With 27 musicians from six countries, surely the Pomos jazz festival has something for everyone
PARADISE Jazz Festival in Pomos has become the crown jewel among jazz events on the island. Six years back, the idea was spawned through two travelling companions, a magical sunset and several brandy sours. The fest began with only seven musicians at the intimate setting of Paradise Place and a small, but loyal, troupe of followers. This year, it hosts 27 quality musicians from around Europe and is expected to draw some 5,000 revellers.
Set in the village of Pomos, just off the Akamas Peninsular, Paradise Place is an idyllic location offering a rambling mountainside terrace with spectacular sunset views of the sea.
The fest will host guest musicians from Cyprus, Greece, Holland, Armenia, Malta and Bulgaria, a brand new stage plus a smaller one for jam sessions, a large central bar, plenty of food, camping space and special shuttle busses to and from Polis and Paphos.
“Our aim is to re-invent our festival by changing everything, stage set-up and music, the only target being to create a proper festival atmosphere where more people can enjoy this experience,” said festival organiser Socratis Efstathiou.
“There aren’t fanatic jazz followers in Cyprus but more and more people are being drawn to this type of festival. In this way, we can introduce the culture of jazz. When you see it live, it’s inspiring, often experimental and just beautiful.”
The fest opens with Ethnic Jazz night and master instrumentalist Theodore Spassov. His music provides a remarkable fusion of contemporary jazz and Bulgarian folk music. For over 15 years, Spassov has captivated audiences world over though his mastery of the kaval, or shepherd’s flute. The traditional Bulgarian flute is one of the oldest instruments in Europe, rich in tone and technical possibilities.
Spassov has developed his own style of playing the instrument by synthesising traditional folklore with jazz and classical music. He has won a Grammy with the Sofia Women’s Choir, Newsweek magazine has accredited him with having invented a new musical genre, he has composed and performed numerous film scores and worked with Ennio Morricone and Carlos Siliotto and Dave Liebman to name but few. And at home, Spassov is something of a national hero, winning the Music Artist of the Year award and being credited with transporting world audiences to the calm beauty of the Bulgarian countryside.
Friday night will see Spassov accompanied by Michail Iosifov on trumpet, Rumen Toskov on piano, bass and keyboard and Christo Yotzov on drums and percussion. The other Friday night’s appearance belongs to the Andrea Georgiou Quintet, which promises a musical journey in contemporary European jazz tinged with explicit ethnic characteristics. The quintet will perform improvisations of compositions by Andrea Georgiou, one of the biggest personalities in European jazz. Dannni Adamopoulou and Evagora Karagiorgi will perform vocals alongside the hottest jazzists on the circuit, Irineos Trio. With the sax, clarinet, drums and acoustic and electric bass, the group promise a Mediterranean flavour to their jazz.
The following day will host a Maltese group with the international multi-award winning composer Dominic Galea. Born to a musical family, Galea studied piano and early on developed a taste for jazz. To date he has won awards including Best Young Composer in Alexandria, he has composed eleven musicals, a ballet and music for a theatre comedy and won the Best Composer Award at the Malta Awards in 2001. Galea will perform the piano accompanied by Noel Grech on the drums, and Mario Cocker Aquilina on the bass with a modern jazz sound akin to the music of Keith Jarrett.
Maltese folk jazzist Walter Wella will perform on the sax and flute alongside Haig Yazdjan. He is an Armenian who has lived in Greece for 25 years, where discovered the oud and Eastern music. Yazdjan had worked with some of the most prominent Greek musicians and international soloists including Nikos Xydakis and Dave Spilain and is to bring a troupe of Greek musicians with him, playing the drums, percussion, bass and violin.
The final day of the festival belongs to the Miraculous Mandarin Trio, a much-loved feature of the Cypriot jazz circuit. The music focuses on live improvisation and is based around funk and drum n’ bass rhythms, their spontaneous improvisations having become their trademark. Miraculous Mandarin will be accompanied by special guests performing the trumpet, percussion and trombone.
The first ever Dutch band at the fest will be Van Merwijk, Corsen, Vierdag Trio. This virtuoso Latin jazz super trio has been put together by Dutch drummer Lucas van Merwijk, with Randal Corsen from Curacao on the piano and Jeroen Vierdag on bass. Besides original compositions, the trio play music by Cuban pianist Emiliano Salvador and other Latin American jazz standards, transformed into their own swing style.
The fest ends with a melting pot of all the world musicians who have performed on stage together in an enormous jam session with Jens Kerkhoff, one of Europe’s best percussionists performing just for the jam.
This year’s festival promises to be bigger and better than ever before. Says, Efstathiou, “We really appreciate growing support of the people. The people are the power. We do it for them, we want them to enjoy and to feel inspired.”
l Paradise Jazz Festival With 27 jazz musicians from six different countries over three days. September 16 to 18. Paradise Place, Pomos, Paphos. £12 one day £20 two days £28 three days. Tel: 26 342537/99 516932 email: [email protected]
