Jazz breaking news: Abdullah Ibrahim, Avishai Cohen and Hiromi Impress At Jazzaldia Festival

With blues legend BB King, inventive New York ensemble Mostly Other People Do The Killing, chart-invading soul singer Aloe Blacc there was something for most tastes.

As a major stop-off on the European summer touring circuit, the five-day beach-side event also attracted renowned players from the more “straightahead” and jazz-rock scene – over the course of the long weekend, a mix of indoor and outdoor stages hosted guitar-led groups John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension, the John Scofield Quartet, and Eivind Aarset’s Sonic Codex Quartet. If the six-stringed instrument wasn’t your thing then elsewhere there was saxophone-meets-polyphony with Jan Garbarek & The Hilliard Ensemble, or Grammy Award-winning vocalist Cassandra Wilson.

And then there were the other headline acts. Despite a virtuosic display from bassist Stanley Clarke, Return to Forever IV disappointed as Chick Corea on keys, Jean-Luc Ponty on violin, and Frank Gambale on electric guitar overpowered each other as they competed to be heard in the higher registers.

On the other hand, Japanese piano-empress Hiromi who topped the bill on Sunday night thrilled the packed-out venue with her high-octane playing. It was not a total note-frenzy however; one of the best moments came during an introspective solo rendition of ballad ‘Place to Be’. Alongside notable performances from Israeli bassist/singer Avishai Cohen, and American organ trio Medeski Martin & Wood, one of the biggest highlights for me was South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim and his band Ekaya’s gorgeously understated set. In stark contrast to almost every other band’s showy and technical approach, Ibrahim’s subtle arrangements stripped away any fancy dissonances to reveal a bluesy, gospelly backbone.

– David Tshulak