Cannes or Bust » jazz

Jazz à Juan to get boost for its 50th anniversary

admin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:25:22 +0000

Antibe’s venerable Jazz à Juan festival will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year. For the occasion, the local authorities have increased the budget and brought in Jean-René Palacio of SAMES (Monte Carlo) to give the festival a boost. He intends to increase the number of locations, and promises a greater cross between genres (with notably the arrival of electronic music). The line-up will only be announced in February, so we’ll have to wait and see what this means in practice. There are numerous acts across Europe notably that combine electronic sounds into jazz, in particular in the Nordic countries.

Jazz à Juan is still known as the place where Miles Davis and the masters of the sixties played, and recorded a number of live albums. It will be interesting to see the grand dame lift her skirts a little for the new generation!

“Singing waitress” lands record deal

admin — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 13:54:30 +0000

The British press is covering the story of Victoria Hart, an 18 year-old waitress who was chosen to sing at a George Clooney event at Cannes this year. Until recently, she was working at a London club that employs singing waitresses, but is now apparently looking at a number of record contracts. Hello magazine claims one of the deals is worth £1.5 million – which is surely pure speculation. Hart has a warm, playful voice and specialises in 40′s style big band tunes. She will be appearing at the Glastonbury festival on June 24. Her debut album is being released in the UK and Japan.

To catch some of her music, visit Victoria Hart.

Midem: Some concerts to look out for

admin — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 13:02:50 +0000

It’s easy to get lost in the maze of concerts and events. Here is a short list of things I’d recommend. On Monday night at 6.30, I’d go for the Pascal Schumacher Quartet at the Hotel Majestic. Schumacher plays a sassy vibraphone that is “lyrical, stylish and yet still cool”, according to Music-Wire. Check them here:

Later on Monday night, Salif Keita, Omar Pene and the delovely Mayra Andrade (photo) will be appearing at the Palais.

On Tuesday, Buika, billed as Afro-Flamenco jazz, caught me eye simply as it’s an odd combination. But the main action will be the Jamaican night with a host of talent and Shaggy. I’ve seen him twice and he can be brilliant when he gets down to doing dancehall. Something else about him: he can actually sing!

I’m not really qualified to talk about Classical music. If anyone has a recommendation, throw it in here. Same goes for Finnish music (last year’s surprise) and the British at Midem.

Finland unveils pre-Midem mini-site

admin — Mon, 17 Apr 2006 23:03:31 +0000

Originally posted Dec 7, 2005. This year’s host for the opening party at Midem is Finland. If you’re a little fuzzy on your musical geography, think Värttinä (yes, I checked the spelling), The Rasmus and Nightwish. According to the mini-site they have just unveiled, Finland will be represented by 50 companies in 2006 – the double of previous years. This includes local reps from EMI, Sony and Warner (who do not always advertise their presence in the Palais).

According to the latest figures, released on the October 21, the total market value of Finnish music exports is 21,7 million euros and it has grown an average of 26 % annually 1999-2004. Full report in English available at www.musex.fi

The choice of live music on the opening night looks very wide, with The Five Corners Quintet
playing competent “post-modern” jazz (which is actually what we used to call mainstream post-bop, or something), crossover rumba/ska/rap Don Johnson Big Band, accordionist Kimmo Pohjonen, punk/glam rock 69 Eyes and others. Wot, no Rasmus?

Inevitably, Nokia are in there doing their usual hi-tech thing. You’ll also get a chance to catch a genuine curiosity: Laitila beer.

Visit Hear Finland from here.