Barga Jazz Festival 2019

Concerts, street bands, jam sessions and other events in the lovely Garfagnana village

From 08 August 2019 to 31 August 2019

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From August 8th to 31st 2019 Barga in Garfagnana will host Barga Jazz, an unmissable music festival that every year, for the level of the artists who take part and for the liveliness of the event, attracts a large fan of admirers of this genre. What are the ingredients that make the Barga Jazz Festival so special? Let's start with the location. The municipality of Barga is one of the most important of the whole Garfagnana, also called the green island of Tuscany. So, if you want to cool down from the heat of August, this is the perfect place for you. A few kilometers from Lucca (37 km) and not too far from the beaches of Versilia (60 km), Barga in Italy has been declared one of the most beautiful villages and has received other prestigious awards such as, for example, the orange flag by the Touring Club and nominated as a Slow City. In short, an enchanting place to be discovered. What is there to see in Barga? The places of Giovanni Pascoli who considered it his adopted city, the beautiful Duomo known as the Collegiate Church of San Cristoforo and many marvellous historical buildings. Needless to say, all this takes on an even more intense charm during the days of the Festival in Barga!

Barga Jazz: history

So, let's find out together the origins of the Barga Festival which date to 1986. The event was created by Giancarlo Rizzardi, a musician and a great jazz enthusiast. At the time the jam sessions of Barga Jazz took place at the cinema, and then moved to the Teatro dei Differenti, after it was renovated. A true 'piece of history' where in 1911 Giovanni Pascoli gave his famous speech in favor of the Libyan war. But let's get back to jazz! What characterizes this event, its real distinguishing trait, is the International Jazz Arrangement and Composition Competition. Every year a theme is chosen, which every artist will develop during the various sections of the Barga Contest. There are sections dedicated to the arrangement of a piece linked to the theme of the year, others in which participants can engage in freer compositions, some in which emerging groups compete (Barga Jazz Contest) and others where compositions specially created for the musician indicated in that year are placed into comparison. There is also a section dedicated to music directing in commemoration of Bruno Tommaso, who directed the Barga Jazz Orchestra for 26 years. And it is the Barga Jazz Orchestra that will be the true focus of the festival: its musicians will perform the pieces in competition and accompany the soloists of Barga Jazz 2019. Are you jazz fans and musicians...? Then you really have to check out the event official website and the rules of the competition. Who knows, among the various sections of the Barga competition there might be one that suits your artistic inclinations. For all the others, those who listen to jazz, there are plenty of Tuscany jazz concerts. The Barga events range from concerts, street-bands, workshops and Barga jazz masterclasses, ending with delicious dinners in the square enlivened by some background music.

Barga Jazz 2019

What's in the pot for the 2019 edition of this fantastic Tuscany jazz festival? What's the highlight? The most popular event is undoubtedly 'Barga in Jazz' which takes place on the Sunday before the competition, so this year on August 18th. Mark it on your diary! Just imagine: streets and squares of the village filled with the melodies of groups and soloists who perform in the most picturesque corners of the center of Barga. An immersion in jazz, a music festival that will make your summer in Tuscany truly special. This jazz festival of Tuscany will kick off at 17.00 with the Large Street Band that will guide the public through the streets of the historic center. Precisely because of the characteristics of the delightful town that hosts it, the Barga Jazz Festival in Italy has been included in the Borghi Swing Project, which aims to promote music festivals characterized by a strong synergy with the surrounding area. The Barga Jazz Festival 2019 program is truly packed with events, so we suggest you take a look at the festival’s websites. Just to tickle your fancy, we will reveal a few things to you! First of all, this year the Barga composition contest will focus on Dave Douglas, the great American trumpet player as well composer and record producer. Douglas will perform at the Teatro dei Differenti on August 23rd and 24th. After a two-year stop, the Bargajazz Contest will again be staged with the participation of emerging groups from all over Italy. As for the Barga Jazz concerts of 2019 great names of the Italian jazz scene will play the stage of the festival, including Roberto Gatto, Dado Moroni, Stefano Battagia, Riccardi Arrighini and the Lydian Sound Orchestra. Beside concerts, the Barga Jazz program includes many other events, with some dedicated to dance with Roberto Castello’s dance company and other instead dedicated to the presentation of music production and original works.

Among the side events in Barga which will light up the evenings of the Festival, we’d like to point out Enojazz: the very popular Barga Jazz jam sessionsthat take place in a special place in the center of Barga after the end of the concerts and last until late at night. Artists and anyone wanting to 'jam' and improvise on the notes of the most free and creative jazz can take part. A unique opportunity to prolong, after the end of the concerts, your unforgettable experience of what is certainly the most original jazz festival in Italy.

If you are planning to spend a few days at the end of August in Toscana, Barga must absolutely be part of your itinerary! You do not want to miss one of the best events in Garfagnana in 2019, do you? So, don’t wait any longer and plan your trip to Garfagnana and Barga! The delightful village can also be a sight-seeing base from which to visit the rest of Tuscany. Among other things, from here you can reach the Tuscan capital in less than an hour, and since you are here, why not take the opportunity to book one of our tours in Florence? Do you need anything else to make your mind up?