A motor for cohesion, dialogue, and diversity. These are the attributes that the United Nations highlights about the musical genre of jazz and, which in 2011, led them to declare April 30 as International Jazz Day. Born in the United States at the end of the 19th century, the notes of this genre, which fuses African-American melodies with rhythms typical of the European tradition, have served to accompany the fight against any type of discrimination or racism. This year, 190 countries will organize musical events to vindicate and celebrate this popular musical style, a celebration that will reach the Catalan capital with ten hours of free concerts.
Barcelona will move the celebration of this commemoration to Sunday, May 4, so that music lovers and curious people can enjoy a festive day on Paseo de Gràcia with the trumpet and saxophone as the main protagonists. In total, the Catalan capital will host a marathon of ten hours of free, open-air concerts by six local and international groups, among which Andrea Motis, Lucia Fumero, and Cucurucho Valdés stand out.
A musical day organized by the Barcelona City Council, through the Fundació Barcelona Promoció, with the coordination of TheProject and the Barcelona Jazz Festival, which this year will offer more than thirty concerts, from October to December, by artists such as José Mercè or Las Migas. The idea of the organizers of the musical day, which celebrates three consecutive years impregnating the streets of the Catalan capital with the best rhythms, would be for Barcelona to become the official venue for International Jazz Day, which this year hosts Abu Dhabi.
The third edition of the festival repeats the location of previous years, on Paseo de Gràcia, specifically between Gran Via and Plaza Catalunya, for the six concerts that will take place from noon until after ten at night. The avenue was chosen as the setting for this musical day due to its coincidence with the celebration of the bicentennial of this street.
The day will begin at 12 noon with the performance of Sant Andreu Reunion Band, a group of young musicians who, under the direction of Joan Chamorro, offer a journey through the great classics of jazz, without forgetting some nods and touches of Brazilian rhythms. The local band will arrive in their hometown directly from New York, where they participated in the Essentially Ellington festival, with a wide variety of instruments, from trumpets or saxophones typical of jazz, to violins.
The guitar will be the protagonist of the second concert, with musician Josep Traver and his Organ Trio, along with Gerard Nieto on organ and Esteve Pi on drums, and their latest album Tribute to Grant Green, a tribute to the historic American guitarist. The voice of Lucia Fumero, born in Barcelona but with Argentine and Swiss roots, will be the common thread of the third concert of the day, accompanied by Martín Leiton on double bass and Juan Rodríguez Berbín leading the percussion. Fumero will present her albums Folklore I and Folklore II, a double album where the singer explores her musical roots, fusing traditional Catalan song with jazz rhythms.
In the afternoon it will be the turn of trumpeter and singer Andrea Motis, who will present, for the first time, her new duet project with Brazilian guitarist Jurandir dã Silva. The project brings together the Barcelona native's own music with versions of the immense repertoire of Brazilian songs, from António Carlos Jobim to Chico Buarque. The British duo formed by pianist Bill Laurence and bassist Michael League will be in charge of continuing to fill Barcelona with jazz rhythms, a formation that will settle a debt with the city of Barcelona and the celebration of International Jazz Day, since in 2023 they were unable to perform on the day due to rain. For the occasion, they return with their second album Keeping Company.
The end of the day will have a Cuban flavor with pianist Cucurucho Valdés, who will pay tribute to his grandfather Bebo Valdés, the distinguished jazz musician known for his role as a pianist. Accompanied by double bassist Javier Colina and Inor Sotolongo on percussion, the emotional remembrance of Bebo will be the grand finale to almost ten hours of open-air music.
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