With more tickets, more concerts and more stages than ever, this is how the Voll-Damm Jazz Festival in Barcelona was presented this Wednesday, which in its 55th edition presents a luxury line-up with legends such as Ron Carter, Chucho Valdés and Michel Camilo, who will rub shoulders with the best local proposals such as Andrea Motis, Marco Mezquida or Horacio Fumero, protagonist in this edition of a well-deserved tribute on the 50th anniversary of their arrival in Barcelona. La Vanguardia subscribers have a 15% discount on the price of tickets, as long as they buy them at Vanguardia Tickets.
In total there will be more than 100 concerts that will take place from September 18 to December 30 with the presence of 400 musicians, 34% of them Catalan and 35% women, a large musical cast that will perform in 17 spaces, with the inclusion this year of new spaces such as La Paloma, the Tívoli, the Jamboree or the brand new Live Room of the Conservatori del Liceu, where master classes will be held starring the musicians participating in the festival.
“We are walking towards the 60th anniversary with the utmost enthusiasm,” said Tito Ramoneda, director of the festival, highlighting that it is a festival “of a city, of a country, that is enjoyed little by little.” He did so during a presentation in which Horacio Fumero performed, protagonist in this edition of the artist's portrait with five concerts where the double bassist of Argentine origin will perform accompanied by musicians such as his daughter Lucia, Ignasi Terraza, Rita Payés, Xavi Torres, Pedro Javier González or Bill McHenry, among others.
Fumero is one of the veterans who will perform at a festival with a notable presence of jazz legends, “a dense festival,” as Joan Anton Cararach, artistic director of the event, has defined it. In the coming months you will be able to see masters such as Ron Carter perform, Chucho Valdés with his Royal Quartet, who has just recorded an album that is “absolutely incredible, it is surprising how he is able to do new things every year,” Cararach noted.
Kenny Barron will also perform alone with his piano presenting his latest work, The source, Sergio Mendes with his combination of jazz and bossa nova, or Michel Camilo, the Dominican pianist who this year will receive the festival's gold medal in addition to performing alongside Marco Mezquida at the Palau de la Música in a piano duo. Although the oldest musician - and also the most media-worthy - who will pass through Barcelona will be Woody Allen, film director, jazz enthusiast and amateur clarinetist who will open the festival on September 18, performing for two nights at the Tivoli Theater with the New Orleans Jazz Band.
The big orchestras will have their chance to shine at the Night of the Big Bands, with a double program in which you can hear the Rufaca Folk Jazz Orchestra and its mix of music with Pyrenean roots and jazz, followed by the Big Band Jazz Maresme with a program dedicated to Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. On another date the Liceu Big Band will perform accompanying Richard Bona performing music by the Cameroonian bassist, while the Sant Andreu Jazz Band will perform its Abraça Brasil program.
Among the Catalan offering, Andrea Motis stands out, who will present, together with the Camerata del Liceu, her new project titled Febrero, where she is accompanied by a string and wind orchestra. Also arriving with new music will be Josep Mas Kitflus, who will perform accompanied by a string quartet, and Carles Benavent, who will present his latest work, Belle Solitude. Marco Mezquida, who will perform for the second time to present his album Tornado, and Clara Peya, who will do the same with Corsé, will also bring new material.
Parallel to the jazz offering, the De Cajón program will take place, with great flamenco names such as Tomatito, Miguel Poveda, José Mercé, María José Hierro or Rosario, in the artist's debut within the festival. And to complete the musical offering, the Finestres series will come from the hand of Bebe, who will perform in the recovered Sala La Paloma. The pianist Sofiane Pamart will present her latest album, Noche, while Ariel Rot and Kiko Veneno will remember the tour they did together with their concert A country to listen to it.
