The Swinging Rhythms of the ‘Florence Jazz Fringe Festival’ 2018

The Oltrarno neighborhood will echo with the sounds of the Florence Jazz Fringe (FJFF) festival. Taking place from September 5 – 9, the festival promises original music and site-specific performances by renowned artists. Jazz double bass player Furio di Castri conceived the idea for the event, and this year marks FJFF’s second edition.

Included in the line-up are renowned Italian jazz artists Enrico Rava, Francesco Bearzatti, Peppe Servillo, Javier Girotto, Natalio Magalavite, Fabio Morgera, Nico Gori, John De Leo, Rita Marcotulli, Simone Graziano, Mauro Ottolini, Alessandro Lanzoni, Pietro Tonolo, Stefano “Cocco” Cantini, Alessandro Galati and Francesco Maccianti. The concerts (free, except for those in the Sala Vanni) begin in the afternoon and conclude with DJ sets that stretch out late into the night.

A festival featuring 150 musicians, 70 hours over five days hosted in 25 locations all over the city, the Florence Fringe and Jazz Festival is sure to be a lively event.

The famous Italian jazz trumpet musician Enrico Rava will inaugurate the festival on September 5 at the Basilica of San Miniato al Monte at 9 pm. The festival sites comprise many popular venues within the Oltrarno district, including Piazza del Carmine, Piazza Santo Spirito, Sala Vanni, and even the Arno in front of Ponte Vecchio. The music will shift from Oltrarno’s piazzas to its jazz clubs as the hour gets later. Volume, Santarosa Bistrot, Black Lodge, Rifrullo, Dolce Vita, Negroni, Porto di Mare and the Hard Rock Café will host these late-night soirées.

FJFF Highlights

On September 6, jazz musicians such as the Liacones —Francesco Bearzatti, Mauro Ottolini, Paolo Marchioni and Paolo Mappa — will take the stage to perform innovative rhythms in Piazza del Carmine at 7:30 and 10:15 pm.  The adjacent Sala Vanni will host concerts by the singer and composer John De Leo and award-winning pianist Rita Marcotulli at 9 pm. On a raft anchored in the Arno River between Ponte Vecchio and Ponte Santa Trinita, a baritone saxophone solo will be given by guest artist Javier Girotto at 9:45 pm.

The female street band Girlesque (September 6), in addition to Capoeira Axè/Mestre Boca Nua and Zastava Orkestar (September 7) will bring their music to Piazza Santo Spirito starting at 7 pm.

Learn to dance the Swing and Lindy Hop on September 7 at 6 pm in Piazza del Carmine. This will be followed by The Parientes. Peppe Servillo, Javier Girotto and Natalio Mangalavite form a group of musicians from three distinct cultures who will play the rhythms of cumbia and tango music, with the first set at 7:30 pm, the second beginning at 10:15 pm.  Also on the same date, Alessandro Fabbri and his quintet, comprised of musicians Sebastiano Bon, Simone Santini, Elia Venturini, Davide Maia and Guido Zorn, will debut original pieces in the Sala Vanni (9 pm). This performance will feature a special guest: Pietro Tonolo, a saxophonist and renowned jazz soloist.

Having played in New York for 30 years, trumpeter Fabio Morgera will perform with his group Natural Revolution Orchestra in Piazza del Carmine (first set at 7:30 pm, second set at 10:30 pm). Morgera’s ensemble will play his original compositions on September 8, which will also feature a performance by experimental jazz duet Mirco Mariottini and Stefano Battaglia. At Piazza Poggi, rapper Willie Peyote will sing live in the Vertical Stage Session performance at 9:30 pm.

September 9 brings, among others, saxophonist Nico Gori and his band the Swing10tet, which includes both burgeoning talents and established musicians in a rendition of swing and big band rhythms of the 1930s and 1940s (Piazza del Carmine, 7:30 & 10:15 pm), in addition to Stefano “Cocco” Cantini, who will perform tenor sax solos on the raft floating on the Arno near Ponte Vecchio (9:45 pm).

The festival’s itinerary doesn’t only include music and dancing. Ruffino Cares, a program sponsored and organized by the Ruffino estate in collaboration with the City of Florence, will host wine-related events at 8:45 pm in Piazza del Carmine throughout the festival.   (isabelle blank)