Yacout Info | Tuesday February 8, 2011
The e-mail query came out of the blue. Want to be flown to Tangier, Morocco, to cover the TANJAzz Festival? The answer was a no-brainer of course. This scribe has covered countless jazz festivals over the decades, but never one in as exotic a locale as Morocco.
The e-mail query came out of the blue. Want to be flown to Tangier, Morocco, to cover the TANJAzz Festival? The answer was a no-brainer of course. This scribe has covered countless jazz festivals over the decades, but never one in as exotic a locale as Morocco. Besides, the days of music journalists being flown anywhere are almost over, as the record industry nears its death throes, so a trip anywhere, to cover anything, would likely have earned a positive response.
To be honest, I had never heard of TANJAzz before. It is a festival that has flown under the radar in North America, but some online research showed it is a highly legitimate event. Giving it the thumbs-up was Toronto blues star Shakura S’Aida, a woman of impeccable taste. She performed at TANJAzz in 2009, and when festival founder and producer Philippe Lorin asked her to suggest media types that might want to attend and write about his festival, she graciously gave yours truly a reference (thanks Shakura).
2010 was the 11th year of TANJAzz. Initially held in mid-summer, it has moved to September, with this year’s event running from Sept. 22 to 26 (in 2011, the dates will be Sept. 21 and 25). My initial itinerary called for me to attend the final four days of the festival, but that did not take into account the incompetence of Iberia Airlines. The service provided by this carrier was easily the worst this writer has ever experienced in some four decades of international travel. The flight I took from Washington D.C. to Madrid to connect with a flight to Tangier arrived three hours late, meaning the connecting flight to Morocco was missed.
Having to wait another three hours for my checked bag to arrive added insult to injury. With only one flight a day scheduled to Tangier, I had to spend the night in a hotel near Madrid airport before flying out the next morning. My travelling companion had an even worse experience. Her itinerary involved taking a flight from New York City to Madrid, but similar unexplained delays meant she also missed the connecting flight to Tangier. Iberia managed to lose her baggage completely, with it not showing up at our Tangier hotel until two days later.
Things quickly improved when we checked into TANJazz’s host hotel, The Andalucia Golf Hotel. Situated a few kilometres outside the bustling hub of Tangier, it provided the festival artists and visiting media a luxurious and relaxing base. A charming TANJAzz volunteer, Florence, gathered our small media group for an afternoon tour of the festival site, plus a tour of the famed medina of Tangier. The chief setting for TANJAzz, Le Palais des Institutions Italiennes, is simply spectacular. It has quite a story of its own too. Built in 1914 by Sultan Moulay Hafid, it was acquired in 1927 by the Italian Government. It housed an Italian hospital, school and chapel, but is now used for cultural events such as TANJAzz and TANJA LATINA.
It is a perfect locale for a jazz festival, housing four separate club-style venues on its two floors built around a lovely courtyard garden. How many jazz clubs do you know that feature ornate chandeliers, marble pillars, and extensive mosaic?
Le Palais and its clubs is the hub of TANJAzz. To accommodate larger crowds, the headline artists each evening perform just outside Le Palais, on the BMCI stage. The bleachers-style setting may not be luxurious, but the thoughtful addition of sponge mats made it easier on the posterior. The headliner on our first night at TANJAzz was also the artist we were most eagerly anticipating. Veteran Jamaican-born pianist Monty Alexander is a man with a very long and impressive resume spanning some 50 years, and he is surely the only man to have performed with both Frank Sinatra and Bob Marley. His TANJAzz performance more than exceeded our high expectations, as he delivered a generous and compelling set that showed he is arguably the most versatile pianist in contemporary jazz. He was more than ably abetted here by the highly talented rhythm section of drummer Obed Calvaire and bassist Lorin Cohen. Alexander has often explored the music of his homeland, covering both calypso and reggae classics. He sang nicely on calypso fave “Daylight Come,” while a lovely version of Marley’s “No Woman No Cry” was a real crowd-pleaser and a highlight of a performance without lowlights. A quiet piano ballad, “Trust,” was an original song, while a version of “When the Saints Go Marching In” had an authentic New Orleans vibe. It is a tribute to Monty’s melodic skill that he could even make a version of the schmaltzy and over-played “Feelings” palatable. He gave his accompanists room to shine, and stunned the crowd with one classical-music styled composition reminiscent of Erik Satie. Jazz festival sets do not get much better than this.
Adding atmosphere to the occasion was the luminescent full Moroccan moon shining down and the well-dressed crowd of concertgoers. Clearly, TANJAzz is one of the annual highlights on the Tangier social calendar, so local music enthusiasts and visiting well-heeled tourists clearly dressed for the occasion. Quite how the women in high heels were able to negotiate the uneven cobblestone paths so gracefully remains a mystery.
A younger crowd was in evidence inside Le Palais, checking out the action taking place simultaneously on the four club stages. Alexander aside, there weren’t many artists featured who’d be familiar with North American audiences, and we can’t vouch for how popular the predominantly European artists are on home turf. We missed Sofi Hellborg and blues singer Nina Van Horn, but did catch an eclectic selection of other artists in the different venues of Le Palais. First up, in the more intimate TANJAzz Cafe was solo blues singer-guitarist Cisco Herzhaft. He laid down some authentic licks on covers like “16 Tons,” “Cocaine,” and “Baby Please Don’t Go.” On the latter song, the true nature of this cosmopolitan event kicked in. Here is a German singing about New Orleans in a Moroccan palace! Herzhaft switched to dobro and was joined by a guest sax man on his final tune.
Next up in the same venue was The Dallas Quartet: Heavily influenced by the gypsy jazz of Django Reinhardt; they were technically competent while lacking the true joie de vivre of the style. They could have learned lessons in showmanship from American blues pianist Al Copley, performing at the more spacious Tan JAzz club. Formerly with Roomful of Blues; he entertained with some lusty piano work that included a Jerry Lee Lewis impersonation that got the dance floor moving with some good rock and roll dancing (another slightly surreal sight in Morocco). By this stage, jetlag had kicked in, so we had to call it a night before the early morning jam sessions.
Headlining the outdoor BMCI stage on the Saturday night was Perry and The Pearlettes, in a tribute to Ray Charles. Perry is Uros “Perry” Perich, and he has an uncanny resemblance to Charles both as singer and as pianist. His 2006 debut album, Inspired by the Genius, pays homage to Ray. Close your eyes and you could imagine it was Ray himself, but Perich is actually a short white guy from Slovenia! He also had Charles’ onstage mannerisms down pat. Sharing the stage was the 16-piece Bernd Hasel Groove Orchestra, a massed horn section of German players. Their sound was more serviceable than soulful, but they were clearly having fun there. The Pearlettes (a version of The Raelettes- get it?) were three fetching femmes adding backing vocals to some of the tunes. It was the ballads like “Georgia on My Mind” and It’s Cryin Time Again” that worked best here. Perich did perform one original composition, but it sounded like a cover too. He is a superb mimic, but the lack of originality began to grate as the set progressed.
From there, it was back to Le Palais, and the joint was jumping. As the night progressed, it became clear that many of those in attendance treated it as a party, rather than as a serious listening experience. Chatting with friends and eating, drinking and smoking, they often treated the music as background ambience, not the prime focus of attention. Speaking of eating, there were plenty of options here, including couscous, hamburgers, and even an on-site patisserie! The free olives and cheese samples at one club was a nice touch too.
The largest venue here was the Renault Palace (Renault was the official TANJAzz sponsor), and that is where we caught The Manel Camp Quartet. They were led by pianist Camp, though it was the fine trumpet work of Matthew Simon that most caught the ear. Their mellow sound was a little lost in the party atmosphere of the spacious room, however. Faring better in the same space was the following act, Afro Yambi Jazz. Founded by Belgian guitarist Pierre Lognay and Angolan vocalist Pedro Mbelani, the septet has a diverse sound that mixes world music and jazz elements. Those performing in other Palais venues again included Al Copley and Dallas Quartet, as well as Ruben Paz, Duc’s House Quartet, and Superswing Octet, while we spied Monty Alexander and his band amongst those enjoying proceedings.
The media contingent at TANJAzz was a small but cosmopolitan one. To my knowledge, yours truly was the only North American journalist. I was joined by a young Russian, a couple from the Spanish media, and English brothers Julian and James Joseph. Julian has a jazz show on the BBC, but he is also one of Britain’s leading jazz pianists, composers and educators (he has also worked in the classical and opera realms). James is his manager, and these two witty and charming individuals added to the fun of the fest.
Based on my sampling of the music on offer, TANJAzz’s booking policy is eclectic and accessible, encompassing a range of jazz styles as well as blues and world music. Do not go expecting anything too avant-garde here, but if they continue to book headliners of the stature of Monty Alexander, then the festival deserves recom mendation. If you were planning a trip to the fascinating country of Morocco, then you would be smart to have it coincide with TANJAzz. September is an excellent month to travel there, based on the superb weather (warm sunny days and mild evenings) we found.
In between and after the jazz, we were also able to explore Tangier, a very intriguing city. Most tourists to Morocco head to Marrakesh and Fes to the south, but there is plenty to experience in Tangier, a city termed the doorway to Morocco.
As a port city (and at one stage an international zone), Tangier has long had a rather decadent aura, one enhanced by its status as a favourite place to visit (or even live in) for beat generation writers and, in the ’60s and ’70s, The Rolling Stones. William Burroughs spent a lot of time here (Tangier inspired The Naked Lunch), while writer Paul Bowles (The Sheltering Sky) long called it home. When we dropped into the elegant Hotel El Minzah in central Tangier, we learned that Tennessee Williams wrote there. Along with Andalucia Golf, it is now the only five star hotels in the city, so do not expect to see many starving writers there now. The expatriate community in Tangier is reportedly smaller these days.
The port area of the city still has a seedy and slightly sinister vibe, as we discovered when we moved to a cheaper hotel (the quite acceptable Marco Polo) down on the waterfront (on Avenue Mohamed VI) after TANJAzz. It’s worth a visit to the beach area here in the day though, where the sight of camels and women in Muslim garb, not bikinis, will remind you that the south shores of the Mediterranean host a far different culture than on the European side.
It is definitely worthwhile to take a stroll through Tangiers’s ancient medina (the walled part of the city), checking out the artisans at work. In the heart of the city, you need to pay real attention when you are crossing the street. Drivers here make those in Rome or Athens look like wimps, and the scarcity of traffic lights does not make it any easier. And, if you are thinking about renting a car here, do not, unless you are a serious thrill-seeker. Taxis are plentiful and cheap, though you are sure to encounter one or two drivers keen to fleece a tourist. One other warning note: at all costs avoid a Tangier-based travel agency, Moroccan Tours Organization (MTO). Appalling service.
A perfect spot in the central city for a coffee or sweet mint tea (Morocco’s national drink) while you are people watching is The Cafe de Paris, on Place de France. Very reminiscent of a Parisian cafe (at one-fifth the cost), it was featured as a location in many films.
Speaking of things francais, try brushing up your French, a language used more than English here. As an example, the TANJAzz programme book was in French, not English. Tangiers’s very close proximity to Spain also means it is frequently visited by ferry loads of Spanish tourists.
French and Spanish influences are detected in the local cuisine. Fresh seafood merits sampling, and local fruits and vegetables are similarly fresh and tasty. Moroccan wine and beer are quite acceptable too.
If you are seeking a jazz-oriented vacation with a difference, a visit to TANJAzz and Tangier definitely merits consideration.
TANJAzz website: http://www.tanjazz.org/
By Kerry Doole
