This year’s edition of the Funchal Jazz Festival brings together some of the most renowned musicians of our time.
Awards, talent and an impressive résumé are all common traits of the musicians taking part in this year’s Funchal Jazz Festival. With a record of 15 editions (this year’s will be the 16th), this is a well-established event with a faithful audience and an important role in the promotion of Madeira as a destination.
The open-air stage contributes towards the welcoming environment of the festival. The line-up, is created based on a balance between quality and variety and features a programme which the organizing committee is “extremely proud of”. Artistic Director Paulo Barbosa says it is hard to “highlight any best parts” as the line-up features “a handful of some of the most renowned and awarded musicians of current times.”
All concerts will start at 9 p.m. The festival begins on July 2nd with the opening performance of André Fernandes, described by Paulo Barbosa as “one of the most talked about Portuguese musicians of the last decade”. The guitarist will be showcasing Wonder Wheel, a collective featuring three of the biggest names on the national jazz scene: drummer Alexandre Frazão, bass player Demian Cabaud and pianist Óscar M.Graça, joined by Inês Sousa on vocals.
The second concert of the evening will be carried out by Joe Lovano, described by the artistic director of the Funchal Jazz Festival as “a true titan of the tenor saxophone and jazz music of the last four decades.” A Grammy-winner with over 30 albums, Paulo Barbosa says he is “undeniably the most awarded saxophonist of current times.”
The first act of the second night starts with young saxophonist Miguel Zenón, followed by Kurt Elling, “the male voice of today’s jazz” according to Paulo Barbosa.
The third night of the festival opens with Christian McBride. Three-time Grammy winner he is often nominated by critics as bass player of the year. In addition to his twelve albums, McBride is the most sought after jazz bassist of the last few decades and “taken part in more than 300 recordings!” recalls Paulo Barbosa.
Four-time Grammy winner Terence Blanchard will be the last performer on the closing night of the festival. Both a trumpeter and composer, Blanchard is one of the musicians who will be in Funchal to showcase “new projects and new material” in addition to Joe Lovano and Kurt Elling, explains Paulo Barbosa.
The festival further includes the Jam Sessions held at the Scat Music Club & Restaurant following the concerts. The performers are the Ricardo Toscano Quartet, a group of musicians between the ages of 21 and 24, who, according to Paulo Barbosa, “are increasingly establishing themselves as true artists of outstanding musical maturity.”
On June 27th there is an official presentation concert which sees the Madeira Jazz Collective take to the stage, an absolute first for the group “composed by some of the most renowned jazz players in Madeira, all of whom are teachers are at the local conservatory”, explains Paulo Barbosa.
The organizing committee is hoping that the public will join in mass “not only due to the quality and diversity of the line-up” but also because this year there was more time to organize and promote the festival.
In 2014 a total of 6 thousand people joined the 3-day festival at Funchal’s Santa Catarina Park, “a satisfactory number for a festival of this nature and in a city the size of Funchal” says Paulo Barbosa. However, he does not hide his “well-founded hope” of having an even larger audience this year.
Go to Funchal Jazz Festival with Essential Madeira Islands! Know more here.
