Monte Carlo Jazz Festival 2022

From November 9th till December 4th, Monte Carlo Jazz Festival in Monaco is getting back to its usual musical notes with a new edition full of surprises. Jazz concerts will take place at the Opéra Garnier Monte-Carlo with new generations of musicians from the Rainier III Academy and the screening of the film "Let's get lost" by Bruce Weber in tribute to Chet Baker, in partnership with the Institute Audiovisual of Monaco.

 The Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival will take over other venues such as "before" at the Crystal Bar at the Hôtel Hermitage and "after" at the Blue gin at the Monte-Carlo Bay, as well as the American Bar at the Hôtel de Paris.

The Jazz Masterclass by Alex Jaffray, November 12

Alex Jaffray will host a masterclass with a program: "Why you will finally love Jazz", Salle Eiffel Hôtel Hermitage (winter garden entrance) At 5 p.m.

A truly musical "Swiss knife" (composer, producer or music columnist), Alex Jaffray has notably composed the original soundtracks for feature films by big names in cinema (Claude Lelouch, to name but one), for flagship TV programs (Scènes de households, to name just one), advertising and large-scale events, as well as the sound identities of brands such as Renault, EDF, TF1, to name just one. Because you have to get up early to talk about film music on TV, he hosts the musical chronicle of Télématin on France 2 as well as Le Son d'Alex, a short program that will make you regret not having had it as music teacher. This gave him a privileged link and rare encounters with Ennio Morricone, Hans Zimmer, Lenny Kravitz or Sting... In 2018, he hosted his first Ted X conference on recycling and sampling, then in 2020, a second on the sound of Earth. In 2021 he is hosting a conference at the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo in tribute to Joséphine Baker for her entry into the Panthéon.

Ian Anderson and the band Jethro Tull, November 23

Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull, one of the world's best-known Progressive Rock bands, announce their return to the stage with their 'The Prog Years Tour'. The latter will mainly focus on Jethro Tull's most 'prog' albums, in particular the first great classics Stand Up, Benefit, Aqualung, Thick As A Brick, Passion Play and even some excerpts from 2012's Thick As A Brick 2. From their debut, Jethro Tull  and Ian Anderson created a particular character: a troubadour flute player, playing his authentically slanted music on one leg.

Gonzalo Rubalcaba, MATT BREWER & ERIC HARLAND, November 24

Grammy-winning pianist and composer Gonzalo Rubalcaba was already a budding young phenomenon in his native Cuba when he was discovered by Dizzy Gillespie in 1985. Since then, he has been easily compared to figures such as Glenn Gould, Martha Argerich and Bill Evans. He has won three Grammys and two Latin Grammys, which help make him a big name in the jazz world. Born into a family of musicians in Havana, his father was a pianist, composer and conductor; his composer grandfather and his two brothers are also musicians. Gonzalo, a child prodigy who, at the age of 6, was already playing drums in his father's orchestra (Guillermo Rubalcaba)! He began his traditional training two years later, with the piano as his main instrument. He graduated from the Institute of Fine Arts in Havana and, in full adolescence, worked as a drummer and pianist in hotels, concert halls and jazz clubs in the capital. He then began tours in Cuba, Europe, Africa and even Asia with the legendary Orquesta Aragón. In 1984, he led his own Afro-Cuban jazz rock fusion group: Grupo Proyecto. In 1986, meetings with Gillespie, Charlie Haden and Bruce Lundvall, then president of Blue Note Records, allowed Rubalcaba's talent to be showcased in front of jazz audiences in the United States. His international career includes an important series of recordings, with titles such as "Discovery - Live at Montreux", "Live at Mt. Fuji, The Blessing", "Rapsodia" and many others which earned him 17 nominations, including at the Grammys and the Latin Grammys.

Richard Bona & Alfredo Rodriguez feat Michael Oliviera, November 24

Born in 1967 in Cameroon, bassist and singer Richard Bona grew up in a family where music is king. Richard Bona performed for the first time in public at the age of 5, in the church of his village. But the lure of the big city was quickly felt. This is how he went to live in Douala and immediately found work as a musician. His life took a turn in 1980 when a Frenchman opened a jazz club in one of the city's hotels and hired the young prodigy. At 22, he left Africa for Paris. Settled in New York at the end of 1995, he reconnected with Joe Zawinul, with whom he had played in Paris and participated in the recording of his album My People as well as the world tour that followed. Back in New York, he multiplied his commitments in all the clubs downtown. The reputation of this extraordinary bassist with a bewitching voice is spreading. His unique style, at the crossroads of a host of influences (jazz, bossa, pop music, afrobeat, traditional songs, funk...) has given so-called African music a new dimension, hitherto still unexplored. After meeting Quincy Jones at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2006, Alfredo Rodriguez, whose talent is inspired as much by Bach and Stravinsky as by his Afro-Cuban and jazz roots, leaves Cuba and his family to settle in the United States in order to to pursue his dream. Grammy-nominated Richard Bona and Alfredo Rodriguez became aware of each other's talent thanks to their mutual mentor, Quincy Jones. Rodriguez's album Tocororo (2016) is produced by Quincy Jones.

Magma & the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, November 27

Magma, the cult group of the French music scene. Since 1969, Magma has established itself with a unique music, at the crossroads of rock, jazz and avant-garde. Founded by demiurge drummer Christian Vander, Magma quickly stood out from its contemporaries with a powerful polyrhythm and an invented language, Kobaian. The influence of Magma extends over several decades and around the world, surprising both the Chinese public and that of Hellfest, where he also had a triumph in 2016.

Groups and fashions pass, few remain and last. And for this evening, Magma joins forces with the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra for a unique encounter.

Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra - Over 160 years of history

Since the 2016-2017 season, Kazuki Yamada has been the artistic and musical director of the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to its symphonic season in Monaco and collaborations with the Monte-Carlo Opera, the Monte-Carlo Spring Arts Festival and the Compagnie des Ballets de Monte Carlo, the Orchestra is regularly invited by major French and international festivals: Aix-en-Provence, Paris, Prague, Strasbourg, Montreux, Vienna, Orange, Dresden, Bonn, Leipzig, Ankara, Athens, Bad Kissingen, Bonn, Dublin, Lisbon, Lyon, Rheingau, La Roque d'Anthéron. The OPMC is also open to various musical styles, on the occasion of concerts or festivals. He has collaborated with, among others, Marcus Miller, Raul Midon, Roy Hargrove, Leila Hathaway, Avishai Cohen, Stacey Kent, Jamie Cullum, Dame Shirley Bassey, and lately with IAM, Hugh Coltman, Melody Gardot and André Ceccarelli.

Jazz & Modern Music by the Rainier III Academy, November 29

This concert features the talents of the Rainier III Academy of the Principality of Monaco. The diversified program will go from Jazz with its standards to Pop music that Jazz has influenced. The participation of the Rainier III Academy in the festival makes it possible to celebrate artists from Monaco. This gives emerging talents the opportunity to acquire valuable performance experience in such a prestigious setting as the Opéra Garnier, in order to perpetuate the currents of Jazz in the Principality.

CÉCILE McLORIN SALVANT & SULLIVAN FORTNER, November 30

Daughter of a French mother and a Haitian father, raised in the musical and cultural culture of Miami, Cécile McLorin Salvant began her piano studies at age 5 and sang with the Miami Choral Society at age 8. Thanks to her parents' impressive record collection, she perfected her education through a wide variety of music. Jazz is one of them, but his adolescence is limited to the study of classical and Broadway repertoire. She went to Aix-en-Provence to study opera and law, and ironically it was in France that she discovered the roots of jazz and American music, thanks to her teacher, the saxophonist of jazz Jean-Francois Bonnel. Three years later, she won the prestigious Thelonious Monk Prize in front of a jury made up of Al Jarreau, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dianne Reeves, Patti Austin and Kurt Elling! Since 2010, she has continued to attract the attention of the public and critics, winning several prestigious awards including 2 Grammy Awards, the Django Reinhardt Prize from the Jazz Academy...

Sofiane Pamart, November 30

Sofiane Pamart is one of the top 10 most streamed Classical Music Artists in the world in 2021. Accustomed to prestigious stages, after being propelled headliner of the Montreux Jazz Festival 2021 and having been sold out at the Olympia, the Trianon, at the Louvre Museum, and at the Salle Pleyel, Sofiane Pamart announces an event concert in Monaco. His musical universe is halfway between great film music and adventure stories. His work, both dark and poetic, embodies an emotional accuracy that makes it possible to reach a very wide audience. Gold medalist at the National Conservatory of Lille and a leading pianist in French rap, he collaborates with artists such as Joey Starr, Rilès, Bon Entendeur, and Marina Kaye.

Some recent feats of arms:

- He is the first artist to play a live streaming concert under the northern lights of Lapland.

 - He tours internationally to private and premium member clubs in Soho House.

- He is preparing a unique concert at the Opéra de Nice of his own repertoire performed with the Philharmonic Orchestra and the choirs of the Opéra, for a total of 100 people on stage.

- He receives 4 gold records and 2 platinum records for his rap collaborations.

- He signs the official music for the Assassin's Creed Valhalla video game advertisement, with massive international distribution. Sofiane Pamart released her first album PLANET GOLD in 2020, regularly present in the Top Sales.

TRIBUTE TO CHET BAKER LET'S GET LOST BY BRUCE WEBER (1988) SCREENING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE MONACO AUDIOVISUAL INSTITUTE

Born in 1929 in the depths of Oklahoma where part of his family still resides, Chet Baker burst onto the jazz scene in the 1950s alongside Stan Getz, then Charlie Parker and Gerry Mulligan. The influence of drugs disrupted his career from 1956 when, inspired and innovative virtuoso, he went from success to success, recognized by his peers, solicited even by the cinema. In addition to archives and testimonials, the film presents large moments from a recording session of Chet Baker in Los Angeles in 1987 as well as behind the scenes of a concert during the Cannes festival, a year before his accidental death in 1988. .

This subjective gaze which is the essence and the strength of Let's Get Lost corresponds perfectly to the natural duplicity, to the inner nomadism of the musician. There doesn't seem to be any other way to film it than in close-up or close-up, alternating between the harsh Californian daylight and the expressionist black and white, forced by the "live" filming of the night scenes and night owls. The scansion, with a magnificent low angle shot of Chet Baker's unshaven face, hair floating in the Hollywood nightlife, finally offers a cinematic equivalence to the "inner" music that the trumpet player infuses into his romances. Neither apology nor documentary discourse, Let's Get Lost will remain as a luminous expressionist poem, about a little cowboy from Oklahoma, a little white boy who was going to make Miles and Dizzy drool. Jean-François Robic, Low Angle, February 1990 supplement

Bruce Weber

Born in 1946 in Greensburg, an agricultural and industrial town from which he originated, Bruce Weber discovered the joys of amateur cinema at a very young age with his family, with his sister and his father. After studying art at Denison College in Ohio, Weber went to study photography at Princeton University, then at the New School in New York. It was there that he organized his first exhibition in 1974. His first fashion photographs were published at the end of the 1970s in GQ magazine, which Bruce Weber covered on numerous occasions. He becomes the friend of the greatest, Richard Avedon or Art Kane. Quickly recognized as one of the pioneers of men's fashion photography, he rose to fame thanks to advertising campaigns for Calvin Klein and Abercrombie & Fitch. His narrative approach to photography becomes a signature and naturally brings him to the shores of cinema. By a strange coincidence, Weber is led to make a documentary on a young American boxer who looks just like Chet Baker (Broken Noses, 1983) before tackling the figure of the musician himself, one of his idols, immortalized in William Claxton's snapshots as "jazz's James Dean" in the 1950s. Collage of archival footage and film clips, testimonies and recordings Let's Get Lost (1988)

tries to reconstitute the life or rather the lives and the faces of the trumpeter, charismatic and tormented, through a deliberately subjective story. The same bias animates Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast (2018), which can be leafed through like a collection of photographs and interviews, dedicated to the cult of actor Robert Mitchum. Through the succession of points of view, the film gives the actor a pure fantasy image. Fixed or animated, Bruce Weber's subjects are carnal abstractions, heroes of an American mythology that is constantly reinventing itself. Vincent Vatrican Director of the Audiovisual Institute of Monaco

ANOUAR BRAHEM QUARTET, December 3

For nearly forty years and with a rich discography now comprising 11 albums published by ECM Records, Anouar Brahem has never ceased to bring into play the Arab musical tradition of which his oud is the emblem, by confronting it both with modern jazz and to the harmonic sophistications of other ancestral Eastern cultures. Today, based on years of shared experiences, he undertakes to engage in the adventure of a new project his Quartet created in 2009 for the recording of The Astounding Eyes of Rita, thus proposing for the first time to revisit its own territories through a repertoire mixing some usual compositions of the group, pieces borrowed from older albums (Madar, Thimar, Astrakan Café, Le Voyage de Sahar) and also more recent (Blue Maqams). His 11 albums are all consecrated by the public and international critics (including Astrakan Café, Thimar, Le Pas du Chat Noir, Blue Maqams etc.), and the success of his concerts with jazz figures (Jan Garbarek, Dave Holland , Jack DeJohnette and others) confirm his place as one of the most captivating and inspiring artists in the world of instrumental music.

RICHARD GALLIANO NEW YORK TANGO TRIO, December 3rd

The jazz approach of New Tango like that of New Musette has always been obvious to me. Jazz, Musette, Tango feed on the same ingredients, relationship to dance, strong melodies, precise and sought-after harmonies. And the most important thing is the style (according to Astor Piazzolla). In the presence of Sébastien Giniaux (guitar and cello) and Diego Imbert (double bass), we will approach this New Tango and New Musette repertoire with a jazz approach, playing at each concert in a totally free way, sometimes far from the score but never from the soul of the composer." Richard Galliano Richard Galliano arrived in Paris in 1975 and met Claude Nougaro, with whom he would become a friend, the accordionist but also the conductor, until 1983. The second decisive meeting took place in 1980, with the composer and Argentinian bandoneonist Astor Piazzolla. Astor strongly encouraged him to create the French "New Musette", as he himself had previously invented the "New Tango" by drawing on his presence in New York between 1924 and 1937. He collaborated with an impressive number of artists and prestigious musicians: Chet Baker, Eddy Louiss, Ron Carter, Wynton Marsalis, Charlie Haden, Gary Burton, Michel Portal, Toots Thielemans, Kurt Elling, for jazz, Serge Reggiani, Claude Nougaro, Barbara, Juliette Greco, Georges Moustaki, Charles Aznavour, Serge Gainsbourg, for the French song.

CHILLY GONZALES TO VERY CHILLY CHRISTMAS, December 3

Known for the intimate piano sounds of his trilogy of hit Solo Piano albums, but also for his raging performances and compositions, Chilly Gonzales, in bathrobe and slippers, fills major philharmonic orchestras around the world. He musicologically analyzes a hit by Billie Eilish or demonstrates his rapping skills; he sings and writes songs with Jarvis Cocker, Feist and Drake; won a Grammy for his participation in Daft Punk's best album of the year. You will understand, in a word, it is simply surprising. Chilly Gonzales premiered his book on 'guilty pleasures', titled Enya, which received critical acclaim when published in 2020. Recently, Gonzo released the album A Very Chilly Christmas, which he will present at the Opéra Garnier Monte- Carlo, his brand new show. On the menu, a recital of compositions from his Solo Piano trilogy and as a main course, once properly installed, the stage becomes Gonzo's workshop where new instruments, new compositions, new Master classes and new arrangements of old classics confront each other.