Mário Laginha clapped his hands to hear the sound and said: “I was afraid there would be a lot of echo, but the salt from the walls and floor must absorb it. It has excellent conditions for concert». The musician thus gave his approval to the “unusual setting” chosen by the Casa da Cultura de Loulé to present, last night, the Loulé International Jazz Festival.
And what “unusual scenario” was this? The galleries 10 meters high and 37 kilometers long, from the Sal Gema de Loulé mine, operated by CUF, 230 meters below the city.
For the presentation of this, which will be the 22nd edition of the oldest jazz festival in the Algarve – and one of the longest-lived in the country –, around fifty people were invited, in groups of six, as tight as sardines in a can. , descended to the depths of the earth in the elevators used by miners.
Down there, it was learned that the festival, whose formal stage of concerts runs from 29 to 31 July, at Alcaidaria do Castelo, has even started. There was an informal presentation at MED, jazz in the cinema, this showcase with Mário Laginha, at the bottom of the rock salt mine, there will also be an open-air concert at Parque Municipal, scheduled for Saturday, July 16th (10:30 am), with the many young musicians from «tÉssa ea band troilarÉ», and also Jazz no Bafo (the Bar Bafo de Baco), on the 22nd (23:00), with «What about Sara».
And just yesterday, after the presentation of the festival and the short performance of Mário Laginha, at the bottom of the mine, at the Cineteatro Louletano, the final audition of the four pre-selected trios, of the nine that participated in the competition promoted by the Chamber, followed. Municipal to choose the future Loulé Jazz Trio.
“Nine trios from all over the country competed, four of which, through a blind competition, were selected for this final. They will now have half an hour each to perform live, before the jury and the public, and one of these four will be chosen. This one will debut at the Jazz Festival and then will have the obligation to perform a total of 12 concerts per year, paid for by the Câmara de Loulé», he explained, to Sul Informação, Dália Paulo, director of the Development and Cohesion Department.
In the end, the choice of the jury for this Loulé Jazz Trio fell to João Pedro Coelho (piano), António Quintino (double bass) and João Pereira (drums).
Mário Laginha, artistic director of the Jazz Festival, confessed that his idea of creating a Jazz Trio, «very well received» by the authorities of the municipality, «was inspired by things I saw: for example, the Matosinhos Jazz Orchestra or the Matosinhos String Quartet, which carry the name of this city throughout Portugal and the world».
“In order to make things transparent and fair, we thought it was better to do a contest”, but, he admitted, “we were very tight in time because I wanted the trio to play at this year's festival”. And it will be.
Mário Laginha said he was amazed at the number of trios that competed: «I never expected that it would be possible to have so many». But, he underlined, "just like in football, with the national team, when the forces are right, anything can happen."
And the concert by the recently chosen Loulé Jazz Trio, in what will be its absolute debut before the general public, will close the Festival on the 31st of July.
The renowned jazz musician Mário Laginha is the artistic director of this event. It's because? First, because of the «very strong bond» that unites him to Loulé, where his mother was born and lived until she went to Lisbon to study.
And, having managed to survive during the times of the deepest crisis, when, he confessed, «we thought about ending the festival» because there was no money, Mário Laginha is very confident in this 2016 edition, which marks the return of the event to a level of quality that, in reality, it never abandoned.
Thus, the program starts on the 29th, Friday (21:30 pm), with Gileno Santana and Tuniko Goulart, «a Brazilian duo, but which, in reality, is made up of musicians who live in Portugal. Tuniko even lives in Faro. They have an unusual training in trumpet and guitar».
That same night follows João Mortágua, "a saxophonist from Porto who is brilliant". Mário Laginha highlighted the opportunity to bring him to the Algarve, since, he pointed out, "the country is small, but in these things it seems that it is too big".
On the second of three nights, Saturday, July 30, the program starts with Marco Martins Quintet, a musician from Loulé who lives in Paris, and who Laginha said was presented to him by the two responsibles of the Casa da Cultura de Loulé – Élio Pelica and João Espada. "This group is incredible", guaranteed the Festival's artistic director.
Then, closing the night, is followed by Vardan Ovsepian, an Armenian pianist living in Los Angeles, who is a duo with Brazilian singer, from São Paulo, Tatiana Parra. «The sound is incredible, I'm really a fan!», commented, enthusiastically, Mário Laginha.
Finally, on the 31st, Sunday, it will be the turn of Alcaidaria do Castelo to receive the official premiere of the Loulé Jazz Trio. At the time of the Festival's presentation at the bottom of the Sal Gema mine, Mário Laginha, who was also a member of the jury, obviously did not yet know who would be chosen, but he urged the guests: «I ask you to support this trio, these musicians, and feel them as yours. And I hope they are very good and have a long life, to take the name of Loulé throughout the Algarve, the rest of the country and even abroad. Gestures like these make the music spread and reach people».
And the gesture – unprecedented in the entire South of the country – of creating a Jazz Trio came from the Municipality of Loulé, whose president, after highlighting the "very special moment" that was being lived there, 230 meters deep, stressed that “culture is an investment with a clear direct and indirect economic return”.
The City Council he presides over is "strongly committed to making Culture a resource in Loulé," added Vítor Aleixo.
And the increased commitment to the International Jazz Festival is synonymous with that, as João Espada, president of the Casa da Cultura de Loulé, which has been promoting the event since the beginning, said.
A journey remembered with emotion by Eduardo Manuel, one of the organizers of the first Jazz no Castelo: «it was there that it all started 21 years ago». And it will be there that, from the 29th to the 31st of July, everything will culminate, in yet another edition of the Festival.
Loulé International Jazz Festival: what still needs to happen
July 16 jazz kids 10h
«tÉssa and the troilarÉ band» / Outdoor concert
Municipal park
22 Jazz on breath 23h
«What about Sarah»
Bacchus breath
29 Friday 21h
Gileno Santana and Tuniko Goulart
João Mortágua "Window"
at the Alcaidaria do Castelo
30 Saturday 21h
Marco Martins Quartet
Vardan Ovsepian and Tatiana Parra
at the Alcaidaria do Castelo
31 Sunday 21h
Loulé Jazz Trio
at the Alcaidaria do Castelo
Photos: Elisabete Rodrigues|Sul Informação
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