The AngraJazz festival is commemorating its 25th anniversary. Catherine Russell, Vijay Iyer, the duo Mário Laginha, and João Paulo Esteves da Silva are prominent names in the line-up.

“AngraJazz has been going strong for 25 years. Today, it’s part of the national calendar. At a press conference yesterday, ” Everyone connected to jazz or who likes jazz in Portugal knows that AngraJazz exists and dreams of coming here to see it,” said José Ribeiro Pinto from the AngraJazz Cultural Association.
“We also have a lot of people who live abroad who come here too, some to attend the event. This is also a great honor for us, and it shows how important we are on the jazz scene,” he added.
The 25th edition of the festival runs from October 2nd to 5th. “This year is AngraJazz’s 25th anniversary and we thought we should commemorate this round date with dignity, so we decided to extend the festival by another day. We’re going to have four nights of concerts, two concerts a night. We’re going to have eight great concerts,” said José Ribeiro Pinto.

One of the main highlights of this edition is the moment when Mário Laginha and João Paulo Esteves da Silva, “the two best Portuguese jazz pianists” according to the organization, who “haven’t played jazz together for 20 or 30 years,” come together on stage.
“It’s an absolutely extraordinary national event,” said the head of the AngraJazz association.
The Portuguese pianists take to the stage of the Angra do Heroísmo Cultural and Congress Center on October 3, the same day as the quartet of American singer Catherine Russel, voted by Downbeat magazine as the fourth best jazz singer of the year, behind names like CécileMcLorinSalvant and Samara Joy, who have also played at the festival.
On the 4th, the trio of American pianist and composer Vijay Iyer, voted musician of the year in 2016 and 2018 by Downbeat magazine and nominated three times for a Grammy, will perform.
Next up is American pianist, accordionist, and composer Ben Rosenblum, with his sextet Nebula Project. In 2020, Jazz Times magazine voted him the second-best new artist of the year.
Another highlight of the festival is the concert on the 5th, which will bring together Ricardo Toscano, considered “the best Portuguese alto saxophonist,” and musicians from the Angra do Heroísmo Conservatory.
“We’re going to have an 11-piece string group, all from the conservatory, playing Charlie Parker’s music with Ricardo Toscano’s quartet. This connection with the musicians who play here in Angra is very important to us,” said José Ribeiro Pinto.
On the same day, American drummer and producer Ulisses Owens Jr. will perform with his Generation Y quintet, which comprises emerging jazz talents. The group is accompanied by Italian saxophonist Francesco Cafiso, who has worked with internationally renowned musicians.

As usual, the festival kicks off on October 2 with the AngraJazz Orchestra, accompanied by saxophonist PericoSambeat, “considered one of the most important Spanish jazz musicians.”
Saxophonist Camilla George’s quartet, which was born in Nigeria but has lived in England since childhood, will also perform on the same day. George is “one of the great figures of European jazz and the London scene today.”
In addition to the four-day festival, the organization is promoting “Jazz in the Street”, from September 27 to October 5, with free concerts in various venues around the city, featuring three local groups and one national group.

Reinforced budget
With an extra day of concerts, the festival has increased its budget from 110 to 125 thousand euros, with increased funding from Angra do Heroísmo City Council, the Regional Government of the Azores, and other sponsors.
For Guido Teles, the vice-mayor of the municipality, the support is justified by the festival’s projection at national and international levels and its commitment to musical training on Terceira Island.
“It’s one of the main events on the cultural agenda of our island, our region and even our country in this area of jazz. It’s a fully consolidated festival, with a lot of work done, recognized nationally and internationally by the main media specialized in this field,” he said.
Tickets are on sale today and cost between 15 and 24 euros per day. Promotional tickets are 6 euros per day for under-25s and over 65s. The four-day package costs between 40 and 80 euros.

in Diário Insular–José Lourenço-director (pictures from prior editions)

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso-American Education Foundation for sponsoring FILAMENTOS.