Peter Evans powers up at Südtirol Jazz Festival

Here there are two languages in daily use, German and Italian. This dual nationality extends to place names, street signs, restaurant menus and, of course, the introduction to concerts. Set in and around the city of Bozen/Bolzano – a city built when this area was part of Austria – this festival is imbued with undeniable Italian influences and flair. Beautiful squares, large churches and cool narrow streets are filled with high class shops and restaurants making this a visitor’s paradise, but there are no huge international stars, no massive arenas and the concerts are mostly free or with very affordable tickets that include extras like wine tastings or food (or in public buildings that would usually attract an entrance fee.)

Our first day was the first of many where the music is taken out of the city and into the stunning countryside. A short cable-car ride into the mountains (giving glorious views back over Bolzano and the River Adige) brought us to a train station where the Jazzrausch Marching Band from Munich entertained those waiting on the platform and then continued playing on the train to its destination a few stops later. The attraction in Ritten/Renon (the train’s destination) is a natural wonder called ‘Earth Pyramids’ and a walkway has been constructed to enable excellent viewing of these structures. The concert continued at two viewing points along the walk, the band playing a brace of 30 minute concerts at each stop. The second of these featured a small bar with drinks and cakes (typical German efficiency, as this location was literally in the middle of nowhere). 

The evening concerts could not have been more different – the first on a stage raised over a swimming pool featured Random Control (above), an Austrian three-piece who play an amazing array of instruments between them (around 30).  The second featured Slovenian multi-electronics wizard and vocalist Maja Osojnik. Her stark performance was in the basement club of a famous local brewery and restaurant Batzen.

The following day saw one of the highlights of the festival. ‘Jazz Labs’ was organised in a massive exhibition center on the city outskirts. The stark cavernous hall had a small performance area with two stages – 16 musicians (who were all playing on the festival in their own groups) had been arranged into five ensembles and were given 20-minute time slots in which to play. Some of the groups took to the stage with scraps of papers with basic ideas while others improvised on the spot. The most interesting of the sets was the duo of Peter Evans (trumpet, pictured below) and Elias Stemeseder (piano). Evans is a phenomenal trumpeter, his work in Mostly Other People do the Killing is well known but here, paired down to just piano and trumpet, the short set saw a master class in the art of sustained improv. Either playing in tandem or branching off in a fusillade of notes and chords the pair were electrifying.

In keeping with the festivals ethos to use as much of the city as possible, the next three concerts were at the Museion, Balzano’s contemporary art gallery.  The gallery has huge exhibition spaces with room for the music and art to co-exist.  The first concert featured Italian guitarist Francesco Diodati, American Dan Kinzelman (sax) and Stemeseder once more – a new trio formed for the festival. Lush and layered, the music veered in a different direction to the ‘Jazz Labs’ combinations of the previous day – more time allowed so more exploration and the interplay between piano and guitar with Kinzelman playing neat counterpoint to them. The second concert, a solo performance from Peter Evans, was in a top floor gallery with massive coloured windows showering the room with red and blue light. Evans explored every inch of his trumpet, with the mouth piece in and out. He percussively tapped out beats on the valves or horn and created multiple notes by clever use of blowing and tonging. An astonishing performance. The final concert in the gallery was a double bill of Hobby Horse and Edi Nulz. Each band was joined by the other for the final three songs of each set.

We travelled a short distance from Bolzano to the region’s planetarium (above) where in quite a small space at the front of the auditorium a trio featuring Lucas Niggli (drums), Franz Hautzinger (quarter-tone trumpet) and Francesco Guerri (cello), improvised as all assembled observed the celestial show on the circular screen above our heads. There were also several scenic concerts showcasing the beauty of the surrounding mountainous area. A trip to a small lake where musicians – Mario Rom (trumpet) and Kinzelman (sax) – joined with a vocal group drifting in boats for a full concert, entertaining those on the bank sunbathing, or those opting for a swim as the sun set. Another trip saw us ascending to a small skiing resort to hear trumpeter Giovanne Falzone perform his inimitable brand of jazz-rock in a tiny restaurant, while outside you could gaze down on clouds and the mountainous landscape when it came into view.

Our last trip was high into the Dolomites to the Erbe Pass, along quite precipitous roads where the festival had curated three concerts at two mountain huts (where summer hikers can get a bite to eat and a drink) and a hotel. After a short hike through beautiful scenery we came to the hut where a stage was set right under the mountain. The gig featured Benny Omerzell (keyboards) and Valentin Schuster (drums), again playing improvised music, but this time specifically in harmony with the surroundings. It was laid back and atmospheric, fitting the location perfectly.

It’s impossible to praise the festival highly enough for their efforts to put together a festival that mixes challenging improvised music with locations that would test even the most hardy road crew. The fact they do all of this without using ‘household names’ and charging large sums for tickets is even more amazing. 

– Story and Photos by Tim Dickeson