This weekend, for the 11th time, Jávea celebrated its International Jazz Festival from Thursday 4th until Sunday 7th August.
Thursday night saw the performance of the Colina Serrano Project, seen here performing in concert last year. The band is made up of double bass player Javier Colina, Antonio Serrano on harmonica, drummer Guillermo McGill and Mariano Diaz on piano. Playing a selection of pieces, including covers of artists like Stevie Wonder and Jaco Pastorius, their music is characterised by tango, flamenco and Latin American rhythms
On Friday night the crowd was entertained by the skilful Bob Sands Big Band. Under the direction of American saxophonist Bob Sands the band’s usual repertoire includes jazz greats like Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Maynard Ferguson. The band is made up of mostly Spanish players with a few American musicians amongst their ranks.
The Saturday night audience had the pleasure of hearing Tel Aviv born guitarist and oud player Amos Hoffman. Hoffman studied at the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem before travelling to various other places to experience new things. His passion for music includes combining jazz techniques and rhythms with Middle Eastern music.
The final performance of the festival was given by Deborah J Carter,a jazz singer from America who travels extensively, performing across the globe. She plays with anything from a single pianist to a large orchestra and her favourite genre is ‘metropolitan jazz’, which she describes as “a kind of jazz that reflects the energy and spirit of any capital city.”
The festival is organised by Kiko Berenguer, who is himself a talented jazz musician, along with the help of a variety of organisations in Jávea. Berenguer plays the saxophone and started playing in bands in his hometown, Jávea, before moving on to further his musical experience in Valencia and then eventually performing across Europe and America.
