The Summery Sicilia Jazz Festival Successfully Debuts Its Winter Warmer Edition

Even in January, the weather in Sicily is milder than up in northern Europe, of course. The city of Palermo exudes a greater magical force in the sun-strong summer months, but it was something of an alternative act to be attending this new winter edition of a young festival that customarily presents massive gigs on an outdoor stadium stage. Smaller, but not shrivelled by the cold, this version still boasts a long run of 16 days, but there is only one gig each evening, using a selection of indoor venues.

Those large outdoor summer shows mostly feature the Orchestra Jazz Siciliana, presenting the repertoires of varied guest artists. One such gig happened on a smaller scale, at Teatro Golden, with singer Malika Ayane fronting the band. It was virtually sold out, as Ayane is fundamentally a pop singer, although shows signs of an alternative spirit in the way she moves, navigates the stage and engages with the crowd.

The OJS can alter its line-up to suit musical demands, but on this night they were dwelling in the realm of Italian pop, rationing soloists to one person per song, and cutting their contributions down to brief between-verse spurts. The overall vibration of the band remained jazzy, but with limitations on the swing factor. The first run of five or so numbers all tended to sound quite similar to David Bowie’s ‘Modern Love’. Perhaps he was keeping an eye on the Italian charts in the early 1980s? There were a clutch of songs sung in English, but most were of course delivered in Italian. Nina Simone’s ‘My Baby Just Cares For Me’ was the most familiar standard to the non-Italian ear. Ayane began the song while lounging on the piano, and here the horn ranks had more chance to swing and blast, complete with trumpet and soprano saxophone solos. The row of backing singers on the rear podium were mostly limited to one syllable. Ayane proved herself as a resourceful front person, spontaneously stalling conductor Domenico Riina as she felt the call to extend a vocal-tenor saxophone exchange, adding some true improvisational unpredictability.

OJS is central to this festival, and has grown from the Brass Group Foundation, which has been a heavy jazz promoter in Palermo since 1974. Based at the Teatro Santa Cecilia, they also run the Blue Brass Jazz Club within the nearby Spasimo church ruins historical site.

Despite being in northern Palermo, the southern town of Ribera had a considerable presence at the festival, at least during the period that your scribe was around. The Conservatorio of Ribera presented their large ensemble, Orchestra Jazz Sinfonica, combining jazz, pop and classical students and professors, performing ‘La Suite Dei Templi’, as that southern area is a prime location for ancient Greek temple ruins. The work was constructed via the efforts of individual composers, sliding their pieces together into a developing narrative. An electronics and percussion introduction led to the suite itself, beginning with a dramatic chase between strings and horns, exchanging phrases in film soundtrack fashion, peaking with a vibraphone solo. The group’s electric guitarist held a prominent position, his thickened 1970s jazz-rock tone too similar throughout, and lying at the unfashionable end of retro. Nevertheless, he made a mark!

The most impressive section was ‘Vulcano’, by tutor/trumpeter Giacomo Tantillo, with its leviathan tread and crackle-muted solo, that guitarist again screaming at low volume, and a trombonist entering for some dialogue, all getting heated. Tantillo was encountered the next day, when your scribe drove down to visit the Conservatorio Arturo Toscanini in actual Ribera. There Tantillo was getting a band together with students and fellow professors, revealing a relaxed working relationship in the name of small group dynamism. That same evening, a band of tutors zoomed up to Palermo, to gig at the Blue Brass Jazz Club, ending their set with a jam session.

The line-up of tenor saxophone, guitar, piano, electric bass and drums included most of the tutors heard in the afternoon. The club’s stage lies at the end of a long room, with plenty of tables arranged throughout, its bar to the rear. There are brick archways containing instruments, including an upright bass, an accordion, alto saxophone and a large, curved horn, looking like some sort of traditional beast. The Blue Brass has a pleasingly classic jazz club aura, its lighting just right and its sound punchily vivid. ‘Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise’ swept past, moving towards some hectic bop, with clashing cymbals, tough drum rolls, spidering bass and fluid guitar solos. Tenor solos also abounded, along with several powerful drum spots.

The summer Sicilia Jazz Festival returns in June, for its third edition, with Marcus Miller and Gregory Porter amongst the already-booked guests of Orchestra Jazz Siciliano. Hopefully, the winter incarnation will be back in January 2024, with its more relaxed demeanour and modest aura.