Canarias Jazz Y Mas, Canary Islands

The finest jazz sounds around

The annual Canarias Jazz Y Mas festival features both American and European artists and concerts staged throughout all eight of the Canary islands.

Some of the best shows are to be enjoyed in the islands capital and Santa Cruz de Tenerife of Tenerife and its surround and on Gran Canaria in and around the capital of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

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Invigorating and innovative – as always

The 35th edition of the 'Canarias Jazz Y Mas' festival featuring both American and European artists proved to be as invigorating and innovative as were the previous years.

Having barely survived the 'inner city blues' (more on that later), of intense London temperatures during a succession of unexpected heatwaves it was with some relief to revisit the Canary Islands to enjoy some cool jazz at their annual summer jazz festival. This,

Espacio La Granja

The first concert we saw was at the Espacio La Granja, a centrally situated Performing Arts Hub in bustling Santa Cruz, the port capital and 'beating heart' of Tenerife, featuring the Marco Mezquida Trio.

The Menorcan born pianist Mezquida has been proclaimed one of the most promising and talented pianists of his generation, known for effortlessly weaving together an exciting and lyrical web of modern jazz together with Latin and classical music and even drawing on Folk influences along the way.

As well as accompanying jazz icons such as Lee Konitz and Dave Liebman Mezquida has been declared 'Musician of the Year' no less than four times at the Catalan Jazz Awards (AMJN).

The trio have been together for the past ten years with Cuban Martin Melendez on cello and the Catalonian drummer and percussionist Aleix Tobias. It was Mezquida's idea to create a group with a different sound from the usual trio format.

"To have the cello together with numerous percussion opportunities using musicians from other musical backgrounds other than jazz and more into the Latin, Flamenco and World Music inspired me a lot…." explained Mezquida.

The album 'Tactil' was a celebration of their shared musical journey and the evening opened with the title track featuring some progressive percussion from Tobias followed by Melendez's harmonious pizzicato notes on the cello with the richly melodic piano chords of Mezquida showing off the dramatic skills of the pianist to superb effect.

Among other high points in this well received set were "World's Hope", a tribute to the Swedish social activist Greta Thunberg with a delicate solo piano introduction from Mezquida before concluding in a dramatic finish and "Cavalcanti", a swinging and soulful affair with remarkable technique from Mezquida who suddenly switched tempo and rhythm along the way with Melendez and Tobias quick to explore the new direction.

"Quartet F" displayed Mezquida's baroque and impressionist influences of classical composers Ravel and Handel. The well received concert continued at pace with the musicians displaying perfect timing to complement Mezquida's astonishing technique; at one stage reaching into the piano to dampen, pull and strum its strings in a percussive tease on the upbeat "Felice".

Tobiaz's use of the 'Pandero Cuadrado', a primitive goat skin framed drum which he played both using a drumstick and by hand, created a distinctive staccato sound on the Latin and Folk influenced "Cadiz". Melendez who handled the cello as if it were a double base gave an almost oriental and orchestral feel to his playing when he switched to using the bow on some of the numbers.

Mezquida showed us more of his improvisational skills on the encore tunes, "Brujula" and "Carpe Diem" which ended with a percussive flourish from Tobiaz to send the delighted audience off into the night discussing the concert at length.

Christobel La Laguna

The following evening, we travelled up to the Spanish colonial town of Christobel La Laguna, the former capital of Tenerife and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The town is home to the University of La Laguna, one of the oldest in Spain and the picturesque ''Casco Historico' is considered the cultural hub of the Canary Islands with its rich history and colourful buildings set around the city's shaded main square, Plaza del Adelantado.

This, the second concert was set in La Laguna's beautifully refurbished Art Nouveau Teatro Leal.

Before the show our panel of specially invited journalists from Germany, Portugal, Italy, Poland and myself from UK attended a 'Charlar', 'Jazz Chat', hosted by Miguel Ramirez, the Artistic Director of the festival.

There we discussed a range of topics including the existence and future of a 'European jazz identity' together with the challenges involved, what the educational opportunities were for young European jazz musicians and the impact that AI was having on jazz around the world.

The concert was a new project of the American vocalist Jose' James, showcasing Marvin Gaye's album "I Want You", in honour of one of the great voices of R&B.

The performance was timed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the iconic album which was produced by the legendary Leon Ware for Motown Records.

James who collaborated with Ware during the creation of his own album, "No Beginning No End" for Blue Note Records has long cited Marvin Gaye as a guiding inspiration. "He had the courage to transform not only his music but also the world around him" says James, noting that this new project was a way to give back to both Marvin and Leon.

James was joined on stage by Celia Kameni who is considered one of France's most distinctive vocalists with a conservatory background in both classical music and jazz.

With a world class rhythm section featuring Marcus Machado on lead guitar, Masayuki Hirano (BigYuki) on piano and synthesiser, Parker McAllister on electric bass and Jharis Yokley on drums the evening was set for some distinctive fun and funk.

The concert began with the rhythm section putting down a steady groove for the title track, "I Want You", James' voice capturing the sweet soulful sexuality of Gaye's singing with Kameni's vocals adding both sensitivity and intensity.

This was followed by two more numbers from the "I Want You" album, "Come Live with Me Angel" and "I Wanna be Where You Are" with James' yearning vocalisation perfectly in step with Kameni's nuanced phrasing.

A version of "Mercy Mercy Me" (The Ecology) from the "What's Going On" album was given a stripped-down treatment with Kameni standing tall as ever, her voice in perfect tandem with Machado's guitar chords.

As James explained to the audience, he always regarded John Coltrane, Billie Holiday and Marvin Gaye as the Holy Trinity, the 'sound of the cry' as he put it, whilst reminding us that whilst Marvin Gaye was an R&B singer wanting to become a jazz singer, he was conversely a jazz singer wanting to become an R&B singer.

The evening continued with the band on excellent form, showcasing BigYuki's flowing keyboard and synth patterns along with McAllister's driving bass lines, Machado's funky guitar riffs and Yokley's impressive percussive work, the musicians showing off some impressive solos along the way.

James also engaged us with a little deconstructing of Gaye's style bringing some rapid Hip Hop and other improvisations into the mix showing that this was not merely a tribute show but more of an interpretation of his hero.

"Inner City Blues - (Make Me Want to Holler)" and "What's Going On" were among further standouts with James and Kameni finishing with a well-received encore of Bill Withers' "Lovely Day" to round off this remarkable project.

The following day we took the ferry across to the capital city, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, a sometimes-adventurous journey depending on weather and tide conditions to attend the next two concerts.

Hotel Reina Isabel

Our base was the impressive Hotel Reina Isabel, superbly located just off the Paseo de Las Canteras promenade facing directly out across the Playa de Las Canteras, the 3-kilometre golden sand beach located in the city centre of Las Palmas.

There is much to appreciate too outside of the capital. With its lush Micro-climates with lush banana, mango plantations and Boutique wineries, dramatic volcanic landscapes and beautifully preserved historic towns such as Aguimas, the island has surprises wherever you look.

Santa Brigida

That evening we visited the mountain town of Santa Brigida in the northeast of the island to see two acts playing at a free concert in the town's open air Municipal Park.

The first of these featured the Swiss pianist Manon Mullener in a quintet format with Victor Decamp, trombone, Manuel Schwab, saxophones, Rodrigo Aravena, electric bass and Lucian Mullener, drums.

The music was a mix of original compositions and Latin pieces which showed off Mullener's Cuban influences spent studying and playing there.

The audience enthusiastically applauded the brass section as they finished off with some Brazilian tempos and even a suggestion of Mexican Mariachi rhythms in the repertoire.

The Brazil connection continued into the second concert of the evening with the virtuoso Brazilian Bandolim player Hamilton de Holanda and his trio featuring fellow countrymen Salomao Soares on keys and Moog synthesizer and Thiago 'Big' Rabello on drums presenting their highly creative blend of jazz, choro, samba and samba.

The Bandolim, part of the Mandolin family was in this case a 10-string instrument especially crafted for De Holanda. Tuned like a violin and in the hands of such a skilled player it resonated with a highly expressive tremolo sound together with a rapid and crisp syncopation as if the instrument had a special musicality and energy of its own.

Soares's sophisticated harmonies and atmospheric textures painted a highly atmospheric palette whilst Rebello's drumming provided the dynamic and versatile percussion that bridged the rich tapestry of Brazilian music with other genres.

The packed audience watched and listened in appreciation at the contrast between the vibrancy and stunning improvisation on numbers such as "Afro Chora", which connected Brazil's rich musical heritage of the Samba groove and the inspiration of African rhythmic traditions, only to be enchanted by the sudden tenderness of "Mono No Aware", a Japanese influenced piece with De Holanda's delicate and sensitively played chords falling like gentle blossoms of harmonious melody.

A fine concert to end what was a wonderfully inspirational festival at every level set across two of the most interesting of the Canary Islands.

Congratulations to Miguel Ramirez the Artistic Director for organising such a musical feast and thanks also for the support of the Turismo de Gran Canaria.

 More information : 

https://canariasjazz.com/