Happy 50th Jazz à Juan, oldest running jazz festival in Europe,

Happy 50th Jazz à Juan

The oldest running jazz festival in Europe, will be celebrating its 50th birthday. The prestigious international jazz festival Antibes "Jazz à Juan" will pay tribute to the famous jazz musicians who have played on the mythical Pinède Gould stage since 1960.

The main program will take place over a two week period in July 2010. Major jazz stars combined with several international jazz festival venues will pay tribute to Antibes Juan les Pins Jazz Festival 50th anniversary.

To purchase your tickets, click here: http://www.jazzajuan.fr/en/home.html

Two bands for the opening night of Jazz à Juan 2010...the 50th!

"Jim's Band" and "Jazz à Juan Sextet" will be sharing the stage and illuminating the Pinède before the fireworks illuminate the sky.

Legendary crooner, gifted guitarist, genius improviser, a key musical figure on the “dance floor”…He’s a protean star and his career is one of the most flamboyant.

The classical and jazzy George is at our jubilee.

He will no doubt remember his first appearance at Juan in 1964, accompanied by Jack McDuff, Joe Dukes and Red Holloway. “Beyond the Sea” on the seafront right next to Charles Trénet’s house, is where the “New Boss of Guitar” made his first debut.

Eleven years after his last appearance at our Festival in 1999, this unchallenged star of “Smooth Jazz” is back on stage to rekindle this unique sound that made him famous again with the drummer Steve Gadd and the organist Joey DeFrancesco.

Mainly played and danced in the North-East of Brazil (state of Pernambouco), the Frevo is for the river Capibaribe, a carnival-type music style as emblematic perhaps as that of the jazz for the Mississippi.

A true Big Band with its saxophone, trombone, trumpet, guitar, double bass, drums and percussion sections and eighteen young and talented musicians who continue to renew this style of music by making it even more magical, passionate and captivating.

Un vrai big band avec ses sections de saxophones, trombones, trompettes, guitare, contrebasse, batterie et percussions, dix-huit jeunes et talentueux musiciens qui ne cessent de renouveler le genre et le rendre encore plus magique, passionnel et envoûtant.

Chucho Valdes and the Afro Cuban Messengers		Monty Alexander and Harlem Kingston Express
Considered by many as the «most complete pianist in the world», Jésus «Chucho» Valdes is indeed the son of Bebo, the guardian of Cuban mambo Chucho Valdes at the head of a brilliant sextet is impressive…by his size as well as his charisma and “his hands as large as oars yet capable of being as gentle as silk”

A quarter of a century after visiting the repertory of Billie Holliday, there she goes again plunging back into the “Duchess” universe with “Celebration of Lady Day”, as a tribute to Billie Holiday.

There’s Broadway in the songs exquisitely captured by Dee Dee. All the more as she has kept her beautiful “joie de vivre” on stage and remains as Juan has always loved her: Eminently expressive, dazzling with love and passion.

“A shower of timeless class and melancholic glamour, which managed to touch the hearts of people at large whilst keeping the heart beat alive of expert music-lovers.” Alain De Repentigny (La Presse).

Head of the modern flamenco movement, he has also served the world of jazz in his usual happy way, playing with Larry Coryell, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin and Al Di Meola, with whom he formed a series of trios which remain to this day some of the most unique and exceptional meetings between some of the best guitarists in the world and which remain engraved in both memory and in music media libraries.

Instrumentalist, composer, leader and even singer, Avishaï Cohen, discovered alongside the pianist Chick Corea, allows himself to be a free spirit, touching influences such as Latino and oriental, dabbing in classical, flamenco, even pop!

A sculptor of sounds, melodies and rhythms and is currently opening a new chapter in his brilliant career with double trio, simultaneously reuniting Reuben Rogers and Matt Penman on the double bass, Greg Hutchinson and Bill Stewart on drums.

On stage, it’s fantastically raw, a musical fury that hits you head-on!

Roy’s “groovy” rollercoaster ride in Jazzland has to be seen and heard!

“Listening to Keith Jarrett’s melodies mixed with the sound of waves and the sunset on the horizon gives you a feeling of happiness, sensuality and peace.” Patrick Guillemin, Blues Magazine.

One can only be thankful that this exceptional trio, so faithful to Antibes Juan-les-Pins, consistently sets new limits by going beyond what is established, by inventing, surprising, creating music that is always progressing.

At an age where his dad was a hit in westerns, he became not only a remarkable bass player, but also a brilliant composer (he co-wrote the fantastic theme tune to the film Gran Torino with his friend Jamie Cullum).

Since his first appearance at la Pinède in 1999 where he shared the line up with… Joshua Redman and David Sandborn, Kyle has made himself a name without disowning the Eastwood legacy, for whom he also wrote the original soundtrack to Mystic river and Regarding Henry.

It’s her distinct emotion that makes her an authentic musician, a talented pianist who knows her classics, from Nat King Cole to Ahmad Jamal, a star amongst the best.

Some of the greatest concert halls in the world welcome she who has become one of the greatest jazz ladies and la Pinède Gould is overjoyed to welcome her back after the success of her 2006 concert, when her repertoire occasionally showed the warm colours of Bossa-nova.

Their experiences on the New York club scene and many of their live appearances have made them a formidable dance machine leaving so many members of their audience exhausted but thrilled!

Maceo doesn’t necessarily take to this idea: “When you play music and the audience really gets into it, wants to dance, to clap, now that,” he says with a big smile, “that’s what I call funky music”.

A funky jazz carried by the iron lungs of an exceptional artist who is back to play “horny horns” for the crowds in Juan, fans of the “Maceo Touch” first experienced at his concert in 1997.

Undoubtedly Manu Katché is one of the most unusual and polyvalent drummers on the circuit.

Prestigious patron of the 2010 edition, this “Superman of Soul” also knows how to surprise by his diversity, as his new “Jazz à Juan” jubilee festival project demonstrates, which includes special guests Raul Midon and Lalah Hathaway accompanied by the superb Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Her unique voice, charm and stage presence make her a diva on the Gospel scene, but a natural diva, close to her audience, a vestal who sings the past and the future as well as imposing her own songs, in tune with today’s musical styles: soul, funk, rap etc.