The young British vocalist Nel Begley, established as one of the most outstanding emerging figures of the current jazz scene, will open the Jazz Tardor de Lleida festival on the 15th, at Castell del Remei, which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary with a program in which international stars will live together (Emmet Cohen, Stick Men, Exploding Pig, Jim Rotondi or Grant Stewar) with a large representation of musicians from the local scene. In total, and until December 16, 19 concerts have been scheduled in Lleida, Castell del Remei, Cervera and Guissona.
“I thought that after thirty years it was very important that everyone from Lleida who plays jazz of certain quality levels could be present”, argues its director, Josep Ramon Jové.
The official opening itself will take place on November 4, in the Enric Granados Auditorium, with the trio Stick Men, led by bassist Tony Levin, who has played with bands such as King Crimson, Pink Floyd, as well as with soloists of the caliber by Peter Gabriel and John Lennon. He is accompanied by Markus Reuter on electric guitar and Pat Mastelotto on drums. Another outstanding figure of the current edition will be the jazz pianist and composer from the United States Emmet Cohen (Espai Orfeo, November 12).
From the Lleida jazz scene, the organization has invited Alfons Enjuanes, Ignasi González, Xavier Monge and Pixie Dixie, Jordi Mestre, the emerging Pau Lladó, the Ponent Dixie and the Ponent Big Band. On November 4, the festival will also take to the streets with Pixie Dixie, a veteran group that turns 30 and whose swing has played at numerous festivals and venues across the country.
Jazz Tardor also pays tribute to Josep Vallverdú, coinciding with Vallverdú Year which commemorates the centenary of the writer, teacher and translator from Lleida with a jazz adaptation of eight poems by Balaguer pianist Xavier Monge, which will be performed in formation quartet with Carme Canel’s voice, Rai Ferrer’s double bass and Pol Alonso’s drums.
Coinciding with the festival, the photographer Jordi Pou presents the Bob Love’s Jazz exhibition at Castell del Remei, a tribute to the event itself and all those people who are behind these musical events. They are photographs taken with artificial intelligence tools based on a fictional story, the life of Bob Love. The idea – explains Jordi Pou – is to pay tribute to the jazz scene, the protagonists are not only the musicians”.
In the presentation of the festival, Josep Ramon Jové recalled that Jazz Tardor was born three decades ago in the now-defunct Sala Europa “the result of a group of crazy people in love with jazz and now it is already a benchmark for the cultural proposals of Lleida”. The most veteran fans of the genre in Lleida remember performances by historical figures, Cedar Walton, Lee Konitz, Teddy Edwards, Tete Montoliu or Wild Bill Davis.
