With summer in full swing, the Taipei International Jazz Festival holds its final concerts tonight and tomorrow at Da-an Forest Park Amphitheater (大安森林公園露天音樂台) in Taipei. Both shows are free.
The festival, now in its eighth year, began earlier this month with a series of concerts by Japanese jazz artists.
This weekend’s finale also features an international cast of musicians, including South African vocalist Tutu Puoane, veteran saxophonist John Ruocco and pianist Peter Van Marle.
Photos courtesy of Taipei International Jazz Festival
These annual concerts, which often draw enthusiastic crowds, are part of what is perhaps one of Taiwan’s least conventional jazz events, at least from a musician’s perspective.
The performers don’t merely fly in for a one- or two-night engagement. Instead, they spend a week in Taipei teaching at the Taipei International Summer Jazz Academy, an annual weeklong camp for high school and college-aged students that attracts students from all over Asia.
The 11 guest musicians, who hail from Europe, the US and Taiwan, have also spent the past week either getting to know each other or becoming reacquainted.
In between teaching classes, the musicians squeezed in a few quick rehearsals for tonight and tomorrow’s shows, according to violinist Hsieh Chi-pin (謝啟彬), who co-founded the festival and camp with his wife, pianist Chang Kai-ya (張凱雅).
Hsieh says that although the musicians haven’t spent much time performing with each other — they might meet once or twice year at events like this — the shows will not be just a “jam session.”
The visiting artists are encouraged to present their own original compositions and to work together in performing them, says Hsieh.
“Everyone really comes in and tries to ... represent every musician’s [artistry],” he said.
Hsieh says tonight’s show will focus more on original compositions by the performers, while tomorrow’s concert will have a Latin theme.
Audiences will likely be drawn to vocalist Tutu Puoane, who appeared at last year’s festival. The 32-year-old singer, who studied music in Cape Town and is now based in Belgium, has been praised by critics for her subtle phrasing and gospel and soul sensibilities.
Also appearing is New York-based Alan Ferber, who was recognized as one of the leading trombonists of his generation in Downbeat magazine’s 2010 International Critics’ and Readers’ Poll. Ferber’s latest original compositions draw from both classical music and jazz, and were showcased on his latest, well-received album Chamber Songs: Music for Nonet and Strings.
Attendees of past festivals will see some familiar faces: David Smith, a Canadian-born, New York-based trumpeter; John Ruocco (www.jazzmasters.nl/johnruocco), a veteran American saxophonist based in Europe; German hard-bop guitarist Joachim Schoenecker (www.joachimschoenecker.com); Italian drummer Mimi Verderame (myspace.com/mimiverderame); Belgian bassist Bart de Nolf (myspace.com/bartdenolf); and Dutch pianist Peter van Marle, who specializes in Latin jazz and percussion. Hsieh and Chang will also take part in the concert.
While the lineup of performers is largely the same as last year, their performances will be completely different, according to Hsieh. Expect the unexpected, with new songs and new arrangements: “This is the spirit of jazz,” he says.
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