A scrutinizing glance at the multiple paths jazz is going down at Present in its less conventional diversity marks the 29th edition of Jazz em Agosto, which still and again pursues the vision of writing the history of a present which, although full of cleavages, is as fascinating as it ever was.
In the Open Air Amphitheatre, our main stage, the kickoff is given by Sunny Murray, the 1st drummer of free jazz, and the first companion of Cecil Taylor and Albert Ayler as well, who renews identity in the trio he's been cultivating for ten years with ideal acolytes, John Edwards and Tony Bevan from Britain. The new and energetic generation of British jazz consubstantiates in the quintet Led Bib a contagious combination of parallel musical worlds. When Misha Mengelberg meets Evan Parker in an utterly personal dialogue, their standing as creators of language augurs the best of forebodings. Matthew Shipp with his new trio reaches a decisive dimension of creativity in symbiosis with Michael Bisio and Whit Dickey. In yet another duo formula and yet another very personal dialogue, Marilyn Crispell and Gerry Hemingway reveal profound sensibilities in powerful and/or delicate conjunctions. Ingebrigt Håker Flaten‘s Chicago sextet bridges the North Atlantic in a strong collective expression where, amongst a set of brilliant musicians, individualities rise and shine.
At the Teatro do Bairro, an ideal stage to offbeat collectives, we have a succession of three double feature concert events: the recent Portuguese band specializing on improvised music Nuova Camerata featuring Pedro Carneiro and Carlos Zíngaro, the British trioVD, exulting in their sonic intention, and the trio Das Kapital in coalition with Hanns Eisler’s combative universe. In the 2nd part of each concert, three renowned and differentiated turntablists unfold peculiar experimental aesthetics: Marcos Farrajota aka unDJ MMMNNNRRRG from Portugal, Erik Marton aka eRikm from France and Takuro Mizuta Lippit aka DJ Sniff from Japan.
In Auditorium 3, four documentary films and one lecture wrap up this year’s festival: Sunny’s Time Now by Antoine Prum, Soldier of the Road - Peter Brötzmann by Bernard Josse and Gérard Rouy, Inside Out in the Open by Alan Roth, and City of the Winds by Gilles Corre. The British critic Brian Morton, co-author of the Penguin Guide of Jazz, will share his arguments concerning the role of contemporary jazz critics at his lecture Jazz criticism: an open verdict.
Welcome to Jazz em Agosto 2012, the other side of jazz.
Rui Neves Jazz em Agosto Artistic Director