Albenga Jazz Festival
2024 edition
The Albenga Jazz Festival , organized by the Le Rapalline in Jazz APS Association with the patronage of the Municipality of Albenga and the fundamental contribution of the De Mari Foundation, reaches its 12th edition this year. The event includes a preview concert on August 1, 2024 and four consecutive days of music from August 18 to 21, 2024 .
The concerts will be held on 19, 20 and 21 August 2024 in the historic centre, in Piazza San Michele, at 9.30 pm where the most prestigious and famous artists will perform.
Monday 19 August
The band "ÈLIA BASTIDA MEETS SCOTT HAMILTON" & JOAN CHAMORRO TRIO will play.
Soloists from two generations meet.
Èlia Bastida, a young and very talented Catalan violinist (but she is also a very good singer and saxophonist) meets the tenor sax of the great Scott Hamilton, an American musician gifted with a unique sound and phrasing and who boasts prestigious collaborations (among many, Benny Goodman, Gerry Mulligan, Roy Eldridge). An unusual combination between violin and tenor sax, but of great interest and originality. In proposing a repertoire that ranges from classic jazz to be bop and bossa nova, they will be accompanied by the trio of Joan Chamorro, founder and director of the now "legendary" Sant Andreu Jazz Band of Barcelona, a youth orchestra breeding ground for great international talents (Andrea Motis , Rita Payes, Joan Mar Sauqué, Èlia Bastida herself and many others).
Tuesday 20 August
Concert by FLO' AND ENRICO ZANISI trio – ANDA, Songs of escape and wonder.
ANDA is the exhortation to walk, to escape, to discovery. These are the protagonists of Flo and Enrico Zanisi's concert: she is a singer-songwriter and actress, he is a highly refined jazz musician. A profound journey full of lightness, where jazz is intertwined with the migrant music of the south of the world and the songwriting of exiles and travellers. A concert in which music and words tell stories of fascinating journeys. Flò, voice; Enrico Zanisi, piano; Joe Rehmer, double bass; Alessandro Paternesi, drums
Wednesday 21 August
The quintet THE JAZZ DEFENDERS will perform
With satisfaction we are the first in Italy to present this team from Bristol (England), which is also receiving great acclaim in the United States. The JAZZ DEFENDERS, led by George Cooper, one of the most formidable pianists in the United Kingdom, defend tradition, taking inspiration from the Blue Note sound and the classic hard bop of Art Blakey Horace Silver and Lee Morgan, which are however updated and enriched by compositions originals. Their style, inspired by modern soul jazz, combines solid grooves and captivating horn lines, fusing soul, jazz, hip hop, soundtracks and grooves in a masterful union that leaves audiences mesmerized. The result is a fascinating and unique sound, as danceable as it is pleasant to listen to.
Festival off
On Thursday 1 August 2023, at 9.15 pm, as a preview of the Festival, a concert will be held on the Serassi organ of the Cathedral of San Michele by the young and already established organist Ismaele Gatti.
Ismaele Gatti was born in Como in 1998. He obtained diplomas in piano and organ at the Conservatory of his city. In 2019 he obtained the Master of Arts in Organ Music Performance at the Conservatory of Italian Switzerland in Lugano. In 2021 he obtained the Master of Arts in Specialized Music Performance from the same institute. He carries out an intense concert activity, which has led him to perform on numerous occasions on the organ, piano and harpsichord in Italy and abroad.
Event organized in collaboration with the Valli in Musica Association.
Every morning (19, 20 and 21 August) from 10 am to 12 pm, the "Orchestra rehearsals in morning mood" of the newly formed youth orchestra "Rapalline Jazz Band", directed by the Maestro, will be held at the Ester Siccardi Cloisters. Riccardo Zegna in collaboration with Maestro Corrado Trabuio. The orchestra will make its debut at the Festival with the afternoon concert on August 21st.
During the afternoons, on 18, 19, 20 and 21 August, four concerts will be held at 6 pm, two (18 and 21 August) in Piazza San Domenico, one (19 August) in Piazza Trincheri, one (20 August) in Piazza San Siro.
Sunday 18 August, 6pm, Piazza San Domenico – Concert by the Giuseppe Verdi Band of Albenga. Given the success of last year, we repeat the concert of the “GIUSEPPE VERDI” Band Complex, with different guests and repertoire, but always linked to the world of Jazz. Also this year the participation of internationally renowned Italian soloists such as Gianpiero Lo Bello (trumpet) and Paolo Maffi (Sax) is expected.
Monday 19 August, 6pm, Piazza Trincheri – Simone Magioncalda Trio
From the union of their experiences and their musical thought, the very young Ligurian musicians Simone Magioncalda (guitar), Andrea Amato (double bass) and Samuele Cavallone Drums) conceive a varied repertoire, whose pillars are: improvisation, creativity.
Tuesday 20 August, 6pm, Piazza San Siro – D4rki quartet
After decades of individual experience on every kind of stage, tackling every type of repertoire and alongside the greatest artists of the contemporary classical and pop/rock scene, the four artists (Sylvia Catasta: flute Adriana Ester Gallo: violin Silvia Mangiarotti: viola Sofia Volpiana: cello) combined their creativity, thus creating a project that could link distant worlds and languages that have always united them. The epic nature and power of rock sounds are transformed without losing their character, enhancing their aspects thanks to the essentiality of the most timeless chamber ensemble: the D4RKY quartet.
Wednesday 21 August, 6pm, Piazza San Domenico – Rapalline Jazz Band – directed by Maestro Riccardo Zegna.
In the musical field, and in particular in the field of Jazz music, it is fundamental, for the training of young musicians, to be able to play in a large orchestra, in Jazz also defined as big band. Almost all the most important soloists of American jazz have always given great importance, for their musical development, to the fact of having lived the big band experience as young people. We are referring to very important musicians, such as, to name a few examples, Louis Armstrong Duke Ellington Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Young, Clifford Brown, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald. Furthermore, music for big band jazz, in addition to its educational value, has an enormous intrinsic charm, and can contribute to highlighting and enhancing, in addition to the soloists, the creativity of composers and arrangers. Our association has decided to promote the birth of a jazz orchestra, reserving participation for musicians who have not yet turned thirty. The Big Band, directed by Maestro Riccardo Zegna (pianist, composer, arranger and teacher), assisted by Maestro Corrado Trabuio, will perform for the first time on the final day of the Festival. The objective is to make the orchestra increasingly cohesive, original and open to the inclusion of new young people.
On August 19th, at the Mondadori bookshop in Albenga, the presentation of the book "The sounds of life" by Rodolfo Cervetto will be held. The author will participate
An evocative literary creature between fantasy and historical disclosure; a generous book, where the writer's passion for jazz is not limited to the author but seeks companions and accomplices. The ghosts of Charlie Parker, Art Blakey and the great masters of classic jazz inhabit these pages and accompany the reader to the present day, with the promise that it is not just about music but about life itself, the most authentic life possible. Rodolfo Cervetto (Genoa, 1971) is one of the most appreciated jazz drummers in Italy, with prestigious collaborations in over 25 years of career.
Complete program
THURSDAY 1ST AUGUST (preview)
9.15 pm, San Michele Cathedral
PREVIEW concert at the Serassi Organ by Maestro Ismaele Gatti.
Event organized in collaboration with the “Vallinmusica” association
SUNDAY 18 AUGUST
6pm, Piazza San Domenico
GIUSEPPE VERDI BAND COMPLEX - ALBENGA
Guest soloists: Giampiero Lo Bello, trumpet; Paolo Maffi, saxophones
MONDAY 19 AUGUST
10am, Ester Siccardi Cloisters
ORCHESTRA REHEARSAL IN MORNING MOOD
conducted by Maestro Riccardo Zegna, with guest soloists
10.30 am, Mondadori Bookshop (Viale Martiri della Libertà)
Presentation of the BOOK by
RODOLFO CERVETTO – THE SOUNDS OF LIFE
The author will be present
6pm, Piazza Trincheri
SIMONE MAGIONCALDA TRIO
Simone Magioncalda, guitar
Andrea Amato, double bass
Simone Cavallone, drums
9.30 pm, Piazza San Michele
"ÈLIA BASTIDA MEETS SCOTT HAMILTON" & JOAN CHAMORRO TRIO
Elia Bastida, violin, tenor sax and vocals;
Scott Hamilton, tenor sax
Josep Traver, guitar;
Joan Chamorro, double bass;
Arnau Julià, drums
TUESDAY 20 AUGUST
10am, Ester Siccardi Cloisters
ORCHESTRA REHEARSAL IN MORNING MOOD
conducted by Maestro Riccardo Zegna, with guest soloists
6pm, Piazza San Siro
D4RKY QUARTET
Silvia Catasta, flute
Adriana Ester Gallo, violin
Silvia Mangiarotti, viola
Yuriko Mikami, viola
9.30 pm, Piazza San Michele
FLO' AND ENRICO ZANISI – ANDA, Songs of escape and wonder
Flo, voice
Enrico Zanisi, piano
Joe Rehmer, double bass
Alessandro Paternesi, drums
WEDNESDAY 21 AUGUST
10am, Ester Siccardi Cloisters
ORCHESTRA REHEARSAL IN MORNING MOOD
conducted by Maestro Riccardo Zegna, with guest soloists
6pm, Piazza San Domenico – Absolute preview
RAPALLINE JAZZ BAND
Youth orchestra directed by Maestro Riccardo Zegna
9.30 pm, Piazza San Michele
JAZZ DEFENDERS - Italian preview
George Cooper, piano and keyboards
Nick Malcolm, trumpet
Jake McMurchie, tenor sax
Jay Darwish, double bass
Joost Hendrickx, drums