The Catalan music scene has had close ties for years with the entire group of music with African-American roots, what we call black music. To cite just a few examples, the jazz scene in Catalonia has a great centuries-old tradition and is still in good health today despite being forgotten by the general public. And there is no need to talk about the success that Jamaican music has had here: Catalonia is probably one of the most thriving scenes of these genres – it is not an exaggeration – on the continent.
Collecting these ties, two decades ago the idea arose of bringing together all these styles, from blues to hip-hop, in a single event. This is how the Black Music Festival was born in Salt, heir to the old Blues Festival of the Girona town. It began as a modest cycle that relied on a high percentage of the poster to the rich Catalan scene, although in 2003 it brought in a blues totem such as the much-missed Johnny Winter. Since then, this has been the trend: bet on local musicians and bands and import a handful of international figures that give it prestige.
Good proof of this growth is that the cycle, in this 23rd edition, has already crossed the borders of Girona: Scary Pockets, known for their soul-funk versions of pop classics broadcast through YouTube, opened the festival yesterday in the Apolo room in Barcelona. In any case, an anecdotal incursion because the lands of Girona will continue to be the epicenter of the BMF until March 24.
This year, the undisputed headliner is Dee Dee Bridgewater, one of the most important jazz voices of the last 50 years. It will be the first time for the American in the city of Girona, despite having been a regular at the festivals in Barcelona and the Costa Brava. She will be accompanied by the local Girona Jazz Project Big Band and will present her New Orleans repertoire on March 9. Also notable on the international scene is New Yorker Catherine Russell (8/III), multi-instrumentalist for David Bowie's band for many years and currently one of the great vocalists of deep-rooted rhythm'n'blues.
Also, special mention for the Senegalese cousins Seckou Keita and Momi Maiga, who will import a piece of West African tradition with the sound of their koras (17/II), the forceful blues-rock of DeWolff (2/III) or the blues with touches of reggae by the British Errol Linton (23/II). And, finally, from the local level, classics of national ska-reggae will not fail, such as the Gramophone Allstars Big Band (9/II) or Dr. Calypso (9/III), who this time will team up with the insultingly young Les Testarudes, band of ten women that in just a year and a half have accumulated live performances and success throughout the country.
