One of the most vital parts of Barga Jazz Festival which finished this week was not to be found in the piazzas or as part of the concerts in the Teatro dei Differenti but during the late night jam sessions that took place each evening at the Enojazz Club.
The musicians who spent each day rehearsing as part of the Barga Jazz Orchestra and then performing in the evening at the concerts with Kenny Wheeler would then at the end of the show towards midnight all move across to the EnoJazz After Hours Club and carry on playing until early in the morning … only to rise bleary eyed later on that day and repeat the whole process all over again. A feat of endurance that only the strongest can survive as the Barga Jazz festival moved into the second week.
On the final night of the Festival, the EnoJazz Club was full till bursting from midnight onwards as they played the last jazz session of the year together … and this time tradition demanded that the session carried on until dawn. And that is just what happened this year, as in all the other years, at dawn they staggered out of the club for breakfast at the Giardino before falling into bed to catch a few well earned hours sleep.
Each year there is a hard fought for enojazz prize awarded to the musician who showed his heart, spirit (and stamina) during the enojazz marathon sessions. To commemorate the passing of Silvano Togneri the outsider musician who was a key member of many of the after hour sessions in the past, this year the prize was renamed the Silvano Togneri prize and instead of a nominal award for the first time an actual award was handed to the winner.
The Silvano Togneri Award this year, a bottle of spumante and a 45 rpm disc from Silvano’s own collection was a close fought affair with counting of votes still taking place during the night. The final votes were in just as light of dawn started to come through the enojazz club windows and the prize was awarded to the sax player Dimitri Grechi Espinoza…. well done Dimitri !
He then played the last notes of the Enojazz After hours Barga Jazz Festival 2007.
Click on the link below to hear his sax solo dedicated to Silvano Togneri
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