Normally one of the most vital parts of Barga Jazz Festival which finished last night 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 take 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 would at the end of the shows towards midnight, 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.
This year was different. For a series of logistical problems there was no actually physical space in Barga in which to house the Eno Jazz Club. The after hours sessions did not take place.
That is until the last two days of the festival when into the breach stepped the Maracas Club in Fornaci di Barga who offered their premises to the late night after hours sessions.
It has to said that the final session did not run right through till dawn, as tradition demands but there were enough musicians with enough energy left to play until nearly 4 am this morning.
Most were there to just enjoy playing with like minded people but some had a more serious intent – the win the coverted Silvano Togneri Prize, awarded each year for the best soloist showing his heart, spirit (and stamina) during the marathon enojazz after hours jam sessions.
In 2007 to commemorate the passing of Silvano Togneri the outsider musician (articles about Silvano Togneri can be found here) who was a key member of many of the after hour sessions in the past, the prize was renamed the Silvano Togneri prize and instead of a nominal award an actual award was handed to the winner – a bottle of spumante and a 45 rpm disc from Silvano’s own collection ( an article about Silvano’s record collection here)
This year it was a close fought affair with the counting (and subtraction) of votes by JJ Carde taking place right through the night.
The Silvano Togneri prize 2010 was awarded this morning for the best soloist during the enojazz after hours jam sessions to the trumpet player from Viareggio- Alessio Bianchi
Song for Silvano by Alessio Bianchi
Past Winners: 2009 – Leonardo Gnesi | 2008 – Stefano Onorati |2007 – Dimitri Grechi Espinoza