Jazz-à-Juan - The McCoy Tyner All Stars

   

Last night before the McCoy Tyner concert at the Jazz-à-Juan Festival, we went to Jazz Off at the Pinède in Juan-les-Pins to see the Alain Brunet Quintet paying homage to Miles Davis. All the Jazz Off concerts are free, and some of them, including this one, take place in a small park-like square near the large main venue at the Pinède Gould. They were great, and they played for about an hour. Afterwards we had a picnic with our friends, Jutta and Heinz, before heading to the McCoy Tyner concert. While sipping champagne under the stars, and with one eye on the Mediterranean behind the stage, we enjoyed the first set which was the Stefano Di Battista Quartet, with Stefano playing sax, Eric Legnini at the piano, Rosario Bonaccorso playing bass, and Andre Ceccarelli at the drums. They were excellent, and it was fun hearing Stefano speaking a mélange of French and Italian when he addressed the audience. Next on stage was the McCoy Tyner All Stars...sans McCoy Tyner. Apparently, he had just been hospitalized two days before, and could not perform; although, he insisted that the rest of the band go on without him. The band consisted of Gary Bartz on the sax, Ravi Coltrane also playing saxophone, Charnett Moffett who was really amazing on the double bass, and Eric Kramau Gravatt on drums. They were amazing! It was an excellent show, and Heinz, a musician himself, who is very knowledgeable and very critical, thought it was an excellent evening of jazz. (By the way, the photo is Sonny Rollins at Jazz-à-Juan in 2004. We couldn’t get any pictures of the McCoy Tyner All Stars - They were enforcing the cameras are forbidden rule.)

Comments

[Dave]

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