Nordic, UK and US names line-up for INNtöne Jazz Festival, Austria 2023

Any outdoor festival stands or falls by the one thing the organisers have no control over - the weather. INNtöne fortunately does have a ‘plan b’ in case of rain but this year the skies were blue and the sun shone for the whole three days of the festival.

The location is on organiser Paul Zauner’s pig farm set in beautiful rolling farmland at Diersbach, near Passau in Austria. The festival location is quite isolated so excellent organic food and local beer and wine are provided on site. Camping, caravanning or motorhomes are encouraged (and free to bring) to make the weekend more carefree and enjoyable. There are loads of hotels and Airbnb’s nearby if camping is not your thing.

There are three stages where concerts are staged from 12 noon till late - the main outdoor stage, the barn and the unique St Pigs Pub - a converted pig sty that is now an intimate jazz club.

Zauner and the Vortex’s Oliver Weindling are old friends and this year Weindling was tasked with recommending a selection of UK/London based artists to play at the festival.

Xhosa Cole’s Quintet - Photo by Tim Dickeson

The Balanescu Quartet, Zara McFarlane, Tom Challenger’s Brass Mask (featuring Byron Wallen, Alex Bonney, Rory Simmons on trumpet, George Crowley and Tom Challenger on sax), Xhosa Cole’s Quintet and lastly Freight Train (featuring Liam Noble on piano, Paul Clarvis on drums and Cathy Jordan vocals) all played the festival.

An excellent mix of music and styles that were all very warmly received by the Austrian crowd. Cathy Jordan told the crowd that this was her first ever ‘Jazz Festival’, her beautiful folksy voice with Liam Noble and Paul Clarvis’s much more jazz based accompaniment made for a different and fascinating set perfect for the jazz audience.

Zara McFarlane wooed the audience with her soul/reggae influences and Xhose Cole was on fire with his Monk repertoire including his solo version of ‘Around Midnight’ which was superb. Cole was balancing on his head in a field of wild flowers doing his warming up exercises before the gig - a sight to behold!

Tom Challenger’s Brass Mask had the un-enviable task of opening on the Sunday morning at noon but the audience loved the New Orleans/blues style of the band and the upbeat tempo and driving beat soon shaking off any early morning hangovers!

In other performances Marilyn Mazur’s Scandinavian band Shamania were mesmerising with so many different elements to their music. Hildegunn Øiseth’s goat horn, Sissell Vera Pettersen’s otherworldly vocals and Lotte Anker’s rasping tenor. This was tempered by Makiko Hirabayashi’s beguiling piano and the heartbeat drums and percussion of Mazur and Lisbeth Diers creating a wave of sound that was irresistible.

Sámi-Norwegian Mette Henriette (sax) with Tanja Orning (cello) and Ayumi Tanaka (piano) played minimalist chamber jazz that demanded the audience settled down and listened - which they did - and they were rewarded with cinematic compositions and faultless playing from all three. The countryside location the perfect backdrop for such beautiful music.

In total contrast Brazillian accordionist Renato Borghetti and band closed Saturdays concerts with a hip swaying samba fest that was a huge hit with the audience - the midnight air still very warm and the ever flowing wine made this the perfect end to the day.

Zauner broke one of his own rules and played at his own festival - his long time gig with Chanda Rule and the Sweet Emma Band played in the barn to a tumultuous reception - it was also great to see Cardiff saxophonist Osian Roberts playing in the band too, Roberts has lived in the Czech Republic for the last nine years.

Kirk Lightsey and band - Photo by Tim Dickeson

On Sunday night’s final gig in the St Pigs Pub Zauner’s friend of many years, the pianist Kirk Lightsey flew in to join trumpeter Joe Manarelli’s New York Blue Note Quintet. Lightsey and the band played a session that I would describe as the closest thing to being in New York for a gig without actually being in New York. The pub was packed with musicians and fans alike - Xhosa Cole and band, right behind Lightsey squashed against the bar. The three players from New York - Lightsey on piano, Magnarelli (trumpet) and Dmitry Baevsky (alto sax) were joined by Austrians Wolfran Derschmidt (bass) and Bernd Reiter (Drums) for a fiery and energising set. Lightsey showing no signs of taking it easy (he is now 86) he was loving every minute of this show playing up for the photographers and fans alike.

With the addition of the new outdoor stage (a necessity of covid times) INNtöne feels much more rounded and has a real festival feel to it - there was such a wide age group attending from the usual jazz crowd to twenty somethings and families with young children - there were daily concerts in the barn from a kids jazz ensemble who were excellent and very entertaining.

Paul Zauner is a musician and jazz fan who runs the festival because he wants to - he told me his aim is to ‘bring people together to listen to great music’, on both counts he has succeeded brilliantly and he has done it in the coolest, most cost effective and eco-friendly way possible. If you want a ‘jazz under the stars’ experience then I would definitely recommend trying INNtöne. In 2024 the festival will be from the 19-21 July and early bird tickets will be available soon.