Corea and Carter return
Advance line up for the 2019 San Javier Jazz Festival contains some familiar faces
FOLLOWING Chick Corea’s stellar performance at last year’s San Javier Jazz Festival, with his Akoustic Band, the 22time Grammy Award-winning pianist is set to make a return visit to this year’s event.
This time around Chick will be performing with his new Spanish Heart Band – a ‘flamenco-charged eight-man band of Latin rhythm masters’.
Corea has reams of classic jazz compositions to his name, including the unforgettable Spain, which incidentally got a more than welcome airing during last year’s San Javier performance, and the first Return to Forever album, featuring Sometime Ago/La Fiesta.
The new Spanish Heart Band consists of Jorge Pardo on sax and flute, Niño Josele on flamenco guitar, Michael Rodriguez on trumpet, Steve Davis on trombone, Carlitos Del Puerto on bass and Marcus Gilmore on drums. The musicians will be complemented by the up-and-coming flamenco dancer Nino de los Reyes.
Another musician making a welcome return to San Javier’s perfect summer evening amphitheatre is the bass player Ron Carter, who this time around will be performing with his latest outfit, the Foursight Quartet.
Over the decades Carter has performed alongside such luminaries as Miles Davies (in his mid-60s quintet featuring Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and drummer Tony Williams), Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, McKoy Tyner and Horace Silver, to name but very few.
Carter’s Foursight Band also features Renee Rosnes on piano, Payton Crossley on drums and Jimmy Greene on tenor sax.
Drummer Steve Gadd has performed with many of the greats of contemporary rock, pop and jazz, including the likes of Simon and Garfunkel, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Joe Cocker, Grover Washington Jr., the above-mentioned Chick Corea, Lee Ritenour, Frank Sinatra, Al Jarreau, Eric Clapton, Chet Baker, Michel Petrucciani, The Bee Gees and Michael McDonald, among others.
As a band leader in his own right he received a 2019 Grammy Award for the best instrumental album, entitled The Steve Gadd Band. His appearance at this year’s festival will be among one of the many highlights.
The Danish pianist Niels Lan Doky will also be making a return visit to the festival for a trio performance of jazz in the vein of the much-missed Bill Evans.
A young drummer and singer, Jamison Ross has been making waves since winning the 2012 Thelonius Monk Institute International Jazz Competition. Both of his releases - Jamison and All for One - have received critical acclaim, with the latter earning Jamison the 2018 Down Beat award for best upcoming artist. His music can be found at the soulful, funky tip of the jazz spectrum and is a joy to listen to.
Lovers of the crooners will not be sold short when the Tony DeSare Quartet comes into town. Pianist, singer and composer DeSare has surrounded himself with a cast of quality musicians who will be performing self-penned romantic ballads and swing tunes, alongside classics from the ‘great American songbook’.
Another Thelonius Monk Institute International Jazz Competition winner, vocalist Jazzmeia Horn will be making her debut at this July’s event. Legendary singer Jon Hendricks has gone on record stating: “Jazzmeia has one of the best voices I have heard in 40 years.”
Fans of contemporary soul-jazz will be delighted to hear that the New York quintet Kennedy Administration are making an appearance. Led by singer Kennedy, the band
mixes soul with jazz, R‘n’B, hip hop and funk to produce a consummately danceable sound that is just ripe for a hot summer’s evening under the Costa Blanca stars.
The above-mentioned artists are a mere taster of what music-lovers can expect to hear throughout the month of July at the 22nd San Javier International Jazz Festival.
The complete line up will be released in due course and full details will be available in Costa Blanca News.