Jamboree Jazz Club Barcelona

With the desire to relive this club’s most glorious moments, irrevocably linked to the evolution of jazz in recent decades, Mas i Mas have put forward a specific program focusing on the following aspects:

Tributes

A series of bands created for the occasion will pay tribute to the memory of jazz greats, directly or indirectly related to the venue. So, in 2010 an ad-hoc band will be formed, made up of our emerging jazz talents -Julián Sánchez, Paco Weht and Ramon Prats, among others, that commemorate the historic recording of Ornette Coleman Free Jazz, which reaches its 50th anniversary in 2010. One or the best saxophonists on the contemporary Latin jazz scene, Jimmy Jenks, will be responsible for paying homage to the double bass player Cachaito Lopez (2-I). Five days later, the drummer Julian Vaughan will emulate the king of the kettle drums, Elvin Jones (7-I), while the artists Horacio Fumero (14-I) and Pierre Boussaguet with Ignasi Terraza (15-I) will remind us of the work by the universal Catalan Tete Montoliu.

The first rate saxophonist, Abdu Salim, will review the legacy of the legendary John Coltrane (22 and 23-I) and an equally historic guitarist Philip Catherine, will explore the legacy of Lou Bennett (29 and 30-I). Classic Jazz will also be represented in this round of tributes with the memory of the clarinettist Artie Shaw, one hundred years after his birth. This task will be in the hands of Oriol Roma, also a clarinettist. (4-II).

Super bands

Three unique super bands, made up of  renowned national musicians offer some of the most eagerly awaited sessions for this anniversary. One of these, The Jamboree All Stars, with Perico Sambeat, Llibert Fortuny, Albert Bover, Masa Kamaguchi  and Marc Miralta, will be responsible for putting music to the official celebration of the anniversary of the Jamboree, on the 9th of January 2010 at 20.00 Another band, Fresh Sound All Stars (20-I), with Carme Canela, Gorka Benitez, Benet Palet, Masa Kamaguchi and David Xirgu, unites the cream of the renowned national artists on the well-known Fresh Sound label, that spearheaded the renewal of Catalan jazz during the '90s. Lastly, a specific group, formed by Francesc Burrull, Josep Maria Farràs, Federico Mazzanti, Joan Albert Adrià Font and Dimitri Skidanov, The Jamboree Gold Stars (18-II), will stage a selection of music by the most respected jazz men in country, some of whom performed during the first stage of the Jamboree.

Returns

In addition to trumpeters such as Benet Palet, the anniversary of the Jamboree foresees the return to the stage of long-disappeared bands who, in their time, stirred up the Barcelona scene. As is the case with the blues trio Txell Sust & August Tharrats Blues Trio (10-I), the blues man Steve Swardt (31-I) and the funk and jazz fusion group Estamos Reunidos (11-II) that binds two of the most treasured voices in Barcelona jazz: Carme Canela and Laura Simó.

International stars

Among other international jazz totems, the New Orleans bopper Jesse Davis, (5-II), a disciple of Wynton Marsalis, will visit the club along with the very young Melissa Aldana (12-II), the latest sensation from the prestigious jazz school of Berklee College of Music, the Scandinavian Kari Ikonen (13-II), star of one of the most avant-garde European jazz scenes, Germany's Robert Menzel (24-II), a saxophone wizard and, above all, the king of bop and smooth jazz, Donald Harrison (26 i 27-II), currently one of the most sought after saxophonists in the big apple.

The special programme for the 50th anniversary of the Jamboree also reserves a place for established local jazz stars, such as Marc Ayza, Giulia Valle, Jordi Matas, Gorka Benitez and Cristina Vilallonga and rising new talents, such as Marco Mezquida and Celeste Alías. Felix Rossy, A trumpet genius, will work with his father, Jordi Rossy, in a special concert to raise funds for a documentary on the relationship between the New York and Barcelona scenes (6-II).L Among surprises in the line up is the presence of the flamenco-jazz-fusion trio Benavent-Di Geraldo-Pardo for the first time (20-II), a super group made up of three of the pioneers of this genre.

Visits from Roy Haynes, Ronald Baker, Kenny Garrett and Ravi Coltrane are planned over the following months.

Barcelona has the honour of being the gateway to jazz in Spain. Not for nothing do the experts situate the first sessions of jazz in 1920 at the Teatre Principal on the Rambla. The Afro-American genre has had a large following in this city since the early 1920’s and, despite the obstacles of turbulent times such as the Civil War, it has survived thanks to the tireless initiative of heroic fans. During and after the war, and despite the difficulties presented by the Franco regime, there were initiatives like the Hot Club and the Jubilee Jazz Club that brought famous artists to the city and served as a platform for local musicians interested in jazz. It was Jubilee’s fervent activity in the late '50s that led to the opening of the Jamboree.

A renowned club

In early 1960, the entrepreneur Joan Rosselló converted the bar Brindis, located at number 17 of Plaça Reial, into a jazz cellar called Jamboree, a Zulu word adopted by the scout movement which means "meeting of tribes" , proposed by the critic Javier Coma. The Jamboree was created to accommodate the Jubilee Jazz Club sessions, a pioneering entity dedicated to the most daring jazz in Barcelona at that time, and was officially opened on Saturday the 9th of January 1960, at 6 pm , with a quintet led by the pianist Tete Montoliu and Antonio Vidal (bass), Perry Robinson (clarinet), Vicho Vicencio (tenor sax) and Chip Collins (drums). From that date and up until 1968, when it closed its doors, the venue managed to put the Catalan capital on the tour map of the great international jazz stars. Although it survived at first as a club where you could hear jazz records and discussions were organized about this genre, it soon became an obligatory stop for leading U.S. musicians on tour, coming from the most renowned clubs in London, Paris, Rome or Berlin.

Figures such as Bill Coleman, Kenny Drew, Chet Baker, Ponny Poindexter, Art Farmer, Lou Bennet, Stéphane Grappelli, Kenny Clarke, Ornette Coleman and Dexter Gordon took to the stage at the club or in larger auditoriums under the organisation of the Jamboree managers. One of the most notorious of these concerts was one starring Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington at the Palau de la Musica, on the 25th of January 1966, to mark the sixth anniversary of the venue. On another occasion, the saxophonist Albert Ayler participated in a jam session when he was still unknown as a musician. Catalan  jazz legends such as Francesc Miralles, Enric Ponsa, Josep Farreres, Pere Ferré, Francesc Burrull, Salvador Font "Mantequilla" or Tete Montoliu himself began their careers at the tables of the Jamboree, where they shared space with foreign musicians, such as the singer Gloria Stewart, for example, who were residents in the city or just passing through. The entrepreneur Rossello didn’t promote the creation of bands like the Jazz Brothers or the Jamboree Jazz Stars in vain, as well as memorable jam sessions that attracted fans from across the country and made the Jamboree into the "best jazz club in Spain," as stated on one of its posters.

The Jamboree did not only make an important contribution to the jazz scene in Barcelona, it also gave more life to the cultural activities on offer at the Plaça Reial and its surroundings, and was the meeting point for critics like Javier Coma and Albert Mallofré or the journalist Joan de Sagarra. On various occasions, radio sessions were recorded here. Artists, future intellectuals and even high school students congregated at the club in Barcelona making it one of the most culturally active places in the city. However, the rise of venues such as Boccaccio, and the progressive decrease of interest in jazz in favour of flamenco sessions that were offered in the neighbouring venue, Tarantos, forced the club to close in 1968. Gone was the experience of having built up a jazz club of the same calibre as the best jazz venues in Europe, having carved the path to turn Barcelona into one of the cities with the most dynamic jazz scene's on the continent.

New times, new musicians, new experiences

In 1992, during the Olympic fever, the lawyer Javier Camara acquired the former Jamboree venue with the intention of reopening it as a jazz cellar. No sooner said than done, on the 23rd of July of that year the second Jamboree era began with the entrepreneur Joan Tordera, owner of the legendary Cova del Drac, as the programmer. One of the first milestones of this new era was the performance by the German Embryo combo and that of the very young Jordi Rossy, who has recently arrived from the United States after being a finalist in the prestigious Thelonious Monk Awards. However,  economic difficulties forced its owners to sell the place nine months later. In May 1993 the Mas i Mas group acquired ownership of the venue.

In line with the philosophy of days gone by when a jazz session was followed by a little dancing, Mas i Mas began to offer daily concerts followed by a dance session with the best black music DJs in the city. This formula, named Jazz & Dance, served to bring jazz to younger generations and covered a significant portion of the club’s expenditures. With a policy based on offering two inexpensive sessions, 1200 pesetas with a drink included in the price, Jamboree placed itself at the service of emerging jazz artists in Barcelona; musicians who mingled with the young rising stars on the New York scene in full swing. This is how, the renowned pianist Brad Mehldau came to record one of his first records in this cellar on the Plaça Reial in the company of the then very young Perico Sambeat, Jordi Rossy and Mario Rossy.
Jamboree was home to the most promising jazz men on the national scene, but also to legends like Ricard Roda, Tete Montoliu, Francesc Burrull and Lou Bennett. Musicians from the country shared posters with rising stars on the U.S jazz scene such as Mehldau, Chris Cheek, Ethan Iverson, Seamus Blake and Avishai Cohen; with stars such as Kenny Garrett, George Cables, Jesse Davis, Lonie Smith, Abdu Salim, Antonio Hart and Peter King; or with legends like Cecil Taylor, Elvin Jones, Steve Grossman and Al Foster. A team of first-rate national and international musicians unrivalled by any other jazz club in the city, and practically the rest of the state.

With programming at Jamboree managed by the Mas brothers, Aurelio Santos and Judit Llimós, Barcelona regained its status as a stronghold on the international jazz scene and its title as the jazz capital of southern Europe. Durant the 90’s, it also became the showcase for the new jazz that was being developed in this city and elsewhere in the world, music that, thanks to the Mas i Mas group’s business strategy, was followed by an ever younger audience.

Musical activity at the club was not confined to the daily programme-365 days a year - two jazz sets; it also extended to the blues, with a concert every Sunday by the resident band and, since 2001, with a jam session, called WTF!, where every Monday jazz musicians mix with hip-hop artists and electronic music, placing dozens of young hopefuls on the stage and gathering thousands of young fans, that in many cases,  come into contact with jazz for the first time.