Ambrose Akinmusire, Marshall Allen and Maria João are some of the names that perform at the 20th edition of the Jazz ao Centro festival, which takes place between September 22 and October 23, in seven spaces in the city of Coimbra.
The festival kicks off on September 22 with a concert by the Brazilian Rodrigo Brandão with Sun Ra Arkestra, one of “one of the inescapable groups in the history of jazz”, active since the 1950s and performing in Coimbra under the direction of the American Marshall Allen, 98 years old. old, said the director of Jazz at the Centro Clube (JACC), José Miguel Pereira.
On stage there will be some elements of the group founded by Sun Ra (one of the great names in world jazz who died in 1993) and musicians from the Portuguese improvised jazz scene, such as Rodrigo Amado or João Valinho.
British musician Alabaster dePlume (September 24), who released his latest album this year on the prestigious Chicago International Anthem label, American flutist Nicole Mitchell (October 5) and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire (October 22), linked to the American jazz publisher Blue Note since 2010, are other international names present in this year’s programming.
On an international level, the festival will also host concerts by two “central artists in the history of European jazz” – the German Peter Brotzmann and the British Heather Leigh – who will perform solo and as a duo, the latter concert at the former Coimbra Editora, a space in Baixa de Coimbra, which in the future will house the headquarters of the technology company Critical Software.
During the press conference, the director of JACC, which co-organizes the festival with the Chamber of Coimbra, also highlighted the concert by Maria João and Carlos Bica, at the São Francisco Convent, on October 21, in a first presentation of an album due out later this year, on JACC Records.
In Jazz ao Centro, there will also be space for concerts by young jazz musicians from Coimbra, such as the singer Leonor Arnaut, who will be in artistic residency with João Carreiro and João Pereira, and the drummer Diogo Alexandre, who will present his debut album.
The festival ends on October 23 with a concert by the Filarmónica União Taveirense symphonic band with jazz pianist Mário Laginha.
For José Miguel Pereira, this edition, which has a budget of 50,000 euros, represents an increase over previous years, hoping to be the beginning of a “leap given in a sustained manner” by the festival.
“There is, namely, on the part of the Chamber of Coimbra, this will [de o evento dar um salto] and we want to show that it makes sense. This festival is already an anchor moment, but it has the conditions to take on another dimension”, underlined the director of JACC, hoping that the next funding framework from the Directorate General for the Arts will also allow a “significant increase” in the support received. by the entity.
The head of the culture division of the Chamber of Coimbra, Paulo Pires, stressed that the municipality intends to “identify anchor projects that should be prioritized” in order to have “greater financial leverage.”
“This is a festival without prejudices, with a democratic, lucid and dust-free vision of jazz in Portugal,” said Paulo Pires, who also highlighted JACC’s work in supporting creation and the fact that its activity does not end in the territory of Coimbra. .
The mayor of Coimbra, José Manuel Silva, stressed that the festival “is a very important event” for the municipality, which allows “bringing jazz, music and culture to various spaces in the city.”
The mayor, responsible for culture, also pointed out that the Salão Brasil, a municipal space managed by the JACC, needs “an investment”, hoping that in the next community framework it will be possible to raise funds for it.
Tickets for the festival cost between ten and 15 euros and are on sale in the usual places.
Source: Observadora
