All jazz fans will be following the winding old streets to get to the Square of Old Aglanjia next week to be part of the most exciting jazz festival in Nicosia, the AglanJazz festival.
The two-day festival, running on Tuesday and Wednesday, will start at 8.45pm on Tuesday with a performance by the Glafkos Kontemeniotis Quartet. With 30-years of experience in the music business, New York based Kontemeniotis’ work has been described as ‘unmistakably personal.’ This personal touch has become synonymous with his name because he weaves jazz, traditional and classical music into a recognisable personal style. The quartet is completed with Alexander Gagatsis on vibraphone, Irineos Koulouras on bass and Ioannis Vafeas on drums.
The evening continues with the Daniel Zimmermann quartet from France at 9.45pm. Zimmermann is the trombonist of the Clude Nougaro and Maraboutik bands and he is also the founder of the group DPZ, together with Thomas De Pourquery. He was the first prize winner (as a soloist) at the Competition of the Defense in 2002 and in 2014 he was the first trombonist nominated for the Victoires du Jazz, for his album Bone Machine. The trombonist, whose style is characterised by a very clear sound that interweaves funk, pop and New Orleans influences, has recorded albums and film music with countless artists and he regularly performs in France and abroad. Joining Zimmermann will be Pierre Durand on guitar, Matthias Allamane on bass and Julien Charlet on drums.
The last act of the night, at 10.45pm, will be Chicuelo and Marco Mazquida from Spain. Guitar maestro ‘Chicuelo’ Juan Gomez will join forces with jazz pianist Marco Mezquido to put a spin on flamenco jazz. After the two released their first album last year, the musicians have been hailed as major innovators of the flamenco guitar. The pair will be accompanied by legendary Paco de Mode on percussion, whose talents as a composer and songwriter have been awarded with a prestigious Goya award.
Make sure you get some rest after the first day of jazz playing, because Wednesday is just as packed of jazzy goodness.
The evening will start at 8.45pm with a performance by the Takoushis-Karapatakis Project (Marios Takoushis on piano and Gabriel Karapatakis on bass) featuring Udo Demandt on percussion. The project, which was formed in 2008, has a very modern and distinctive European jazz sound that is based on strong melodies and virtuosic improvisations which are inspired by the music traditions of the Mediterranean. In their music we can hear the musicians’ memories, their link to tradition and their take on the jazz genre.
Next up is Noir Sessions from Greece at 9.45pm. The five-piece band, Vaso Dimitriou on electric and classical guitar, Stefanos Dimitriou on drums, Anastasios Katsaris on tenor saxophone, Panagiotis Bourazanis on electric bass and Nicolas Anadolis on piano, was formed in January of this year in Athens. It is a musical collective, aiming at the interpretation of original compositions and minimal adaptations.
The night and the festival will end on a non-jazz note with a performance by GrooveHub from Slovakia at 10.45pm. The trio – Lubomir Sramo on keyboards, Adam Hudec on bass guitar and Radovan Vallach on drums – plays its own compositions which cross boundaries of traditional music genres and will entertain all fans of instrumental music that gets you grooving.
AglanJazz 2018
Two-day festival with live jazz performances. June 26-27. Old Anglantzia Square, Nicosia. 8.45pm-12am. Free. Tel: 22-455799
