Between 6 and 13 May, Sibiu, a medieval city located in Transylvania, becomes a lively party scene, by hosting the Sibiu Jazz Festival, following a 42-years tradition of quality music and prestigious artists performing on the city’s stages.
This year’s edition of Sibiu Jazz Festival will be spiced up with a bit of Baroque music, flamenco and world music. The grand opening has already taken place Sunday, May 6 with two excellent concerts: Loungerie II and Peter Sarosi & Azara.
Monday and Tuesday were reserved for the traditional competition that takes place each year during the Sibiu Jazz Festival. In addition to the contest, one of the youngest Hungarian bands – Myegimas, performed an interesting cosmopolitan-style recital, featuring Bartok, Bach, turbans, funk and a lot of passion…
Today things will heat up with three of the most spectacular moments prepared for the festival. Hadar Noiberg, an acclaimed flutist from Israel will open the concert and will be followed by Jazzpospolita, an original Polish band whose members don’t hesitate to combine the jazz with rock, funk, progressive and trip hop elements. The evening will end tastefully with the recital of the Austrian quartet led by the clarinetist Ulrich Drechsler.
The same Little Square of Sibiu will be animated Thursday, May 10 by Dream of the Elephant Orchestra, an original Belgian group, well-known for its ambient music with trumpets, banjo and percussions. The evening will culminate with the bouncy project “Back to Africa” by Mixtuur, when the scene will be stormed by musicians from Belgium, Burkina Faso and South Africa.
In the weekend, Sibiu Jazz Festival will leave the medieval backgrounds for a more elegant venue – Thalia Hall (Sala Thalia, Sibiu). On Friday, May 11 the festival will take a sweet “Latino” twist. The famous Cuban pianist, Harold Lopez Nussa, and the Spanish Chano Domingues Scolit, will warm up the atmosphere with their passionate performances.
If all these great names of music haven’t convinced you already to attend the festival, Saturday will certainly succeed. On May 12, the German trumpeter Joo Kraus will go on the stage with “Songs from Neverland”, an impressive collection of Michael Jackson’s songs, especially adapted for jazz audiences.
One of the most anticipated moments of the evening will be the concert of Ron Carter’s quartet. With almost 3000 albums containing his name, Ron Carter is the most prolific jazz musician in history, a true legend.
Sibiu Jazz Festival will end as usual in baroque-style, on Sunday, May 13 in UNIT Cotton Club with the famous Romanian percussionist Mario & The Teachers and the lovely company of a fresh voice – Irina Popa.
Throughout the festival, UNIT Cotton Club (Ion Ratiu Street, no. 9) will host concerts, Jam sessions and after parties every night, starting at 23.00.
Images courtesy: Sibiujazz.ro
