The second weekend of the Autumn Festival, entitled “It’s Jazz time”.
After the Caribbean rhythms of Aymée Nuviola who on Friday overwhelmed the audience at the Politeama Theater with the sound of Timba, Saturday evening began at the San Giovanni with the national preview of “Chick Corea: a Spanish heart”, a tribute to the legendary pianist who passed away a few years ago, originally from the Catanzaro area, from Albi to be precise.
As explained by Laura Sfilioin the role of narrator and singer, “Chick Corea: a Spanish heart”, co-produced by the Autumn Festival together with the Amersfoort Jazz Festival and the Sicilia Jazz Fest, wanted to propose a new narration of the great pianist, bringing on stage a whirlwind succession that left the audience breathless, his music and his numerous writings, alternating with those specially composed for the occasion by Salvatore Bonafede.
The lyrics of Fabio Lannino they opened and closed the show by summarizing in a few brushstrokes the figure of a great artist who had his roots firmly in place; all the others were by Chick Corea, taken from interviews or his personal writings, selected so that the pianist himself would introduce himself and outline the musician’s relationship with the others. Conceived by Lannino together with Salvatore Bonafede, the story of “A Spanish heart” in fact started from Corea’s childhood, passing through the rediscovery of his origins and his most significant songs, sung by Sfilio, such as “Sicily”, born from collaboration with Pino Daniele, or even “Spain” with lyrics by Al Jearreau, “500 miles high” and “Sea Journey” written together with Neville Potter, or purely instrumental ones like “Children’s songs”. In the setlist there were also songs by Bonafede – “America” and “Italian interno” – and by Lannino – “Scherzo” and “Pat”. An extremely engaging concert in short, thanks to the virtuosity of the musicians who really thrilled the audience with their solos, and thanks to the agile and powerful voice of Laura Sfilio which made the transformation of San Giovanni into a jazz club possible. On stage together with Sfilio, a Salvatore Bonafede on the piano and Fabio Lannino on bass, they were there too Giuseppe Urso on the battery, Germano Seggio on the guitar, Alessandro Laura on sax, Thomas Lannino on the piano. In his greetings, Fabio Lannino, with whom the Autumn Festival had already collaborated in a previous edition, wanted to underline the importance of a reality like the one carried out for more than twenty-one years by the artistic director Antonietta Santacroce who also created it: «There are so few similar festivals in Italy, so diversified in the proposal, of this duration and which guarantee such high quality in each of their segments“, he said.
The day’s program continued with the meeting with Maria Pia De Vito, Trilok Gurtu And Omar Sosa at the Piccolo del Politeama: the three great performers, pressed by questions from journalists Carmen Loiacono And Domenico Iozzo they spoke about themselves in full, talking about music, food and wine, which for them are closely connected, offering elements to better understand the genesis and characteristics of the concert that was soon to be staged. At 9 pm the “It’s time for jazz” weekend ended with their grandiose project, “Mater”, a tribute to female figures understood as progenitors of life, guidance and protection for each of us.
As explained during the meeting, women have always had a decisive role in all cultures and the objective of the project is precisely to exalt their figure at the moment of maximum diffusion of feminicides which instead want to destroy it.
The Neapolitan vocalist Maria Pia De Vito, the legendary Indian percussionist Trilok Gurtu, the Cuban pianist Omar Sosa entertained and enjoyed themselves by putting together the characteristics of the traditions that each of them represents, in a fusion of jazz, world music and ethnic influences that it ranged from Neapolitan to Indian, Cuban and African music. With songs such as “Starlings”, “Nel Breath”, “Scugnizzeide”, “Toridanzon” and the beautiful “Si ti virissi” (by Alfio Antico) in the setlist, De Vito’s voice has often merged through vocalizations and electronics with musical instruments, creating a unique, refined and soulful atmosphere, but not only that: even his magnificent necklace, made up of brass discs, was transformed into a percussion instrument. Sosa, on the piano and keyboards, gave dynamism to the performance, a concentration of physical energy, in continuous and enthusiastic movement, while Gurtu was able to combine complex rhythms with engaging melodies, leaving the audience speechless for the originality of the effects such as playing elements immersed in water, with the same naturalness used for the cajon, the tabla and the kanijra, among the countless instruments he brought with him on stage in Catanzaro. Extraordinary were then the skat moments in which all three artists playfully alternated with meaningless syllables, chosen only for their rhythmic and phonic functionality.
«The weekend of the Festival dedicated to the great international Jazz was characterized by 3 great events symbolizing those “Connections” that give the title to this year’s edition, a tribute to the great international music capable of creating bridges, uniting and celebrating diversity through its universal language», stated director Santacroce.
The XXI Autumn Festival – supported by the Calabria Region/Calabria Straordinaria; Chamber of Commerce of Catanzaro, Crotone and Vibo Valentia; Municipality of Catanzaro, Fondazione Carical, as well as various private bodies – does not stop here and is already working on the next events included in the “Dance Festival”, October 19th: we will start with one open lesson in Prefecture square with the two international choreographers Marco Laudani And Claudio Scaliato continue, in the cloister of the complex Saint John (specially transformed by plays of light and lasers into a futuristic container), with the first national of the contemporary dance show “Plus ultra. Beyond the myth” edited by Ocram company. The day will end in the evening, at the Politeama TheaterThe Southern Ballet which will bring to the stage the grandiose production of “Gaîté Parisienne”, co-produced by the Autumn Festival to pay homage to the golden age of Paris, that of the Belle Époque. A grandiose show with wild can-cans, rhythmic polkas, mazurkas and whirling waltzes, tableaux vivant brought on stage by an ensemble of 22 dancers, chanteuses, actresses, ballerinas and acrobats, who will recreate the Paris in the early twentieth century, a golden period during which it was the absolute capital of culture and worldliness.