With a new name, more concerts and legendary musicians such as Chucho Valdés or Charles Lloyd, the ninth edition of the Estartit jazz festival is presented, which takes the name of Sea Jazz Estartit to highlight the connection with the Mediterranean, the backdrop of the 16 concerts scheduled from July 24 to 28 on the beautiful stage of El Molinet, which this year will be joined by the Moll de Levante stage. Club Vanguarda members will soon be able to purchase their tickets with a 15% discount through the Vanguardia Tickets portal.
Saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin will headline Thursday’s program with the presentation of Phoenix, the New Yorker’s fourth album created as a result of a traffic accident that almost ended her life. An album that earned three Grammy nominations for the talented artist, who has collaborated with The Roots, Stevie Wonder and Alicia Keys. Another young talent, Empordà trumpeter Joan Mar Sauqué, will open the evening in quintet format (voice, trumpet, sax, double bass and drums) with his latest work, Náufragos, which includes a suite dedicated to the Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa. All in a day that will begin at 7 p.m. with a free concert by Clarence Bekker on the roof of the Estartit fishermen’s guild.
On Friday it will be the turn of Artemis, a female quintet made up of pianist Renee Rosnes, clarinetist Anat Cohen, sax player Melissa Aldana, Ingrid Jensen on trumpet, Noriko Ueda on bass and Alison Miller on drums, who will present their latest work, In real time. Previously, Jazztanyoles will play, the project of the pianist Elisabet Raspall and the dancer Belén Cabanes, who using castanets star in a Mediterranean fusion from Vilanova i la Geltrú.
Two legends of Latin jazz, Chucho Valdés and Arturo Sandoval, lead an ensemble of 10 musicians that will star on Saturday night with the tribute to the legacy of Afro-Cuban jazz from Irakere on the 50th anniversary of the orchestra that revolutionized jazz with its jazz mix , rock, funk, popular Cuban rhythms and classical music. A fusion of which bands like Las Karamba are heirs, a female quintet based in Barcelona that will open the recital with the songs from their new album, I tell you singing.
The cloenda will correspond to Charles Lloyd, the saxophonist from Memphis who throughout his extensive career has collaborated with bands such as The Doors, The Byrds and the Beach Boys. At 86 years old, he visits the festival for the first time to present his latest work, The sky will still be there tomorrow, which he will offer accompanied by Larry Grenadier on double bass, Eric Harland on drums and Jakob Bro on guitar. As the first course of the night, you can hear pianist Emmet Cohen, the 31-year-old young talent and finalist for the Thelonius Monk Prize, in trio format.
Another novelty of this edition is the Young Lions program, the protagonist of the first day of Jazz Sea Estartit with seven free concerts by young talents who will offer their proposals in the spaces of El Molinet and Espigó de Llevant. Artists such as Aura i Biel will meet there, presenting their debut album, Instants, with Balkan sounds mixed with jazz. The Barcelona trumpeter Víctor Carrascosa will perform the songs from Sound of art with a quintet, based on traditional jazz standards. The Sicilian Althus will lead a quintet with the presence of the trumpeter Irene Reig to present Love!, his latest album where he pays tribute to Nat King Cole, while the double bassist Martin Leiton will present Caravana, the double bassist’s fifth work as leader of his quartet.
These local lions will be accompanied by three groups representing the Catalan-Dutch jazz connection, such as Ton Felices Electronic Quartet, headed by the double bassist from Vilafranca del Penedès, who at 22 years old is one of the most promising musicians on the scene. For his part, pianist Xavi Torres, trained in Amsterdam like Felices, will be accompanied by Reinier Elizarde, El Negrón and Andreu Pitarch to play the songs that he composed during the quarantine and that he published on the album Quarentena songs. The same connection with the city of canals has the Israeli drummer Guy Salamon, who will be accompanied by his band to present Free hugs, his third album recorded in Girona. Jazz for all tastes and all budgets, with free sessions, tickets for the double concerts from 40 to 55 euros and the possibility of purchasing a season ticket for 85 euros.
