Articles by Sara Villa
Umbria Jazz Winter: Orvieto, Italy, December 28, 2012 - January 1, 2013
by Sara Villa
Umbria Jazz Winter 2013Orvieto, ItalyDecember 28, 2012--February 1, 2013Dee Alexander's Evolution Ensemble
Dee Alexander's sensitive and virtuosic voice, together with the exquisite harmony of her group, charmed the Umbria Jazz Winter public with two different concert series. The first was dedicated to the memory of Alexander's mentor, Light Henry Huff, and the second focused on the music of James Brown. The group's new album, Sketches of Light (IGEA, 2012), was the basis of ... Continue ReadingFrançois Houle 5+1: Montreal, Canada, July 3, 2012
by Sara Villa
François Houle 5+1Casa del PopoloMontréal, QuébecJuly 3, 2012Wild strawberries. This was the taste of clarinetist François Houle's 5+1 performance at Casa del Popolo, presenting his group's just-released Genera (Songlines, 2012). Why wild strawberries? Because the entire two sets had both the fresh and savory, yet also spicy and untamed flavor of the Québecois berries which ripen in this summer season, and the sophisticated, refined and sensitive texture of a music that recalled the emotional complexity ...
Continue ReadingUmbria Jazz Winter, Days 3-5: December 30, 2011-January 1, 2012
by Sara Villa
Days 1-2 | Days 3-5 Umbria Jazz Winter #19 Perugia, Italy December 28, 2011-January 1, 2012 Stan Tracey Trio Stan Tracey started the morning of his 85th birthday in the best possible way: playing jazz for an audience which was enthusiastic to share his music in such an iconic moment. Opening “Panama Red" with his impeccable, swinging vibrato and an elegant essentialism, Tracey showed a cheerful sense of happiness throughout his selection, and ...
Continue ReadingUmbria Jazz Winter #19, Days 1-2: December 28-29, 2011
by Sara Villa
Days 1-2 | Days 3-5 Umbria Jazz Winter #19 Perugia, Italy December 28, 2011-January 1, 2012 In an Italy where the cuts inflicted to the cultural sector by the last Berlusconi government led a figure like Riccardo Muti to publically express his indignation, Umbria Jazz Winter # 19 was a confirmation of the incredibly rich and original patrimony that Italian arts and music have to offer on the international scene, including constant international projects realized ...
Continue ReadingGuelph Jazz Festival: Guelph, Canada, September 7-11, 2011
by Sara Villa
Guelph Jazz Festival, Colloquium & Nuit Blanche Guelph, Canada September 7-11, 2011 As Prez used to say, if you are a good improviser you are able to tell a soulful story. What happens, then, when some of the most experimental improvisers from Canada, Australia, Norway, and England (among the others) are involved in a four-day kermesse, including an all-night long nuit blanche, filled with experimental performances? The single story, then, becomes a complex, intertwined narrative of ...
Continue ReadingUmbria Jazz Winter #18 Days 3-5: December 31, 2010-January 2, 2011
by Sara Villa
Days 1-2 | Days 3-5 Umbria Jazz Winter #18 Orvieto, Italy December 29, 2010-January 2, 2011 The Alfredo Rodriguez Trio Discovered, produced and hailed by Quincy Jones, Alfredo Rodriguez chose to contradict any potential preconception linked with the highly slippery definition of Latin Jazz to which his Cuban origins tie him. From the very first composition at his Umbria Jazz Winter performance, the young pianist's “Silence," it was clear that Rodriguez was ...
Continue ReadingUmbria Jazz Winter #18 Days 1-2: December 29-30, 2010
by Sara Villa
Days 1-2 | Days 3-5 Umbria Jazz Winter #18 Orvieto, Italy December 29, 2010-January 2, 2011 Chick Corea/Stefano Bollani Piano Duo This year the wintery version of Italy's major jazz festival is an 18-year-old grown-up, and it shows. Its calendar reconfirmed a highly diverse mix, embellished by an increasing number of collaborations between North American, Latin and European jazz musicians. The opening concert of this kermesse was a pearl ...
Continue Reading24 Hours of Umbria Jazz 2010
by Sara Villa
Imagine traveling by car for hours in the summer heat of Italy's July 2010. At last it is early evening, and you reach the borders of a breathtaking medieval town. A soft breeze blows around you while you walk through the steep slopes which lead you to the centre. You follow the sounds you so eagerly waited for; they are as welcoming as you had imagined them. The elegant, sharp notes of Sonny Rollins' sax fill the atmosphere, Arena Santa ...
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