JazzMi celebrates its tenth anniversary. Celebrating with music's biggest names

Dee Dee Bridgewater, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and even urban veterans like Arrested Development round out the lineup for the tenth edition of JazzMi , scheduled from October 23rd to November 9th with over 200 concerts spread across Milan , making it a city of music around the clock. A captivating prologue kicks off on October 20th with Diana Krall's return to the Arcimboldi Theatre. "For JazzMi, reaching its tenth anniversary is truly a huge satisfaction," admits Luciano Linzi, artistic director of the festival along with Titti Santini of Ponderosa. "Initially, it was a very ambitious gamble, based on the realization that Milan had been lacking an international jazz festival for a very long time. Having achieved success in the first year was a source of immense joy, which gave us the determination to move forward, innovating year after year. The idea of a contemporary jazz festival was born from the belief that African-American music remains an extremely dynamic form of music, open to all the influences imposed by contemporary culture. This characteristic allows it to continually find new sonic dimensions and broaden its audience."

Leading the way, as usual, is the Blue Note, with a host of top performers including Mike Stern (accompanied by his wife Leni Stern on guitar, Dennis Chambers on drums, Edmond Gilmore on bass, and Gabor Bolla on saxophone), Richard Bona with his Asante Trio, the David Murray Quartet, Dave Holland, trumpeter Theo Crocker, Dee Dee Bridgewater, the Peter Roth Trio (featuring the legendary Bill Bruford on drums), Gonzalo Rubalcaba & Hamilton De Hollanda. Meanwhile, at the Triennale, Paolo Damiani, Huun-Huur-Tu, Amaro Freitas, the Headhunters, Daniele Sepe with his Galactic Syndicate, Avishai Cohen, the Abdullah Ibrahim Trio, and the Artchipel Orchestra. At Alcatraz the British septet Kokorokoc and the Senegalese Orchestra Baobab, at Santeria Toscana 31 the Blue Lab Beats, Arrested Development, the Americans Durand Bernarr and Bilal, the Japanese trumpeter Takuya Kuroda, at Biko the Yuuf and the Londoner Summer Pearl with her mix of soul, jazz, hip hop and reggae.

Meanwhile, at the Fabrique, rapper Steven Ellison, better known as Flying Lotus (FlyLo to insiders), will be present. "We've been wanting to do this for a while," Linzi admits. "Flying Lotus has a noble jazz lineage (he's the great-grandson of Alice and John Coltrane, as well as the granddaughter of singer-songwriter Marilyn McLeoded, who wrote Diana Ross's 'Love Hangover,' among others) and is one of those catalysts for the new scene that, in our opinion, represents a bridge to the future." This, of course, doesn't mean neglecting the presence of tradition on the bill. That tradition, for example, is being carried forward by the prestigious JALC (Jazz at Lincoln Center, the institution led by Wynton Marsalis), which will be making its mark on November 6th at the Spirit de Milan with an evening of "Swing and Songs" featuring two emerging talents from its own ranks, Bria Skonberg and Benny Benack. The Anouar Brahem Quartet with "After the Last Sky" and Shabaka are announced at the Milan Conservatory, while Molly Lewis will perform at the Auditorium San Fedele. A special event is also scheduled at Base on November 2nd with "Time to Play," announcing Genoese rapper Sayf and the emerging Roman rhythm and blues talent Ainé, as well as Funk Shui Project & Johnny Marsiglia. Also at Base, C'mon Tigre will return.

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