Jazz breaking news: Diana, Wynton, Wayne and Marcus make for a memorable Jazz a Juan
Monday, July 22, 2013
The London Gospel Community Choir brought the 53rd edition of Jazz a Juan to a triumphant close on Sunday night in Juan les Pins.
This hugely successful festival has not just survived for 53 years, but has gone from strength to strength based on its unerring ability to provide the Cote d’Azur with exactly the right mix of Jazz and popular music. Most concerts are full and the ticket pricing very reasonable (this is after all one of the most expensive places to holiday in France). The closing weekend featured three massive concerts – Sting, Diana Krall and Marcus Miller.
Sting, continuing his ‘Back to Bass’ tour, played to a total sell out crowd plus thousands more outside in the park and on the beach playing all of his most popular songs from his solo career and of course the hits from ‘The Police’. Such was the mass of people that it took over half an hour just to get outside the Pineade – everyone still singing their favourite song on their way to the bars and cafés.
Friday night was saw a very happy Diana Krall (above), her children with her for this concert, playing as well and enjoying herself as much as I have ever seen her. Countless times she told us how happy she was to be here (accompanied by her twins) and how she had spent the day playing with them in the pool. This all translated into a wonderful show, that in Umbria had seemed a little distant and mechanical, but here was much more the real Diana, completely at ease and obviously enjoying herself so much.
She had even sent a message to the hoards of photographers that she was aware of the difficult circumstances of our job in this venue (the stage is only 1m high and us photographers have to kneel/crouch/sit in the stones, gravel and sand in the front of the stage) and that we should be patient and she would work with us all so we could all get a ‘good’ photograph of her, without the need for us to crawl around in front of the paying public for the prime position – which she did several times. 
Earlier in the week Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra (supported, if that is the correct terminology) by the Wayne Shorter Quartet had also played to a near capacity crowd (including Prince Albert – a huge big band fan). The two contrasting sets working harmoniously together – Shorter (above) offering deeply introspective pieces and Marsalis, joyous, brash and harmonic. Danilo Pérez guesting on a Carlos Henriques latin number to the delight of the crowd and Lincoln Center Orchestra's Dan Nimmer, who delighted in calling out the changes for Pérez. As a number of commentators were saying – this is the best big band around. 
Saturday night and another large crowd to see Marcus Miller (above jamming with Larry Graham and Alex Han)– a frequent player at this festival (this will be his 11th time), on his current Renaissance tour. Playing with much younger musicians (mirroring his time with Miles when he was the youngster) he seems to have found a new strength and a more cutting direction. The intimacy of the Pinede is such that even with several thousand spectators you always feel like you are right on the stage – and the reverse is true for the performers – both Miller and support act Larry Graham used this intimacy to fully involve the audience – Graham to actually invite people to join him on stage; and Miller to fully immerse the listener in his music. Playing more or less the same set as we heard in Vienne a few weeks ago – here again due to the intimacy of the setting it was more immediate, more intense, never more so than on the second encore ‘Tutu’. As the moon shone brightly above Miller’s head Sean Jones’ trumpet provided the perfect climax, his solo really special – the entire crowd up on its feet cheering – I’m sure Miles would have nodded his approval. A brilliant climax to a fantastic festival
Other notable shows here have been Avishai Cohen, Roberto Fonseca, the exquisite Melody Gardot , Hiromi and for pure nostalgic fun the Temptations.
– Tim Dickeson (story and photos)