Category Archives: Juan-les-Pins Jazz Festival

Jazz a Juan: 2012 Program

French Riviera Travel News Posted on by

The Riviera’s most prestigious jazz festival is now open for booking and with a program that caters to everyone’s taste, not just jazz fans!  Here is the 2012 program:

Thursday July 12
Best of “Off”: discover the best of local jazz free in the streets of Antibes and Juan-les-Pins

Friday July 13
Adam Cohen
Norah Jones

Saturday July 14
Revelations 2012
Henry Ford’s Big Band

Sunday July 15
Anoushka Shankar
Charlie Winston

Monday July 16
Robin McKelle
Tom Jones

Tuesday July 17
Sonny Rollins

Wednesday July 18
Alex Stuart Quartet
Juan Guitar Summit

Thursday July 19
Jazz Crusaders
Bobby McFerrin – Yellowjackets

Friday July 20
Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock & Jack DeJohnette

Saturday July 21
Chic featuring Nile Rodgers
Kool & The Gang

Sunday July 22
The London Community Gospel Choir

Click here for more on the artists and booking information

Jazz a Juan: Tribute to Miles Davis

French Riviera Travel News Posted on by

Marcus Miller

Friday the 15th at the famous Jazz a Juan jazz festival at Juan-les-Pins was devoted to commemorating jazz giant Miles Davis. The first band of this two-part evening was Bitches Brew Beyond led by trumpeter Wallace Roney. With sidemen Al Foster, Bernie Maupin, Antoine Roney and others, the group struggled to honor Miles Davis’ groundbreaking fusion album, Bitches Brew. For whatever reason, it didn’t work. The mysterious alchemy that makes jazz “swing” was entirely absent, leaving the audience disengaged and bored. It didn’t help that the group started about 1/2 hour late  which meant a long wait for the music everyone came to hear: Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Marcus Miller in their “Tribute to Miles”.

Now that was jazz at its most transcendent, most spiritual. The intricate harmonies lay within a complex rhythmical structure that was both subtle and pulsing. Hancock, Shorter and Miller have nothing to prove on the technical front so we were spared flashy see-how-fast-I-can-play nonsense. Every note was a well-chosen stitch in the larger tapestry of sound. The effect was hypnotically beautiful. I fell into a kind of trance where nothing existed but the music weaving its magic. I wasn’t surprised when Miller (in excellent French) explained that they were expressing Miles’ dreams!

As always, the acoustics in the Jazz a Juan festival were impeccable, the crowd respectful and the serene, seaside setting fantastic.

 

Jazz-a-Juan: 2011 Program

French Riviera Travel News Posted on by

The program for the 2011 Jazz festival at Juan-les-Pins, “Jazz a Juan” is now online and it’s truly a banquet for jazz-lovers. I recommend reserving your tickets early to make sure you get a seat at your preferred concert. Check out the line-up:

July 14

REVELATIONS (promising new artists)

July 15

BITCHES BREW BEYOND
Tribute to Miles Davis
HERBIE HANCOCK
WAYNE SHORTER
MARCUS MILLER

July 16

KEITH JARRETT TRIO

July 17

JAMES HUNTER
B.B.KING

July 18

SOIREE OFF (free)

July 19

ROBERT RANDOLPH
CARLOS SANTANA

July 20

ALEX TASSEL / CURTIS STIGE
JAMMIE CULLUM

July 21

RAPHAEL SAADIQ
IMANY / BEN ONCLE SOUL

July 22

RAUL MIDON/RICHARD BO
QUARTET
GILBERTO GIL

July 23

HAROLD LOPEZ NUSSA TRIO
MANU KATCHE PROJECT

July 24

CRAIG ADAMS / SOIREE GOSPEL (free)

For more information and to reserve tickets, click here.