Jazz Festival de Palma 2023: everything is ready

The fourth edition of the Palma Jazz Festival 2023 features artists of different jazz styles from the national and international scene. The festival, which kicked off on Thursday, February 2, will last until Sunday, February 19.

Yass Ahmed inaugurates the musical performances on Friday the 10th of February in the Xesc Forteza theatre, where the main concerts will take place. The British trumpeter, composer and producer received the Jazz Album of the Year award from The Wire magazine for her album “La Saboteuse” (Naim Records, 2017). Ahmed started playing trumpet in his late teens. He currently leads a musical quintet and has collaborated on sessions for Radiohead, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Urban Soul Orchestra and Lewis Wright.

The following day will be the turn of the All-Woman Jazz Band, a group of six women from Holland, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Spain, with recognised careers, who, as the Teatre Principal has described them, “share a certain interpretative weightlessness and overflow with talent”.

Víctor de Diego will be playing his saxophone on Sunday 12th February. The prestigious Basque musician has received numerous awards at national festivals and has worked with artists such as Armando Manzanero, Moncho, Olga Guillot, Nina, Joan Manuel Serrat, Pedro Guerra and Amaia.

More top artists in the second week

Carlos Sarduy participará en el Jazz Festival de Palma 2023.

Famed composer and performer Carlos Sarduy will be next week’s featured artist. His concert is scheduled for Thursday 16 February. A number of jam sessions will be held beforehand. Born in Havana, Sarduy has recorded more than 50 albums and made his name on the European music scene in 2008. He stands out for his great artistic versatility and musicality. He has collaborated with artists such as Chucho Valdés, Bebo Valdés, Steve Coleman, David Murray, Esperanza Spalding, Vuika, Ainhoa Artieta, Maiza and Ojos de Brujo, among others.

On Friday 17th Eli Degribi will address the audience with a concert rescheduled from the previous edition. The Israeli musician’s talent has been recognised with the “Prime Minister Award for Jazz Composition” and the “Landau Award for Jazz Performance”. His charismatic performances and musical quality have led Herbie Hancok to speak of him as a “composer, arranger and a very talented performer, treading uncharted waters”.

For the last weekend, Gillespie Big Band and Berta Moreno & Afro Soul Project are expected to take the stage on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th, respectively.

In addition to the concerts that will take place in the Xesc Forteza theatre, it is planned to “bring jazz music closer to the public through complementary activities open to everyone, which will also take place outside the city centre,” said the Deputy Mayor for Culture and Social Welfare, Antoni Noguera.

Programme Palma Jazz Festival 2023

Friday 10 February at 8 p.m.
YAZZ AHMED
Xesc Forteza Municipal Theatre
Saturday 11th February at 8 pm
ALL-WOMAN JAZZ BAND
Xesc Forteza Municipal Theatre
Sunday 12th February at 19 h
VÍCTOR DE DIEGO GROUP
Xesc Forteza Municipal Theatre
Thursday 16th February at 20 h
CARLOS SARDUY
Xesc Forteza Municipal Theatre
Friday 17th February at 20 h
ELI DEGIBRI
Xesc Forteza Municipal Theatre
Saturday 18th February at 20 h
GILLESPIE BIG BAND
Xesc Forteza Municipal Theatre
Sunday 19th February at 19 h
Berta Moreno
Xesc Forteza Municipal Theatre

Complementary activities

The Palma 2023 Jazz Festival will offer a dozen free complementary activities to bring jazz to the general public:

Thursday 2nd February at 8 pm
Big Band of the Conservatorio Superior de las Islas Baleares (Higher Conservatory of the Balearic Islands)
Conservatori Superior de Música de les Illes Balears (Higher Conservatory of Music of the Balearic Islands)
Friday 10th February at 6 pm
Parade with McAgon’ Day Dixieband
Meeting point: Plaza España
Saturday 11th February at 11 a.m.
Family storytelling
Josep Maria Llompart Municipal Library
Friday 17th February at 6 p.m.
Monkey Doo with SimfoVents Palma
Pl. Major
Saturday 18th February at 12 noon
Concert: Swing a la novela negra
Passage Joan XXIII (The Geraneos)