THE 35^TH TERRASSA JAZZ FESTIVAL GOES FOR A DISTINCTIVELY CONTEMPORARY AND POPULAR SOUND

From March 2^nd - 20^th, the veteran jazz festival will celebrate three and a half decades with around thirty concerts which will once again be a barometer for the contemporary jazz scene and the variety of styles out there.

The programme contains up to forty jazz activities taking place side by side that will see the whole city getting involved.

Once again, one of the well-established jazz festivals in Catalonia presents a programme with specifically defined aims: supporting the Catalan jazz scene, providing a stage for new musical talent and looking to the legacy of the genre with an eye to encouraging the future of jazz. It also continues to act as a barometer for the contemporary scene, presenting nine new records and various new projects which reflect contemporary trends in jazz around the world: from the personal vocal jazz of Cécile McLorin Salvant to the new hard bop of Ramon Fossati's Five in Orbit all the way to the avantgarde trumpeting of Ralph Alessi and the Flamenco-brushed jazz and manouge from duo Jorge Pardo and Sylvain Luc. There will also be the West Coast Junior Watson Band at the now legendary Blues Night. The Midnight Concert at Nova Jazz Cava will include new soul from Izah.

From March 2^nd - 20^th, live music will return to the festival’s emblematic stages, such as Nova Jazz Cava, the Terrassa Cultural Centre, Plaça Vella and Plaça Catalunya squares with up to five performances this year, and the usual stage of Parc de Vallparadís at Torrent de la Font d'en Sagrera where on Sunday March 13^th there will be the traditional Jazz Vallparadís picnic.

A programme filled with thirty live acts, complemented with around forty parallel activities, including small format concerts, gastro-musical events, film screenings, exhibitions, talks and lindy hop sessions, and much more. Particularly interesting is the photographic homage which will take place at Nova Jazz Cava, where local photographer Miquel Carol will pay tribute to trumpeter Josep Maria Farràs who receives the Medalla de la Ciutat medal this year.

The Festival will also focus on educational aspects. There will once again be activities for the little ones and the next generation of musicians with the traditional JazzJove Non Stop session and master class. The broad programme will include around seventy activities creating a real culture of jazz, which has now become an essential part of Terrassa's cultural landscape.

Old friends and new discoveries

The 35^th year of the festival coincides with the visit of a number of musicians who form part of this festival's history, such as pianist Kenny Barron, one of the best loved musicians by jazz aficionados. He will be starting his European tour in Terrassa with his new album. Gary Bartz will also be at the festival with his usual quartet. The veteran double bassist Dave Holland, one of the pillars of the festival, will present a very special trio with Kevin Eubanks and Obed Calvaire at their only show in Spain.

Holland's ability to reinvent himself goes perfectly with the open spirit of the festival, as it once again acts as an open door to explore the unending contemporary North American scene, as well as the always surprising and varied European scene. At this year's festival French guitarist Sylvain Luc will play, performing at the 'Connexió Barcelona - Paris - Madrid' night on March 5^th at Nova Jazz Cava. The audience will be able to hear his new project as he teams up with the flautist and saxophonist Jorge Pardo and hear Tribulus Terrestris, the new CD from the Franco-Catalan group Five in Orbit.

The Italian scene and a look back at traditional jazz will be at the centre of the events on March 5^th when the pianist Merano Franco D'Andrea, a famous name in European jazz, comes to the NJC stage accompanied by a group with veteran and iconoclast Dutch percussionist Han Bennink who will debut at the festival. Some of the musicians supporting the saxophonist Lluc Casares as he presents his new CD are also from the Netherlands.

For something a little more adventurous, fans will be able to discover the North American trumpeter Ralph Alessi, who will be appearing at the festival for the first time with a group of renowned musicians from the New York scene. His discography, published by ECM records, showcases an avantgarde yet melodic jazz which is sure to be one of the sensations of the festival. Singer Cécil McLorin Salvant is sure to impress with her show on Saturday March 19^th at the Cultural Centre with her hard-to-classify style and her presence on stage. It will be her first time at Terrassa with a new line-up packed with ‘stars’.

Intergenerational Catalan scene

The contemporary Catalan scene continues to gain in strength with the release of new albums and projects, as well as with the many activities which will make up part of this year's programme. We’ll be able to discover new albums from Marco Mezquido & Félix Rossy, Elegía, and Red from Lluc Casares Octet, on Catalan Night on Thursday March 3^rd. The Sant Andreu Jazz Band will celebrate their tenth anniversary at a show in Plaça Vella square, which is expected to be a huge event.

These shows are only a taste of Catalan jazz which will be on show at the festival. On March 6^th, one of its main stars will take to the stage: Carles Benavent, who is due to receive the 2016 Jazzterassman Prize. He will celebrate at a very special event where musicians from different generations will take part, such as Raynald Colom, Roger Blàvia, Jordi Bonell, Joan Albert Amargós, Antonio Serrano and Roger Mas.

The image for this year's festival- a Salvador Alavedra picture

The artist Salvador Alavedra i Invers (Terrassa, 1919-2015) created the image for the 2016 Terrassa Jazz Festival. The poster for the 35^th festival is a piece of graphic art by his son Ricardo Alavedra. It includes the colourful figure of a double bassist, combining the creative spirit and deeply personal style of a master of drawing. It is a piece of work dating from 1989, which was shown at the exhibition Pictures and Music, which took place last summer at the Terrassa Cultural Centre.

As a fan of the Jazz Club of the organization Friends of the Arts and Young Musicians, which he presided, Alavedra always showed a passion for live music and was a regular member of the audience; he always had his notebook and coal pencils with him. "The spectator that sees through the picture", is how Ramon Casanelles described him after that exhibition. The Terrassa native showed like no-one else many of the jazz moments that had taken place in Terrassa. Locations included the historic Jazz Cava, of which he was a sponsor, the concerts organised by the festival at the Cultural Centre and streets and squares around the city. He could also be seen drawing at Nova Jazz Cava. After seeing his pictures on show, the Terrassa artist, patron and cultural activist died aged 96. He was however aware that one of his pictures would be the poster for the next Jazz festival that he loved so much. To mark this milestone, Terrassa City Council will award him the Medalla de la Ciutat medal posthumously.