Opening concert
Centro Cultural Caixanova. Theatre and Concert Hall
Martial Solal
Newdecaband
Martial Solal (Algeria, 1927) is one of the living legends of piano. Not many people worldwide can match his mastery in the use of the eighty eight keys of his musical instrument. Amazingly, this experienced eighty-three-year-old pianist still practices for several hours every single day: hard work is the foundation of his skill. And that skill has led some critics to claim that he is one of the very few pianists who can translate immediately into his keyboard whatever goes through his imagination. In his early stages he played with Django Reinhardt and gained prominence by composing extraordinary sound tracks for first-class French films. Undoubtedly, his participation in Imaxina Sons was a much expected event: it was a matter of time, and an excellent opportunity for a jazz festival which drinks from the sources of European jazz, of which Solal is a referent. For the Newdecaband project, Solal has gathered some of his usual collaborators -including Eric Le Lann- and representatives of the new wave of French musicians. The result is a vibrant work with tones of cinema: the best possible opening for the Sixth Imaxina Sons Festival.
Martial Solal: Piano; Claude Egea & Eric Le Lann: Trumpets; Jean-Jacques Justafr: French horn; Claudia Solal: Voice Denis Leloup & Marc Roger: Trombones; Franois Thilliez: Tuba; Thomas Grimmonprez: Percussion; Jean-Philippe Morel: Electric and acoustic bass.
Sunday, 4th July
Closing Concert
Centro Cultural Caixanova. Theatre and Concert Hall
Dave Douglas Quintet
“Jazz is alive, it is vibrant and is vital". These are the words of Dave Douglas (New Jersey, US, 1963), one of the most productive and outstanding musicians of current jazz and a great believer in its modernity. Douglas, a world renowned trumpeter and composer, thinks that the power of music is well above that of words, and that although it is true that his is a kind of personal work (just like that of any other musician), it is still connected with the concerns and fears which make the world go round. Dave Douglas, who was nominated twice for the Grammy Awards, will close this Sixth Imaxina Sons Festival in the company of his quintet, one of the most well-thought-out projects of his career, one with which he ventures into a wide range of contemporary jazz trends. Miles Davies and Wayne Shorter are the inspiration for the project of a trumpeter who is not at all against the style of his predecessors, but quite on the contrary, one who feels compelled to acknowledge their mastery. On the stage and as part of the quintet will be the brilliant pianist called Uri Craine. With a hyperactive imagination and a bursting good mood Dave Douglas is deemed by some critics as the most European of all American jazzmen. Douglas refuses to be labelled, as he believes that labels constrain and restrain creativity. And while he is open to discussing concepts, he is also an stubborn advocate of the vitality of American jazz.
Dave Douglas: Trumpet; Donny McCasliN: Tenor saxophone; James Genus: Double bass; Clarence Penn: Drums; Uri Caine: Piano.
