rettorato the 16th-century Palazzo Maresgallo, the Cloister of the Ancient Seminary, the Fondazione Le Costantine in Casamassella (engaged in the rediscovery and conservation of the ancient art of hand weaving and embroidery), the 16th-century Castello Volante in Corigliano the Masseria di Supersano, among the oldest in Salento.
Roma
Until 6 August there is a packed programme at the Casa del Jazz, immersed in Villa Borghese. This week, two exceptional voices: on the 8th Cécile McLorin Salvant, young and already a Grammy Award winner; on the 10th Dee Dee Bridgewater, whose long career needs no introduction.
