Sicilia Jazz Festival Recensione: dive e big band
celebrano il jazz in spettacolari scenari mediterranei
Leggende del
jazz e talenti emergenti si sono esibiti in giardini botanici, palazzi storici
e anfiteatri mediterranei per un'esperienza di festival davvero coinvolgente
Luglio 21, 2025
Jazzmeia Horn si
esibisce al Sicilia Jazz Festival 2025 di Palermo. Foto: Arturo Di Vita
Immaginate un
festival jazz con concerti che si tengono nel cuore di un orto botanico,
all'interno di palazzi, anfiteatri all'aperto e sale da concerto sparse in una
città che si affaccia sul Mar Tirreno (una parte del Mediterraneo). Eravamo
presenti a uno.
Il Sicilia
Jazz Festival (SJF), tenutosi nella città di Palermo, in Sicilia, è stata una
di quelle piacevoli sorprese che ti ricordano quanto possa essere gratificante
scoprire luoghi come questo. Ambientato sul Mar Mediterraneo, la quinta
edizione del festival si è tenuta dal 22 giugno al 6 luglio, unendo la storia e
la musica jazz più emozionante.
C'era un sacco
di jazz disponibile per l'acquisto, con oltre 70 concerti dal vivo ed eventi
tenuti in più luoghi. Diversi headliner
internazionali sono stati presentati, tra cui artisti del calibro di Cécile McLorin Salvant, Jazzmeia Horn, John Pizzarelli, Victor Wooten, Eliane Elias, Nina Zilli,
Village People, Piero Pelu,
Toscanini Jazz Orchestra e molti altri provenienti da tutta Europa.
Uno degli
aspetti più piacevoli del SJF è stata la lineup di
grandi jazz band di livello mondiale che si sono esibite in vari luoghi, tra
cui l'unico teatro al mondo dedicato esclusivamente al jazz. Durante tutto il
festival, siamo stati intrattenuti da diversi artisti di alcune delle più
grandi band.
Sicilia
Jazz Festival 2025. Foto: Arturo Di Vita
Montare un
grande ensemble, a volte con un massimo di 21 musicisti, è spesso una proposta
ingombrante, complicata e costosa per chiunque organizzi concerti jazz. Qui, la
pianificazione e l'esecuzione, fatte con un alto grado di dedizione e mezzi
finanziari dagli organizzatori, hanno arricchito notevolmente il festival. Una
big band è davvero un lusso che non si sente spesso ai concerti jazz.
E' stato bello
vedere che le star americane, come le cantanti Cécile
McLorin Salvant, Jazzmeia Horn, John Pizzarelli e il bassista Victor Wooten,
hanno avuto il supporto dell'Orchestra Jazz Siciliana, una jazz band di 18-21
elementi.
Salvant è
probabilmente la migliore cantante jazz femminile di oggi. Ha preso il
sopravvento sul palco con il suo superbo trio composto da Sullivan
Fortner al pianoforte, Yasushi
Nakamura al basso e Kyle Poole alla batteria. Questo
quartetto è già formidabile nell'esecuzione, ma con il meticoloso supporto
dell'Orchestra Jazz Siciliana, il livello dell'esecuzione di Salvant è salito di diverse tacche.
Abbiamo
scoperto che l'orchestra era di altissima qualità, composta da individui che
eccellevano chiaramente nel loro mestiere. Eravamo sbalorditi dal fatto che una
band composta da quattro trombe, tromboni e sassofoni – insieme a una chitarra,
un flauto, un contrabbasso, una batteria, percussioni e un pianoforte che
accompagnavano il cantante – potesse suonare così meravigliosamente coordinata,
come una macchina ben oliata e finemente accordata.
Cécile McLorin Salvant at SCJF 2025. Photo: Arturo Di Vita
We spoke with the artistic director (and curator) of the festival, Luca
Luzzu, about this difficult synchronisation between
the orchestra and artists living on another continent. He said that the band
was rehearsing every day from May onwards to prepare for the festival.
Rehearsal sessions on Zoom with the American artists went a long way in
bringing about the end result. Luzzu had written arrangements for the session
with Victor Wooten and coordinated between the band and the foreign vocalists
who sang with the band.
The collaboration was a resounding success, with the sold-out performance
drawing repeated applause from an appreciative audience..
Salvant had chosen an unusual setlist for the evening, featuring two songs
by Sting—“Fragile” and “Until”—as well as Stevie
Wonder’s “Visions,” jazz standards like “I’ve Got Your Number” and “Lover Come
Back,” and the pièce de résistance: “Everything Must
Change,” in which Cécile was outstanding. We had first heard this piece at the
iconic Jazz Yatra 1978, sung by Joe Williams at Rang Bhavan in Mumbai.
The set from Cécile McLorin Salvant was a truly sophisticated exhibition of
jazz singing. She keeps refining her craft and deserves a place alongside the
great divas in the jazz tradition. Coincidentally, the venue in Palermo, Teatro
Di Verdura, was quite reminiscent of Mumbai’s Rang
Bhavan. Set in a large garden with a stage and setting similar to the
now-defunct space in Mumbai, it lent a nice, informal atmosphere in an open
setting, especially for those jazz folks in Mumbai who still recall the series
of Jazz Yatra festivals held at Rang Bhavan with
fondness.
Victor Wooten at Sicilia Jazz Festival 2025 in Palermo. Photo: Arturo Di
Vita
Also at Teatro
Di Verdura was featured bassist Victor Wooten, a
multi-Grammy winner, leader of the Flecktones backing
Bela Fleck, and considered by some to be the best contemporary bassist in the
world. The spectacle of a bass soloist with a big band was novel, but the
dexterity from Victor Wooten made it sound as if he and the band had been
playing together for a long time. Opening with an inspired harmonica introduction
for “Clyde Boogie,” the added element in the band perfectly complemented
Wooten’s virtuosity.
Victor did a vocal and bass funky arrangement of “Me and My Bass Guitar”, a
sweet version of Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed,” and even played “Sinister Minister”
from his first album with Bela Fleck, adding a funky harmonica solo to this.
The Orchestra Jazz Siciliana (big band) was truly
outstanding, and the soloists added a fine punctuation to the arrangements. The
combination of Wooten with the orchestra worked beautifully.
At the same venue with the same jazz orchestra backing, Jazzmeia
Horn, a highly sought-after American jazz vocalist, sang an upbeat set of jazz.
While she sang only one standard, “He’s My Guy” immortalised
by Sarah Vaughan in the company of Clifford Brown, Jazzmeia
sang her own music while explaining the context in which it was written. “Happy
Times” and “Strive” were her opening numbers until she got into singing “Can’t
Buy Me Love”. She explained that this song was sung by her in a completely
different mood from the original. We did not find any resemblance whatsoever
with the Beatles’ masterpiece. But then, that’s the freedom of jazz.
On “Voice Mail Blues”, Jazzmeia ascribed the tune
to the ringtone on her phone and penned funny lyrics. “Bow to the Unknown” and
“Flip the Switch” brought her set to an end as she walked through the audience
while singing. While her stage presence, energy and interactions with the
audience was engaging, we found that Jazzmeia Horn
was singing largely in the upper register, and her voice sometimes came through
as being shrill. It could not have been blamed on the equipment, which we found
delivered superb acoustics throughout the festival.
Nina Zilli live at Sicilia Jazz Festival 2025. Photo: Arturo Di Vita
Italian vocalist Nina Zilli had also performed
with this big band along with three of her backup singers. She sang largely in
Italian and we recognised her Italian version of a
Phil Collins offering, “You Can’t Hurry Love,” and a nice rendition of the
popular “Solamente Tu” that was very well received by
the audience. She ended with “Baby Don’t Care” with the band, conducted by Vito
Giordano, playing a Count Basie-style backing for this up-tempo offering.
In the idyllic setting of the Botanical Garden in Palermo, a group of
guitarists from Portugal and Turkey played an aesthetically pleasing set. The Quarteto de Guitaras Concordis from Lisbon, and later the guitar duo of Cenk
Erdogan from Turkey and Antonio Forcione, played
gentle jazz that went perfectly with the surroundings.
At another, equally spectacular venue, this time in the centre
of Palermo, Palazzo Steri, once a palace, as the name
suggests, we heard several concerts from the SJF. This palace has an
interesting, if dubious history. It was the place where the dreaded Inquisition
took place from around the year 1500. Sicily and Malta were under Argonnese rule at that time. It was an extension of the Spanish
Inquisition.
But, in 2025, only the beautiful sounds of
jazz can be heard at this venue. Like the Teatro Di Verdura,
Palazzo Steri is an open-air venue with wonderful
natural acoustics; rainfall is rare, so the open-air setup works well in the
warm climate.
We were entertained by the Toscanini Jazz Orchestra led by Giacomo Tantilo. Comprising largely of students from the jazz
conservatory, this band delivered a tight, harmonious sound. Several individual
vocalists and pianists were highlighted. The highlight for us was when maestro
Giacomo Tantilo played trumpet as he led the
orchestra with “Feel So Good”, the cheerful, upbeat tune from Chuck Mangione.
Licks & Brains perform at Sicilia Jazz Festival 2025. Photo: Arturo Di
Vita
Also performing at this venue was the big band from the Netherlands, Licks
& Brains. The band mainly comprises amateur musicians (they work in fields
other than music but play together regularly), and arrived in Palermo at their
own cost. Color coordinated right down to their shoes, this band played an
entertaining set, which included vocals from their talented guitarist. The band
opened with a full version of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” with Bepe Garsia playing an inspired
piano introduction in this masterpiece. They were accompanied by guest solo
performances by Fabio Lannino, adding a funky bass,
and Alexander Beets, who gave us a warm solo on his tenor saxophone.
One of the most interesting things we discovered during our time there was
how jazz first arrived in Sicily. We met with Maestro Ignazio Garsia, a pianist who had heard jazz during his travels and
was determined to introduce it to his fellow Sicilians. We met with the
pioneering force, whose passion and vision gave Palermo a jazz foothold, who told
us about how in 1974, he invited folk musicians and classically trained
instrumentalists to perform with him, and slowly, a jazz band took shape. He
created an orchestra to play jazz and gradually convinced the government to
patronize and subsidize jazz musicians the same way they did with their
classical music performers.
It is through his efforts that Sicily has become a centre
for jazz concerts and festivals. In fact, as the Maestro informed us, a
theatre, the Real Teatro Santa Cecilia, has been allocated solely for jazz
performances and concerts. It is perhaps the only auditorium in the world
dedicated to jazz alone.
I had the pleasure of participating in a lecture at this venue on June 28,
speaking to an audience of jazz students and professionals. I was in
conversation with Fabio Lanino, Director of
Production of the Sicilia Jazz Festival and director of the Real Teatro di
Santa Cecilia. Fabio is also Partner at the World Jazz Network, and is creating
opportunities for musicians across the globe. I was invited to present a
90-minute master class to students and faculty of the jazz department of the Conservatorio of Palermo, plus an audience of other
musicians from the festival. As an avid listener and follower of jazz for
around 70 years, through its most exciting phase of development, I’ve had the
good fortune of meeting and interacting with some iconic jazz musicians.
The Village People live at Sicilia Jazz Festival 2025. Photo: Arturo Di
Vita
At the lecture, I spoke of meeting Bill Evans in a jazz club in London. I
was not allowed to enter the club, being below the minimum drinking age of 21
years at the time, and sat, freezing on the steps outside the basement
establishment of Ronnie Scott’s, to simply listen. At intermission, Bill Evans
came out and asked why I was sitting outside instead of in the club. When I
told him why, he went up to the bar, brought me and himself a coke, and sat
with me to have a chat. This from a supposedly introverted man. I also spoke of
being unbelievably lucky to be at the release of the iconic, almost legendary
John Coltrane album, A Love Supreme. It
was an invite-only event at New York’s famous jazz club Birdland, which I got
into only because they decided to let in 4 or 5 people from the street. To top
it all, Coltrane came and sat at my table, right by the stage, and we had a
long conversation. He spoke of the influence of
Hindustani classical music on his playing, particularly of Ustad
Bismillah Khan, the shehnai wizard.
I spoke about a few more personal experiences and concerts, including being at
the 1971 Newport Jazz Festival in the midst of a stampede.
In the Q&A portion, I was asked about when the first Indo jazz
collaboration took place and between which musicians (it was Ravi Shankar with
jazz musicians Bud Shank and Paul Horn in the 1950s), what I thought of fusion
music in the jazz context, and what I thought of jazz played in non-American
countries and musicians.
La mia
prospettiva era che il jazz è un linguaggio universale. Sebbene sia stato
sviluppato principalmente da afroamericani, i metodi di improvvisazione sono
universali. Il jazz rimane un jazz con sapori e sfumature assorbite da diverse
culture musicali. In definitiva, quando un musicista jazz suona il suo assolo
improvvisato, viene raccontata una storia. Quindi il messaggio è
"ascolta". Man mano che vivete la vita, ho detto ai giovani studenti,
le vostre storie diventeranno sempre più interessanti. A questa sessione è
seguita una jam session improvvisata con Cenk Erdogan alla chitarra, Fabio Lanino al contrabbasso e il
pianista Tomasso Lanino.
In conclusione, il festival sarebbe
stato emozionante anche per coloro che erano seguaci del jazz marginale, grazie
al suo suono mainstream e all'attenzione per
l'acustica di alta qualità. Mentre la presenza di alcuni dei grandi nomi del
jazz ha attirato il pubblico, c'è stata anche l'enfasi sull'introduzione di
giovani talenti appena scoperti. La presenza di musicisti provenienti da
Polonia, Turchia, Portogallo, Isole Canarie, big band dai Paesi Bassi e altri
che si sono esibiti al Sicilia Jazz Festival è la prova che il jazz sta
rapidamente diventando una forma di espressione davvero globale. Festival come
questo indicano un modello in evoluzione di musicisti provenienti da vari
background jazz che si incontrano su palcoscenici internazionali. Non vedo
l'ora che arrivi il momento in cui i musicisti jazz indiani entreranno a far
parte di questo dialogo musicale mondiale.