Making and organising cultural performances while for more than a week the war has been almost at our doorstep, with thousands of people suffering and others having to take up arms instead of musical instruments is not at all easy! One loses the will to go on, one wonders why?

As the founder and artistic director of the festival, I have decided to carry on without looking away, which is why a percentage of the festival’s income will go to humanitarian aid in Ukraine. I would love to donate 100% but unfortunately there are supplies and professionals to honour and financial commitments made well before the outbreak of this absurd war that we hope will end soon!

We at the Belgian Italian Jazz Festival believe that organising cultural events is important, especially at times like these, and we cannot and will not ignore helping those in need. Thanks to those who support the festival, we will publish the amount that will be allocated to aid in Ukraine at the end of the festival.

About

Co-organised with the Italian Cultural Institute, the Belgian Italian Jazz Festival is in its third edition. Two days, four concerts, 14 artists on stage. March 17 will be dedicated to the piano with two groups: the emerging duo SYNOLON (guitare & piano) and the famous Italian jazz pianist, Nicola Andrioli, who will revisit in piano solo composers such as Chopin, Ravel, Bach and many others. 18 March is dedicated to strings in jazz. The Moon Souvenirs trio, violin, viola and double bass, will prepare the audience for the last ensemble, jazz quartet and string quartet, which will perform the original jazz suite dedicated to Dante Alighieri and composed by Angelo Gregorio. Four concerts not to be missed.

Ainsi est née la première édition de l’Italian Jazz Festival Connection Lab, une nouvelle initiative qui ambitionne de devenir un rendez-vous durable dans le riche panorama de la vie musicale de la capitale européenne : une extraordinaire occasion de se rencontrer et de se confronter à leurs pairs, pour des artistes qui conjuguent leur bagage culturel d’origine avec les ferment du contexte international offert par la ville, où cohabitent et dialoguent les voix les plus diverses. Cette année, sous la direction artistique d’Angelo Gregorio, organisé en collaboration avec les COMITES Belgique et parrainé également par l’Ambassade d’Italie à Bruxelles, l’Italian Jazz Festival Connections Lab  entend promouvoir ce laboratoire italien de création, en le faisant aller à la rencontre du grand public et de projets de musiciens venant du monde entier.

Le fil conducteur de la manifestation sera l’Italie et les participants seront invités à interpréter un thème italien, qui changera d’une année sur l’autre. Le thème de la première édition était « les compositeurs italiens », tandis que cette année la seconde édition du festival rendra hommage à Ennio Morricone. Chaque groupe présentera un morceau d’Ennio Morricone, au choix, en l’interprétant librement conformément à sa propre veine artistique.

 « Nous avons le plaisir de soutenir cette manifestation importante qui, bien que jeune, a déjà su gagner sa place dans le vif panorama musical bruxellois. Une initiative de conception italienne mais à l’esprit cosmopolite, qui célèbre l’échange interculturel, au bénéfice du public et des musiciens. »

Paolo Sabbatini

Directeur de l’Institut Culturel Italien de Bruxelles.

III Edition 2022

SYNOLON @ 18h35

17/03/22 FIRST CONCERT

SYNOLON

G. DI FRANCO (guitar) – F. NEGRO (pianofrote)

At a time when the languages of music are blurring, Gabriele and Francesco decided to create a project where they could combine the worlds they love. Acoustic sounds that blend with electronic and modern sounds; jazz/folk accompaniments that lead to moments of pure improvisation. This is SYNOLON. Both composers and instrumentalists, in SYNOLON they have managed to represent their different souls.

DIALOGANDO CON I CLASSICI @ 19h30

17/03/22 SECOND CONCERT

DIALOGANDO CON I CLASSICI

Nicola ANDRIOLI (piano solo)

Through improvisation the artist explores the unknown. The project stems from the desire to rediscover a profound contact with musical and sound matter, far from stylistic barriers. A journey into the memory of ancient melodies, with a spontaneous impulse towards a music in the making. The piano as a narrator without space and without time. The repertoire of “Dialogando con i classici” will propose improvisations on classical piano themes taken from Chopin, Ravel, Bach.

 

MOON SOUVENIRS @ 18h30

18/03/22 FIRST CONCERT

MOON SOUVENIRS

J.GILLAIN (violin) M. GHITTA (viola) F. CAPORALI (Double Bass)

Moon Souvenirs is a trio brought together by the double bass player and composer Fil Caporali as a mean to express through composed/improvised pieces a music that draws from Bach to Coltrane, passing by Steve Reich and Tom Jobim, where past and present are mingled and cloudy, but emotionally vivid like an old memory.

DANTE ALIGHIERI JAZZ SUITE @ 19h30

18/03/22 SECOND CONCERT

DANTE ALIGHIERI JAZZ SUITE

D. LEMEUR (violin) J.GILLAIN (violin) M. GHITTA (viola) P. SUTRA (cello) A. GREGORIO (saxophones&composition) V. BRUYNINCKX (piano)   F. CAPORALI (Double Bass) A.LUONGO (drums)

Composed of three movements plus overture and entirely based on Dante’s rules, the Dante Alighieri Jazz Suite is a contemporary transcription in music, for jazz and string quartet, of the poet’s journey through the three worlds: Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso by composer and jazzman Angelo Gregorio. Intense sound textures sewn together to obtain a dress that, according to the composer, fits this journey through Dante’s worlds but also through different musical roots: blues, jazz, classical counterpoint and madrigals.BRUYNINCKX

SPONSORS 2022

who are we?

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Angelo Gregorio

Founder - Art Director - Organizer - Media

Beside being a well known jazz musicians and a music teacher in publics schools Angelo Gregorio has collaborated with Italian Institute of Brussels and with COMITES Belgium for various event.
He’s also the founder and conductor of the “Orchestra Italiana Bruxelles” and  manager and art director of the event booking company ”Jazz Entertainment” which has been providing jazz bands for events since 2010 for clients such as Facebook, European Parliament, BELvue Museum, USA Embassy and many more.

IIC

Logistics

The Italian Cultural Institute in Brussels is an agency of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that is responsible for the promotion of Italian language and culture in Belgium.

PAY AS YOU WANT

Unfortunately there is no possibility to reserve a seat so first arrived first served

Pay as you want

A limited number of tickets will be available at the door. For press tickets journalists are required to write an e-mail with their name, surname, newspaper. Only art and music journalists will benefit from these limited places.

Contact & Access

Email

italianjazzfestivalcl (at) gmail.com

Where?

Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Bruxelles
Rue de Livourne 38, 1000 Bruxelles
Phone: +32 2 533 27 20