THE ELECTRONIC TANGO OF GOTAN PROJECT

UJ kicked off the portion of this year’s festival dedicated to the Heineken Nights by presenting the Gotan Project in its Perugia debut to the delight of an enthusiastic and passionate audience in Piazza IV Novembre.
The Frech-Argentinian band plays a mix of traditional tango and electronic sound with traditional and acoustic instruments creating electric hypnotic and balanced tunes. 
Their style has attracted rave reviews from critics and standing ovations from audiences.
Live, they show themselves also to be talented showmen. Their performance is charged with new sound mixes, high level lights and two talented tango dancers... continua

(byi Giovanni Serrazanetti)

MINGUS BIG BAND

The musical legacy of the brilliant jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus is one of the most important in the history of modern jazz after those of Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. On Sunday 14 July the Mingus Big Band, which his widow Sue Graham has been maintaining as a musical memorial to him
and which has continued to perform his works around the world since his death in 1979, brought the concert program it is touring with during what would have been Mingus’s 80th birthday year to the Teatro Turreno. Rather than simply playing the late bassist’s more popular and familiar works, the Mingus Big Band, under the direction of saxophonist Alex Foster and featuring among... continua

(by Mitchell Feldman)

THE MONK FELLOW SEPTET

Thelonious Monk has been one of the main proponents of contemporary jazz history.
As a jazz composer his work has been of the highest level and he was also a great piano player and innovator.
The MONK FELLOW SEPTET production features classical rhythm piano, a tenor saxophone and a trombone in addition to a singer who makes instrumental use of her voice. They play a fresh, well composed and arranged program, whose repertoire is intent on creating a universe of unique and distinctive sound. These talented artists have great chance of success with their very interesting sound.... continua

(by Giovanni Serrazanetti)

JOHNNY NOCTURNE BAND 

The Johnny Nocturne Band, led by saxophonist John Firmin provided some hot musical on a cool summer evening and helped bring the first weekend of UJ 2002 to a swinging conclusion with a set of blues, R&B and jazzy “jump” tunes at the Giardini Carducci Sunday night. The band, one of the most popular nightclub attractions in the San Francisco Bay area, specializes in performing popular dance tunes from the 1940s and 1950s and timeless blues classics ... continua

(by Mitchell Feldman)

DR.DIXIE

The DIXIE JAZZ BAND, led by the trumpet player and singer Nardo Giardina play in the tradition the of 20’s and 30’s big bands. 
Dr. DIXIE is the only real repertory jazz band in Bologna, and they have set themselves apart from the other talented Italian big bands with their performances with some famous names of the Italian music scene, such as Renzo Arbore, Pupi Avati, Paolo Conte, Lucio Dalla and Piero Odorici.
THE DIXIE JAZZ BAND plays a traditional and energetic swing with wonderful arrangements... continua

(by Giovanni Serrazanetti)

JOHNNY FRIGO 

An interesting features of the Umbria Jazz is the chance to have some traditional Umbrian dish and wine while listening to the Johnny Frigo’s encyclopaedic jazz repertoire. Today the violinist made his debut in front of a large and lover audience at Bottega del Vino.
His sound is soft and harmonic, his phrasing is fashionable and with his accompanist, the pianist Joe Vito, they play the sound of the best history of jazz. 
This event has met with great success and it will appear daily at 1:00 p.m. through the conclusion of Umbria Jazz 2002 on 21 July.... continua

(by Giovanni Serrazanetti)

SERGIO CAMMARIERE TRIO 
People were being turned away at the doors to the Oratorio Santa Cecilia on Monday afternoon because the pews in the chapel were already filled with fans of pianist and vocalist Sergio Cammariere who, after more than a quarter century of playing piano bars around Italy, is enjoying tremendous popularity as the result of the success of his recent recording Dalla Pace del Mare Lontano. The Crotone native, who has lived in Rome for decades, appeared at the Oratorio with his working trio of bassist Luca Bulgarelli and drummer Amedeo Ariano who also appear on the CD and they performed Charles Trenet’s unforgettable song “Il Mare” as well as such other favorites as “Perduto Tempo” and “Sorella Mia” to the delight of the audience... continua

(by Mitchell Feldman)