The Algarve Jazz Orchestra celebrates, on Sunday, October 6th, its 20 years of existence and ten years of residence in Lagoa, with a concert dedicated to Count Basie, scheduled for 17 pm, at the municipal auditorium of Lagoa.
Trumpeter Hugo Alves, director and founder of the Algarve Jazz Orchestra (OJA), said in an interview with Sul Informação, that the concert will present, for the first time in the Algarve (and probably in the country) the entire album «Basie Straight Ahead», released by Count Basie and his orchestra in 1968.
«It is a landmark album», especially because it is «the album that marks the first collaboration between Basie and his orchestrator Sammy Nestico».
Furthermore, “when in 2004, on this very day of October 6th, the Orchestra held its first rehearsal in Lagos, the very first language that I presented to the musicians, and which would serve as a basis for their work, was the music of Count Basie”, recalled the director of OJA.
A few months ago, the suggestion came from the Orchestra's pianist, Diogo Russo: «…and why not do the Basie Straight Ahead complete?” And this is how OJA will “play a repertoire that we have already done little by little over the years, but never all together”, added Hugo Alves.
«We will thus interpret one of the greatest landmarks in terms of recordings: in 1968, Sammy Nestico composed and orchestrated all the tracks for this album by the Count Basie Orchestra. A timeless album, which has become historic, central in the history of the Great Orchestras, central in the history of Jazz, and which marks a decades-long collaboration between the two musicians».
But the strong dish These days, the Norwegian Silje Nergaard, one of the essential voices of European jazz, is coming to the Algarve for three concerts.
With over 30 years of activity, Silje began her career at the age of 16 and has already published 16 albums and an enviable number of awards.
«A pioneer in her work, she managed to create a distinctive sound, where the softness of her voice and style are predominant», explains the Algarve Jazz Orchestra.
His relationship with jazz orchestras is not new, with particular emphasis on his collaboration with the Metropole Orchestra (Netherlands), which earned him a Grammy nomination, or his collaboration with the WDR, one of the largest jazz orchestras in Europe (Germany).
In this meeting with the Algarve band, “we will present a repertoire of originals by the singer, those that best represent her career, with original arrangements”, Hugo Alves also revealed.
The Norwegian singer, after having already performed at the Cineteatro Louletano, in Loulé, with a sold-out house, on September 29th, will also perform in Lagoa (October 19th) and in Lagos (Cultural Center, October 24th), as part of the third edition of Algarve All jazz, a program that brings together OJA and those three municipalities, with the support of DGArtes.
Taking advantage of Silje Nergaard's stay in the Algarve region, on the 22nd, at 18 pm, there will also be, at the Lagos Cultural Center, the Masterclass Sound Capsules, aimed at musicians and music students.
In December, the Algarve Jazz Orchestra once again invites Carlos Guilherme, tenor from the Teatro de São Carlos, who even has connections to Lagoa.
Four concerts are therefore scheduled, on the 14th (Lagoa), 15th (Silves), 21st (Lagos) and 22nd of December, at the Igreja Matriz de Monchique.
On the OJA website, marking its 20th anniversary, Carlos Guilherme comments: «I will never forget the service that was requested of me and fulfilled with excellent musicians who gave me an incursion into the world of Jazz. Being a lyrical tenor in São Carlos, it was a highly enriching experience». An experience that he will now repeat.
In your interview with Sul Informação, the director of the Jazz Orchestra confessed that, in the midst of the hard work that the OJA has, the 20th anniversary celebrations do not represent a point of arrival, but rather «a continuity».
«Honestly, there is not much time to look back and try to make a historical review. Of course, there are some points that are very important and above all, they also justify it». On your website, in fact, the Orchestra is gathering testimonies from musicians, both Portuguese and foreign, as well as photographers and other cultural agents, and even representatives of institutions, about these first two decades of its life.
Going back to his early days, Hugo Alves recalls that what influenced him was “the jazz atmosphere, which, although not very popular in the country, existed here in the Algarve in the 70s and 80s. Otherwise, I might not have become a jazz musician.”
He was marked by the existence of the first jazz club in Lagos, the Navegador, later Stevie Rays, Barroca, Barimbar, also in the 80s, which was quite important, where the first Portuguese jazz musicians played. Then also the influence that Manuel Guerreiro gave in Lagoa, first with Caldeirão, in Ferragudo, then with Manoel's Club, in Carvoeiro.
“All of this meant that a restricted group of people, who I don’t consider elitist, who like jazz, ended up having some places where they could be together and cultivate this type of music,” he recalled.
«This is a first phase that is, let's say, the prehistory of jazz in the Algarve. Without this, it would not have been possible to have structures like ours», which began by being called the Lagos Jazz Orchestra.
«And then we were, in fact, lucky to have a festival in Lagos, which was Lagos Jazz. That year, we had received occasional support from DGArtes, which allowed us to do a workshop much larger and therefore have a large group of students. That's where the Jazz Orchestra came from, with students", added Hugo Alves.
«There was also a fundamental connection, which was Duarte Costa, who was my lifelong colleague and brother in music. A question that came up in conversation with Dr. Joaquina Matos [who was then the councilor for Culture at Lagos City Council], who really liked the idea of having permanent training in Lagos, that connection happened between the three of us. Duarte ended up showing up the next day with a list of musicians, the City Council supported it and I was there to provide the continuity and the teachings that were necessary to make it happen».
From then on, the musician recalled, “the orchestra was created and it was created with a very clear position to become professional. We still had some resistance and lack of understanding from the musicians, who did not understand the difference between an amateur structure and a professional structure. But anyway, we managed to start our journey there and here we are, twenty years later.”
An important step in the career of the Algarve Jazz Orchestra was the protocol with the Lagoa City Council, ten years ago, which allowed it to use as headquarters an old school in the municipality.
«The Orchestra has been supported by DGArtes since 2006. But 2014 is an important date, as it is when we go to Lagoa, the municipality that supports us the most and which is fundamental in this entire consolidation process», he stressed.
«A little later, we were able to make the leap to sustained support from DGArtes, which substantially improved» the funds that OJA can count on to program all its activities.
Based on this sustained support from DGArtes, the director of OJA was able to “encourage the region to support the Orchestra. Today we have collected, I don’t know the exact number, but there are 12 or 13 supports that include most of the Municipalities and there are also some Parish Councils”.
What about support from private companies?
“We have all the credentials in this regard, we are entitled to cultural patronage, we have a declaration of high cultural interest, we are a public utility institution, but in fact we receive more support, including through IRS, from people who want to contribute, than from companies. Companies in Portugal, in general, are not very focused on this type of way of acting in society. In the Algarve, which is a tourist area that needs entertainment, there is no such practice of support or patronage, unfortunately.”
Culture, Hugo Alves pointed out, “is also part of animation and entertainment”, but this seems to be of little interest to companies in the Algarve or those operating in the region.
And they can't even claim that jazz doesn't interest the public. "We play very varied repertoires, ranging from jazz more eclectic to more commercial things,” he recalled.
Furthermore, “the fact is that our annual audience forecasts, in the reports, are around 35 thousand people, but the numbers end up being around 50 thousand”.
«It would be interesting for the tourism industry to understand the cultural value that we bring and add to the region. We and all the cultural entities, obviously, that work and operate in the Algarve. Because, if there weren't this product on the streets almost every day, which fortunately the City Councils put in place, the panorama would be very different».
Despite the ever-tight budget, the Algarve Jazz Orchestra maintains its “stubbornness” in recording albums. “The most recent ones are with Jane Monheit, previously with Rick Margitza and Vânia Fernandes, and we’re going from there. There are already a series of releases, all of which are available on digital music networks. Physically, the albums are also available until they’re finished, because nowadays not many people use CDs anymore. Yes, we continue to make albums, we still have that stubbornness.”
What is certain is that, admits the director of OJA, «our influence in the region is quite large, we are talking about 20 or 30 concerts per year, with the Orchestra formation. Then, we also have the small formations that perform around 40, 50 concerts. And we have to bring together the workshops. It's like this: there isn't a single week, on average, in which one or two activities don't take place.
As for the programming, it has to be prepared well in advance, because it is not easy to bring big names in Portuguese or international jazz to the Algarve, if this is not the case.
“Sometimes we are asked to do concerts or other activities that we are unable to do because they are at the last minute. Our schedule is planned well in advance,” he explained. In addition, the Orchestra is always working on several fronts, which makes its work even more difficult.
«I'll give you an example of what's happening now: we've been preparing Silje Nergaard's concerts for over a month, but now, in the middle of that, we have the Count Basie concert to do. And then we go back to the Silje concerts again. And this is nothing new for us, it happens to us many times during the year. So, we usually work on two or three repertoires at the same time. I try not to do more than that, because we have to maintain our artistic sanity. It's not easy, but sometimes it has to be. Because of scheduling issues, the artists, the guests or the dates we're asked to do».
As for the public, which ten years ago would have had more foreigners than Portuguese, “now that situation is reversed”.
“The Portuguese also know us and follow us, which is very good. As do the foreign residents. In the summer, we obviously have tourists, whether Portuguese or foreign, but throughout the year it is our Algarve residents who come to the orchestra’s concerts, participate and enjoy them. We always get a lot of comments in the publications about this,” he said.
Although the Orchestra does not travel much outside the Algarve to perform in other regions – it is not that it does not receive invitations, it is mainly because the logistics and expense of moving a group of 24 musicians is difficult to bear – Hugo Alves recalls that there are also “people who come here to spend the weekend, take advantage and come and get to know the orchestra”. This means that the OJA “is already well known, for its quality and the repertoires it chooses”.
And it is hoped that this will continue for at least another twenty years.
The complete program of the Algarve Jazz Orchestra can be consulted here.
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