The line-up for the 2009 Pescara Jazz festival is impressive. Ahmad Jamal, George Benson, Chick Corea, Simply Red (not Jazzy enough for me) are the big name international stars I recognise. But you also get the Roy Haynes Trio and Maurizio Rolli.
From what I can tell Maurizio Rolli is local, based in Pescara. I don’t know his music but I’m sure I’ll be able to pick up a CD of his next time I’m in Gong, on via Palermo 109, Pescara.
The highlight of the line-up for me is Ahmad Jamal. He plays on Sunday 19th July. He has been creating great music for quite a while now considering he is 79. And based on reviews of his recent concerts, age is no barrier to him delivering a great performance.
I first heard his music, with friends, on a very rainy day in New York City. It was my first time in New York, and we decided to explore on foot. Once the rain started we popped into the first bar that looked good in Greenwich Village. We ordered beers and waited for the rain to stop. Luckily it didn’t. The barman was playing Ahmad Jamal’s CD Live at Montreal Festival 1985. I thought it was fantastic.
I think we stayed in the bar, having beers and chips, for long enough to hear the album three times. There we were, three friends that hadn’t hooked up for a while, enjoying conversation, great music and a beer or two. Can’t be bad.
From the introduction and the first track Yellow Fellow I was stunned by the energy of the album. By the time I heard the second track Make Someone Happy, Jamal’s take on the Jule Styne number from the Broadway Musical Do Re Mi, I was hooked. I bought it the next day.
I’ve since heard more of Ahmad Jamal’s work; and a particular favorite of mine is the Cross Country Tour 1958 – 1961.
Many of the key artists at this years Pescara Jazz would not be described as spring chickens. Ahmad Jamal was born in 1930, Chick Corea in 1941, George Benson 1943, Roy Hayes 1925! But they are all still creative, still playing, and can call on a depth of work that many modern pop stars would envy.
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