Mezquida marvels and Silva shines at Südtirol Jazz Festival

Exploring Iberia was the theme of this year’s Südtirol Jazz Festival. Over the course of 10 days we were treated to some dazzling music in the most beautiful locations. Festival director Klaus Widmann chose pianist Marco Mezquida (top) as the artist in residence giving him five concerts in the first few days. Mezquida is a very lyrical pianist with a deft touch, his fingers seemingly floating over the keyboard, barely touching the keys. In the Modern Art Museum, he presented ‘Ravel’s Dreams’, his take on the work of composer Maurice Ravel.

In conjunction with the brilliant cellist Martín Meléndez and percussionist Aleix Tobias, Mezquida remained sympathetic to the original writing – but pushed each piece into new territory via clever use of time signatures, blues inflections and swing, helped transform the familiar into a whole new experience. Meléndez is a real find: his soloing was brilliant and he lives every note, with his body movement and facial expressions drawing the audience even closer to the music.

High in the Dolomites at Hocheppan Castle, Mezquida alongside guitarist Juan Gómes ‘Chicuelo’ and percussionist Paco de Mode, brought the essence of Spain to this glorious location. Chicuelo, a well-respected Catalan exponent of flamenco, has toured and recorded with the pianist, so it was no surprise to hear a real chemistry between them. The concert was a non-stop dialogue between the two whether chatting, arguing, lamenting or crying the music was up close and personal. The audience was spellbound such was the emotion of the music – the Castle, with its ancient walls and majestic views, adding much to the experience.

Mezquida’s last stand was a solo performance in a small courtyard at a fine winery. The piano was set under a tree to avoid the intense heat from the sun, as the acres of vines rose up the steep mountainside behind him. He performed one long flowing piece that took his audience on a journey, using every bit of the piano along the way. He’s a lyrical player but is very capable of being manic, abstract and free. Leaning into the piano to hammer the strings or arranging metal blocks to create percussive sounds, he created a complex soundscape that eventually resolved into serenity befitting of the location. Mezquida is a huge talent and one who puts everything into his playing. The festival rightly gave him the chance to shine and shine he did.

Another artist who stood out was trumpeter Susana Santos Silva, who played two very interesting concerts. In the Contemporary Art Museum she was joined by saxophonist Lotte Anker, bassist Torbjörn Zetterberg and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love (all pictured above) – there should have been piano too, but Sten Sandell was unwell and unable to travel. As it transpired the loss of the only chorded instrument made little difference to our enjoyment of the set. Anker is an outstanding player and her influence on Silva is obvious – the two creative, aggressive and at times sensitive – Silva also playing penny whistle to great effect.

The second Silva concert was at an Innovation Park – the home of a former Aluminium Rolling plant. A massive hall nearly the size of two football pitches with a very high ceiling was the setting for a trio performance. Silva was again joined by Zetterberg on bass plus Hampus Lindwall on organ and electronics.

Using the acoustics of the massive space Lindwall and Zetterberg created low frequency drone sounds with Silva’s trumpet set slightly above them. Zetterberg played hunched over his bass, his head almost trying to squeeze in the sound hole as if minutely monitoring his resonance.

Silva, eyes closed, blows, growls and breathes into her trumpet, the trio creating a bleak and dark place momentarily broken by Silva walking down the room away from the stage. She then played a few clear notes that echoed around this vast space. The three then built the sound to a loud climax that ended abruptly leaving the echo to slowly subside. Not easy to listen to and quite dark, but none the less a brilliant performance, gripping and totally enthralling.

By complete contrast in the tiny Batzen Brewery underground stage, the trio Blackline, with Francesco Diodati (guitar, above), Leïla Martial (voice, electronics) and Stefano Tamborrino (drums) just had so much fun it was joyous to watch. Diodati had composed both music and words, which Martial used her unique vocal abilities to deliver them. Often seen playing very earnestly in Enrico Rava’s band – it was wonderful to see him let rip and get down and get dirty. Ms Martial is certainly one to watch – if you even remotely enjoy Andreas Schaerer you will love Leïla.

Südtirol is a unique festival where the director’s vision and artistic merit over-ride any commercial constraints. And by using so many scenic locations such as mountainsides, vineyards, forests and castles, to present new and exciting music creates a truly memorable experience.

Story and photos – Tim Dickeson