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2008 JAZZASCONA New Orleans & Classic Jazz

Forget the cliché of snow and bobsled runs...Ascona, in the southern Switzerland area called Ticino, is known for its palm trees and tropical flowers warmed by Mediterranean winds and... The 2008  Celebration of Jazz Ascona - New Orleans & Classic Jazz Festival. logo 2004

 

 

Jazz!  Just like in New Orleans...

JazzAscona New Orleans & Classics: a musical experience that is a must during a summer in Ticino, discover it this year!

2008 JazzAscona Festival Packages

Festival Dates: June 26 - July 06, 2008

Music: JazzAscona New Orleans & Classics is today one of the two big world events devoted to traditional jazz. During its 24 years of existence, the festival hosted many legends of New Orleans jazz, as well as the principal artists on the traditional and classical jazz scene worldwide. The concerts range from traditional New Orleans to Chicago-style jazz, from swing to mainstream, including ragtime, gospel, blues, and R&B.

Festival Style: Multiple outdoor lakeside concert stages, restaurant and club stages. JazzAscona features an average of 20 daily concerts for a total of about 400 hours of music. The bands invited to perform are 35, for a total of about 250 musicians.  This year's festival will be dedicated to New Orleans, city of Jazz struck by hurricane Katrina.

The concerts start at 10 am and go on until 4 am the following morning. About half of them take place on 8 stages in bars, restaurants, and hotels (often on outdoor terraces), while the other half takes place in the evening on the romantic lakeside, where thousands of people attend about fifteen outdoor concerts on the five main stages, from 8 pm to 1 am. Night owls can also attend the jam sessions that go on until dawn... Ascona is a small town (the historical center is closed to traffic!) and concerts are easily accessible, only a few minutes away on foot from stage to stage.

JazzAscona is held each year between late June and early July in Ascona, one of the most well known tourist spots in Switzerland.  This quaint little town is beautifully perched on the shores of the famous Lake Maggiore.  This year is the 23rd edition of JazzAscona, from June 26 through July 6, 2008.  

A festival well-known for gathering the finest contemporary jazz musicians together in one place.  JazzAscona has built its reputation on the ever-current, enormous patrimony of jazz.  From New Orleans, swing, mainstream, and be-bop, while certainly not forgetting related musical genres like, blues, R&B and gospel, there’s room for them all at JazzAscona!

LilianBoute.jpgIn New Orleans' French Quarter Festival 2008, JazzAscona will be symbolically present on one of the main stages,  the Woldenberg Riverfront  Park, on Sunday afternoon April 13 at 2 pm. With the funds collected from the SOS New Orleans Jazz Heritage Fund,  a special concert will be financed which has as its main figure the godmother of the fundraising efforts, singer Lillian Boutté, who will be accompanied on stage by ten New Orleans musicians. This is the fourth concert organized by JazzAscona within a year and a half directly in New Orleans to support musicians' activity there. The French Quarter Festival is one of the principal musical events of New Orleans with hundreds of concerts held in the space of 3 days, and the participation of hundreds of thousands of spectators.

The 2008 Program!

Australian Trumpet Kings, Happy Pals, Swing Kids dir. Dai Kimoto, New Orleans Brass Connection, Linda Washington Gospel Trio, Duccio Swingers, The Amazing Quartet of Attilio Troiano & Roberto Pistole, David Paquette Trio, Abstract, Creole Clarinets “Noites Cariocas” , Mama Digdowns' Brass Band, Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen. Allotria Jazz Band, Pink Turtle /Les Gigolos The Vaché Brothers, The Syncopators, Capital Focus Jazz band, Scott Hamilton Quartet, Pfister Sisters, Norbert Schneider's Caravan feat. Robert Kyle, Michel Hausser & Martin Hugelshofer Quartet, Marco Bianchi's Hampton Tribute Band, Jazz Connection with Frits Landesbergen and Andy Cooper, Hot Club of Aussie, Harry Allen Quartet, Frits Landesbergen Quintet feat. Harry Allen, Evan Christopher Quartet, Eddie Bo & Band, Duffy Jackson Quintet, Big Chief Donald Harrison Quintet, Dany Doriz Band feat. Bob Wilber, Dan Barrett’s International Swing Party, Barrelhouse Jazzband, Wolverines Jazzband feat. Duffy Jackson, Silvan Zingg Trio, Niki Haris Quartet feat. Herlin Riley, Larry Franco Jazz Society,  Ginger Pig Band, J.M. Rhythm Four feat. Peter Appleyard, Criterion Brass Band & Dancers, European Saxophone Quartet, Paolo Tomelleri's Big Band

 

“An impressive selection of music for all tastes”

Page updated APRIL 09, 2007 

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The 2007 JazzAscona official poster