I was lucky enough to attend two evenings; the first performer I saw was Freddy Cole and the second was the final gala performance of the pupils and teachers with the Travelling School of Jimmy Weinstein, putting into practice the concepts learned after five days working together at the International Jazz Seminar. Other performances were given by David Murray, Marco Mezquida Trio and Orange Juice Funk Collective.
When I arrived on the night of the Freddy Cole concert I entered the Plaça Major to a sea of people and a stage set up with the Town Hall as its backdrop. Rows of chairs had been set up in the centre of the square for all those attending the concerts. All around the perimeter of the square there were tables belonging to all the restaurants and there wasn’t a single empty seat to be found, I managed to perch on one of the benches on the perimeter. The concert began at 10:30 pm and the atmosphere was wonderful, a gentle summer breeze blowing and ruffling the streamers strung up above the square, families eating, drinking, relaxing and children still playing around the square.
As Freddy Cole and his band, Randy Napolen on guitar, Elias Baily on bass and Curtis Boyd on drums, delighted the crowds with song after song I looked around and saw the loveliest sight. Up on the band stand in the middle of the square, where teenagers were perched along the top for the best view, a mother and her little daughter, of no more than five or six years of age, were dancing together, twirling and spinning, their floaty summer dresses swishing about, it was really beautiful to see and lent the evening a slightly ethereal quality.
Freddy Cole, younger brother of Nat King Cole, performed songs from his brilliant new album “This and That” and threw in the odd classic American jazz hit. One of the tunes had a distinct samba feel about it and this drew the dancers up from their seats, around the square there were people dancing and enjoying the party vibe. The crowd were absolutely over the moon with the performance that went on until after midnight.
The last night of the festival saw the gala performance of students and teachers that had been working together all week at the Jimmy Weinstein Travelling School and showcased some tremendous compositions and some true classics like George Gershwin’s Summertime. A pupil named Carla Roca sang this song and it was simply outstanding, as was her second performance, a little arrangement made to accompany a poem she had penned entitled I Just Love.
There were some lovely moments during the evening and the crowd were certainly enjoying the performances, presumably there were parents and relatives of some of the young performers as there were plenty of cheers of support. The workshop had taken place all throughout the week, with pupils taking part in master classes with brilliant artists along with instrument and improvisation classes all within a safe and creative environment where pupils were encouraged to experiment with sound.