Canarias Jazz & Más mixes it up with intimate sounds and big names in the open air

In the end it becomes quite intimate. And really good. The audience in the Teatro Cuyás in the heart of the beautiful old town of Las Palmas raves and claps on and on. And yet Kandace Springs and the Metropole Orkest have already played a 90-minute concert and still have an encore after that. The singer and pianist comes back on stage, sits down at the piano performs the classic standard 'The Nearness Of You'. Every note is shaped, every word is a poem. A magical end to an impressive concert in which the Dutch orchestra under the direction of the Japanese Miho Hazama showed why it is one of the best orchestras in jazz and pop. And Kandace Springs, how beautifully she can sing between soul and jazz, albeit often in a similar mood, in a programme of jazz standards, pop songs and pieces penned by the singer.

Even though most concerts in Gran Canaria take place in Las Palmas, there are also concerts outside the island's capital. For example, the open air evening in Santa Brígida, a small, pretty community 20 minutes by car from the centre of Las Palmas. There, the French band Daїda heated things up with their energetic mix of screaming jazz trumpet and electric guitar, driving drum beats and sometimes perhaps a little too much playful synth sounds between jazz, techno and electronics. This is new French jazz that's a lot of fun.

Once again, Salvador Sobral (above - photo by Nacho González) gave a dream concert. The Portuguese simply knows how to tailor a concert to a local audience. The fact that he speaks Spanish very well, at least since his time as a music student in Barcelona, immediately opens the hearts of the Canarian audience. Like a hymn to the Canaries, which he sings towards the end of his touching performance. And with his very individual songs between tender jazz and artful pop and his gentle singing, he simply always hits the soul of the listeners.

Free and open air, the concerts at Santa Ana Square in the heart of the enchanting old town of Las Palmas are popular and always well attended. Especially as there is usually very animating music to be heard. For example, from the shrill bassist and singer Nik West, who has already strapped on her electric bass for Prince. A lot of funk and groove and a little show, the US-American quickly wins the audience over. The Cuban pianist and composer Caramelo de Cuba also knows how to get everyone dancing in the end - with never-ending salsa rhythms. But his musical mix before that is much finer. For he ingeniously fuses Cuban rhythms with flamenco and jazz and even has two beguiling flamenco voices in his seven-piece band for this. A discovery for those who don't know him yet. The Pere Bujosa Trio is also a discovery. The Mallorcan bassist, pianist Xavi Torres and drummer Joan Terol work skilfully with polyrhythms and sometimes incorporate a Radiohead number or a Mallorcan folk song into their trio jazz, which always sounds exciting.  

And despite all the internationality, there are always local musicians to discover at Canarias Jazz & Más. Like the duo of singer Alba Serrano and pianist Cristóbal Montesdeoca and the programme of their first joint CD "Viagem" ("Journey"). The two played in a music hall outside the city centre, located in the middle of an industrial area. Not the prettiest area, but the venue is very nice and atmospheric. Montesdeoca turns out to be an imaginative, very good pianist, but his partner often goes over the top singing Canarian folklore transformed into jazz, Portuguese fado, music from Cape Verde and Brazil and Carlos Gardels' famous tango hymn "Volver" at the very end.