From Dick Hovenga (Writteninsound.com)
We love discovery festivals where young musicians are still at the beginning of their careers, or where seasoned musicians want to explore new directions. One such festival is the INNtöne Jazz Festival near Passau in Austria. The opening night once again offered tantalizing glimpses of what we could expect over the course of the weekend.
There have been some changes, though. Whereas the festival traditionally took place in mid-July, it has now moved to mid-August, and the large outdoor stage has been reduced in size, meaning that more concerts take place in the barns. It turns out to be an excellent change, contributing to a more intimate atmosphere.
There are plenty of great jazz names here, mostly from the rich European scene. In addition, for the fourth consecutive year there is a so-called Whirlpool: a series of concerts in which a group of young jazz musicians from London’s conservatories present themselves. The musicians are brought together by Oliver Weindling, director of London jazz club The Vortex, who has a better eye than anyone for knowing which young musicians are already ready to take on these concerts.
The festival kicks off on Friday evening on the outdoor stage with the first of two performances by this band. With Lior Solomons-Wise (piano), Jonah Phillips (drums), Dom Howard (guitar), Oli Fitzgerald (double bass) and Barney Anderson (guitar), Weindling has once again assembled a fine group of musicians. The first set, at six o’clock, is still somewhat tentative and exploratory, although several of the original compositions already linger nicely. The talent is certainly there.
The set played by the same group at eight o’clock, now in front of a much larger audience, is a significant step up. The musicians play more freely, and it becomes increasingly clear in which directions each of them is developing individually. It also becomes clearer which teachers from London’s rich jazz scene have influenced them. They take more risks, create more tension within the pieces, and the solos are stronger and more convincing. Two fine concerts for attentive listeners.
We move to the Scheunenbühne, the largest indoor space, with around 400 seats. The band led by Italian pianist Lorenzo de Finti plays an accessible opening set that the audience eagerly embraces. Certainly well done and well played, but also somewhat predictable. Then again, this isn’t the first festival I’ve attended, so perhaps I’m a little spoiled.
For me, the trio GONE, led by accordionist Simone Zanchini, is a preferable proposition, with guitarist Luigi Masciari and saxophonist Gianluca Lusi. It remains a wonder where Italy keeps producing such great accordionists, but this trio once again makes a big impression. Zanchini is a virtuoso who embraces both classical music and the freedom of jazz, repeatedly driving the compositions forward with extraordinary playing. Masciari can easily hold his own, however, with his fluid approach. Lusi is particularly effective in adding colour to the pieces with flowing lines and incisive solos.
Zanchini is one of those accordionists who can push his instrument from hushed and restrained to completely full throttle — and that is genuinely what it sounds like — making a powerful impression in the process. A beautiful concert with many highlights, especially the impressive solo piece with which Zanchini launches the closing number.
At eleven o’clock, the same room hosts the Liberation concert, featuring a band led by double bassist Stéphane Kerecki. Drawing on Charlie Haden’s acclaimed and groundbreaking album, the band plays an accessible version of the pieces, but there is a distinct lack of punch when you have the original recordings in your head. It is well done, but also rather too neat and too flat. Something like Liberation Songs could have used considerably more bite.
Liberation Songs is a jazz classic, created during a politically turbulent period — something that certainly applies to the present day as well. You could almost approach this music in a punk-like fashion, or at least play a somewhat more aggressive version, bearing in mind just how groundbreaking this 1970 album was in so many respects. At the moment, everything could use considerably more drive and passion. Above all, it should not be played as neatly as this quartet chooses to do here.
Meanwhile, we unfortunately have to miss most of the concerts in the smaller St Pigs Pub (the old pig barn). We catch fragments of the Austrian band Jumping Jungle and a little more of the Serbian Miloš Čolović Sextet. St. Pigs Pub is known for its more groove-oriented bands, and the latter group draws a large crowd. A good band too, with fine horn players and an excellent keyboardist in Andreja Hristić.
And just to underline the sheer diversity of the music: after the Whirlpool concerts, the American blues band Michael Dotson Chicago Blues plays two sets on the outdoor stage, the last of which will continue deep into the night. Meanwhile, the festival grounds disappear behind us in the car’s rear-view mirrors, and a truly magnificent starry sky emerges above us. How wonderful it is to experience INNtöne once again, high in the mountains and far removed from the real world.