Summer 2022, to the sound of music
The sound of the sea by day and the rhythm of blues, rock, a little pop and plenty of superb jazz in the evening
Artists of international standing and avant-garde musicians, experimentation and refined research, exploration of new sounds and exchanges between genres and arts. Concerts and jam sessions until September, in places with “endless spaces and superhuman silences” that apparently have nothing to do with the theatres. Only until the evening though, when good music takes possession of the infinite natural and historical stages. Coves protected by pink granite and red porphyry, enchanting sea caves with perfect acoustics, amphitheatre-shaped beaches, expanses of countryside with thousand-year-old olive trees and Vermentino vineyards, historic squares and promenades of towns and villages, museums and places of remembrance, at the foot of nuraghi and in ancient Punic cities.
Characters and sounds in harmony with the environment and the lifestyle. Sardinia is increasingly becoming the land of choice for jazz, thanks to an artist who has led his land to discover a new musical soul. Paolo Fresu was born in the little village of Berchidda, and Time in jazz, now at its 35th edition, was also born and bred along with him. Among the events not to be missed, on Friday 12 August in Piazza del Popolo, there is a tribute to Ennio Morricone by one of the best-known and most highly-appreciated Italian jazz musicians: Stefano di Battista. Locations included on the 2022 billboard, from 7 to 16 August, are Berchidda and about fifteen other municipalities and localities in the north of the island. The settings are the landscapes of stone and Mediterranean scrub in Gallura, amidst the Vermentino vineyards and forests of Mount Limbara, and the squares in the little villages of Monte Acuto and Logudoro. Fresu is also the deus ex machina of Nuoro Jazz, an event taking place at the end of August. On the subject of music and culture, a location with thousands of years of charm – the nuraghe Palmavera - will be the stage for one of the concerts in the fifth edition of JazzAlguer, scheduled between April and November in some of the most iconic places in Alghero.
Jazz is now a part of Sardinia... you can see it and hear it more or less everywhere. At Sant’Antioco, in July and August, the Sulky Jazz Festival takes place in the spectacular settings of Cala Sapone, Cala Lunga, Maladroxia and the historic centre of the village. On the coast of Dorgali, the 35th edition of Cala Gonone Jazz, taking place from 23 to 31 July, has performances scheduled inside the Grotte del Bue Marino (Sea Oxen Grottoes) which has revealed itself to be an extraordinarily beautiful auditorium. After returning from the mini-cruise, the concerts continue at the ‘Jazz Village’ in the Aquarium of Cala Gonone. The next landing place is Pula, from 30 July to 11 August, with the 13th edition of Nora Jazz, in its now customary all-female guise, women in jazz. The female musicians will be performing in the poetic setting of the archaeological area of Nora, a few steps from the Roman theatre. In Castelsardo, which is part of the club of the most beautiful villages in Italy, the evocative Musica sulle Bocche, where music and landscape combine in depth to generate another listening perspective, will be taking place in August, under the artistic direction of Enzo Favata.
Jazz is not alone though... there is also a great desire for blues in Sardinia. In the heart of the Sulcis region, the 32nd edition of the Narcao Blues Festival is taking place between 20 and 23 July, where the masters of African-American musical culture will be performing (blues, gospel, R&B, funky and soul). This is an event not to be missed by enthusiasts. The summer of music is also in Sassari - sometimes ‘crossing the border’ into Alghero - between the end of July and the beginning of August, with the 24th edition of Abbabula and with a special event in the Oristano area: the Dromos Festival, which enlivens Oristano and the nearby villages from 23 to 27 July with a programme that includes several different genres. One special event that speaks for all the others is that of Ludovico Einaudi, held in a magical setting: the amphitheatre of the ancient town of Tharros. It is as if the acoustics of these natural ‘arenas’ were especially designed for listening to music, like in the nearby Parco dei Suoni (Park of Sounds) in Riola Sardo, created in a sandstone quarry, where various concerts are scheduled between mid-July and the end of October.
