From Perugia to New York. Umbria Jazz Swings the City

i-Italy will follow the event for its readers and interview the well-know singer, musician and showman Renzo Arbore, who will present Umbria Jazz '09 on May 5 at the Italian Cultural Institute of New York. Stay Tuned!

Danilo Rea

Enrico Pieranunzi

Jazz is commonly considered one of the symbols of American culture. However, many are the foreign artists that have contributed to the development and evolution of the genre, including many Italians. Events and Initiatives of different kinds have been promoted throughout the years on an international basis and have led to a quite significant diffusion and appreciation of this “all American” rhythm. Among them, those organized by the Umbria Region are certainly outstanding.

Umbria is one of the most beautiful regions in Italy. As a cultural center it covers an important role in the music field, hosting every year, in the month of July, a series of exceptional events including the Umbria Jazz Festival and the Festival dei Due Mondi. (Two Worlds’ Festival).

This year’s edition of the two events will be preceded by a New York preview hosted by the Italian Cultural Institute (May 5-8)

UMBRIA JAZZ FESTIVAL (July 10-19)

Umbria Jazz Festival consists of more than two hundred events held in the squares, gardens, arenas and theatres of Perugia. These historical venues become a spectacular background for a Festival that combines jazz and other music genres, creating a stunning emotional show.

Umbria Jazz is widely considered a meeting place for both connoisseurs and passionate listeners, but it is also an initiative that leaves no one out, as there are plenty of things to do for those who simply wish to spend a peaceful holiday in the region.

Participating to Umbria Jazz represents a significant event in a musician's career.

Many artists have chosen to gather for the occasion, both in the past and the present. Among the international artists who will gather for this year’s edition of the festival, there will be: Burt Bacharach, Steely Dan, Simply Red, Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis, Maceo Parker, Solomon Burke, George Benson, James Taylor, B.B. King, Richard Galliano, Ahmad Jamal, Dave Douglas, Roy Haynes, McCoy Tyner, Bill Frisell, John Scofield, Mingus Dynasty, Tuck&Patty, and the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) Great Black Music Ensemble.

Moreover, among the Italian musicians we also find Paolo Conte, Enrico Rava, Enrico Pieranunzi, Stefano Bollani, Gino Paoli, Flavio Boltro, Paolo Fresu, Rosario Giuliani, Gianluca Petrella, Danilo Rea, Renato Sellani, Roberto Gatto, Francesco Cafiso.

FESTIVAL DEI DUE MONDI (June 26-July 12)

The Festival dei Due Mondi (Festival of the Two Worlds) is an important musical happening held each June to early July in Spoleto, Italy.

It features a vast array of concerts, opera, dance, drama, visual arts and roundtable discussions. The festival has developed into one of the most important cultural events in Italy, with a three-week schedule of music, theater and dance performances.

The 52nd edition of the festival will open on June 26, 2009 with Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi”, directed by Woody Allen, and will conclude on July 12, 2009, with the traditional final concert.

The town of Spoleto will host international artists such as Woody Allen, Robert Wilson, Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Weehldon and Wayne McGregor. This year’s edition will feature the return to Spoleto of Pina Bausch with her TanzTheater Wuppertal after 40 years.

NEW YORK PRESENTATION OF THE TWO FESTIVALS (May, 5-8)

From May 5 through May 8 the Italian Cultural Institute will host a preview of this year’s edition of the two festivals, with live performances of some of the most renowned Italian jazz musicians.

On Tuesday, May 5 (6 pm) pianist Danilo Rea will play music by Modugno, De André, Tenco, Paoli and Puccini.

On Wednesday, May 6 (6 pm) pianist Enrico Pieranunzi will offer jazz improvisations on the piano. He has long been one of the best-known and appreciated personalities on the European jazz scene. He has played in concert and in the studio with Chet Baker, Lee Konitz, Marc Johnson, Joey Baron, Paul Motian, and Charlie Haden, performing at all the most important international festivals, from Montreal to Copenhagen, from Berlin to Madrid. In 1989, 2003 and 2008 he was voted Musician of the Year in the Musica Jazz critic’s poll.

On Thursday May 7 and Friday May 8 (6 pm), Umbria Jazz will present “Italian Songs in Jazz” with Roberta Gambarini, voice, Renatio Sellani, piano, and Neil Swainson, double-bass. She has performed with Michael Brecker, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Slide Hampton, Roy Hargrove, Jimmy Heath, Hank Jones, Christian McBride, and Toots Thielemans, among many others, and has performed at Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Town Hall and Walt Disney Concert Hall, and jazz festivals around the world such as Barbados, London, Monterey, North Sea, Toronto, and Umbria.

A reception with superb wines of the Umbria region will be offered after each of the above mentioned performances.

TEATRO LIRICO SPERIMENTALE DI SPOLETO

On the occasion of the New York presentation of the two festivals, the Italian Cultural Institute will also inform the public about the Teatro Lirico Sperimentale of Spoleto.

The Teatro Lirico Sperimentale di Spoleto “A. Belli” was founded in 1947 by Adriano Belli with the aim of discovering young talented European opera singers and preparing them for their debut through the annual “European Community” Singing Competition, the five-month Master Classes in Spoleto and the Experimental Opera Season.

Some of the greatest names of the international opera scene of the last fifty years have won the Singing Competition and have began their artistic career with Teatro Lirico Sperimentale, studying in Spoleto. Among them we find Franco Corelli, Antonietta Stella, Anita Cerquetti, Anna Moffo, Renato Bruson, Ruggero Raimondi, Leo Nucci, Mariella Devia, Giuseppe Sabbatini, Sonia Ganassi.

Since 1993 Teatro Lirico Sperimentale has also organized the two-year International Competition for New Chamber Opera “Orpheus”, founded together with Luciano Berio. Teatro Lirico Sperimentale has been invited for concerts and opera performances all around Italy and also in Austria (1994), Spain (1995), United States (1996, 2005), Switzerland (1997), Japan (2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007), Hungary (2002, 2006), Canada (2002), Germany (2003, 2005), Poland (2003), China (2004, 2006, 2007), Russia (2006), and Qatar (2007

TOURING UMBRIA IN NEW YORK

Besides the events at the Italian Cultural Institute, the Umbria region will also promote its products and its tourism industry in New York. The program includes the following:

- May 5, 11 am, ENIT (Rockfeller Center): press conference on tourism in Umbria; 11.30 am: workshop

- May 7, 10 am, ICE (New York branch): presentation of the olive oil from Umbria which has been awarded the Ercole Olivario prize – organized by the Chamber of Commerce of Perugia and the ICE (Italian Institute for Foreign Trade)

The Sally Fischer PR Agency will be responsible for the public relations.

Umbria jazz is organized in collaboration with Enzo Capua, US representative of the festival.

The events were organized by the Umbria local tourist board (Agenzia di Promozione Turistica) and by ENIT-New York, in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute, the Chamber of Commerce of Perugia, ICE and STL Valli e Monti dell’Umbria antica.