Umbria Jazz July 11th

Our first evening at the Umbria Jazz Festival and he had two super concerts to see.

First in the Arena Santa Giuliana were legendary rockers Steely Dan. A favourite of mine since the early 1970's and one of those bands that I grew up on album after album, but was never lucky enough to see live.

Becker and Fagan are legends of the scene and wrote between them some of the most iconic sounds of at least two decades.

The show was slick, beautifully played and featured most (but not all by far) of the songs you would hope to hear. Sadly, for me though, the show lacked any real spark - the band were distant at time tucked away in their own little world (not helped by the lack of on stage cameras - their choice for the big screens, which meant the one main camera was constantly hunting for a soloist or decent shot) and lack of engagement with their audience.

The midnight show at the Morlacchi featured an all together different proposition. Roberto Gatto and his 'Progressivamente' show. featuring tunes from sources diverse as Pink Floyd and King Crimson this show was full of energy and surprise. Great playing from all on stage especially Fabrizio Bosso (trumpet), Gianluca Petrella (Trombone) and the voice of John De Leo made this a compelling show worthy of the packed audience. No wonder Gatto wore a broad smile all evening!

Tonights show features Simply Red with Mick Hucknell rolling back our ears and Gianluca Petrella's Cosmic Band featuring of of my favourite if not favourite Trumpet player Paolo Fresu.

Vienne Jazz Festival 2009 July 9th 2009

Ok, we have now driven the 600 or so miles from Vienne to Perugia. We stopped overnight in the beautiful city of Parma and had a fab meal of Parma Ham and the world famous cheese of Parma. Here are a few pictures from our last show in Vienne, featuring Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Centre Orchestra. Wynton will bea appearing here later in the week with special guest Francesco Cafiso, the great italian alto player.

Vienne Jazz Festival 8th July

Our penultimate night at Vienne and the main show is one we have been looking forward to the whole festival. A tribute night to the great Nina Simone featuring Dianne Revees, Lizz Wright, Angelique Kidjo and Nina's daughter the singer Simone.

However before the main show we had the great pleasure of listening to the Mario Canonge Trio who come from Martinique. A piano trio very much in the Neil Cowley mould (hammering chords, lots of bass pedals) but with a distinctive afro Caribbean lilt to it. Extremely infectious music (just like Neil's) and played with great passion and fun. The sing along with dance actions had the sell out crowd out of their seats and up and down like yoyo's in an instant!

So to the main event. The four singers took turns to sing two songs each in rotation - each with their own distinctive take on Nina Simone classics. Lizz Wright took the sensual hypnotic route whereas Dianne Revees used her strong powerfull voice to full effect - the balance between the four singers was perfect. And what a band - well it was mostly comprised of Nina Simone's own band - percussionist Leopoldo Flemming having joined the band in 1958!

Angelique Kidjo

Simone

Lizz Wright

Dianne Reeves

Band and singers take a bow at the end

Tonight is our last in Vienne and we will be travelling onward tomorrow towards Perugia, stopping in Parma for the night to check out the balsamic, ham and parmigiano reggiano!!

Tonight is Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Centre Jazz Orchestra which will be our last report from Vienne - Umbria jazz festival has a great set of shows and hopefully with intenet access available where we are staying we will post our reports here.

See you soon!

Vienne Jazz Festival 7th July 2009

After another day of hot sun and sudden downpours we were again at the main stage for the evening shows. The weather took a turn for the worse just as the first show started.

Photographer Sophie La Roux shows off her new waterproof camera!

The show soon banished any thoughts of rain or cold winds as Kevin Mahogany and his Kansas City Revue hit the stage. With a great band featuring the 'Godfathers of Groove', Red Holloway on Sax, Grant Green Jnr on guitar, Reuben Wilson on Hammond, Bernard Purdie on drums and Kathy Kosina on lead and backing vocals.

This was a slick show of Kansas City blues and soul and Red Holloway stole the show with his super playing and the lead voclas on the final song - great entertainment on a cold wet night.

Next on stage was Barbara Hendricks - singing the blues. Accompanied by Magnus Lindgren and his terrific band, Hendricks ran through the great american blues songbook in fine style.

The midnight show at the club featured on of my favourite artists from Perugia 2 years ago, Esparenza Spalding. She played her set that night in a beautiful renaissance church and played a quiet laid back set of her own tunes. Since then she has changed style considerably and tonights show was full of bite and energy. Her songs have gained a sharp cutting edge and her bass playing is much more agressive and hard hitting. The show went down a storm and I'm sure she has won over a whole new set of fans after her performance here.

Tonight we have four vocalists to look forward to - Dianne Reeves. Lizz Wright, Angelique Kidjo and Simone, (Nina Simone's daughter) who the girls are singing a tribute to.