“Mediterraneo II”

The concert entitled Mediterraneo – Italian Night in the Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic series in June 2017 was not only a great success with the audience, but also so successful artistically that curator Siggi Loch decided to follow it up with a second edition, this time taking in the whole of the Mediterranean. Again, the Italian pianist Stefano Bollani and his Danish trio with bassist Jesper Bodilson and drummer Morten Lund form the backbone of this jazz tour which takes us from the Algarve via the Côte d’Azur and the Maghreb to Asia Minor. And also once again, accordionist Vincent Peirani is the perfect addition, as the playing of the virtuoso from Nice has always combined the strong vocal and melodic Mediterranean preference with improvisation and modern rhythms.

This time, instead of an orchestra, a wide-ranging group of guests provide a chamber music-like framework. First and foremost, two cellists who also sing: the Spain-based Nesrine Belmokh, who studied in Geneva and is at home in all genres, from classical to jazz to theatre music at the Cirque de Soleil – as is the multiple award-winning Frenchman Matthieu Saglio who also lives in Valencia. They recently successfully translated Arabic and Spanish music into ethno-jazz in the trio NES with the percussionist David Gadea. Last but not least, Julian Wasserfuhr, one of the outstanding young German trumpeters, whose playing assimilates all his great predecessors from Chet Baker to Miles Davis, brings the classic jazz element to the mix.