Nobody sounds like Ron Carter. An obvious sound, strings that vibrate sensitively to create the longest jazz notes that seem to dance in weightlessness… While his double bass produces a lively groove similar to an electric bass, Payton Crossley resonates his cymbals, Jimmy Green his tenor saxophone and pianist Renee Rosnes her choruses. This is the recipe of the Foursight Quartet. The quartet pays tribute to the late pianist Geri Allen with the bluesy “Nearly”, and Chet Baker, the antipode of Miles Davis, with “You And the Night”. Every Marcus Miller appearance on stage is an event in a world that is somewhere between Funk, Soul and modern Jazz… His many collaborations with the greats – Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and Carlos Santana to name but a few – have shaped his musical environment.
Billy Cobham’ Spectrum 50 project at Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival
This architect of rhythm is considered one of the world’s finest drummers. A leader in jazz rock and fusion, and now reconverted to acoustic jazz, we are talking about Billy Cobham, of course! In 1973, the musician left the legendary Mahavishnu Orchestra to release his first solo album, Spectrum. Although he had a clear idea of what he wanted to do, he never imagined that he’d be giving shape to one of jazz rock’s landmark recordings, and celebrating it on tour 40 years later…A collaborator of Miles Davis, George Benson and Quincy Jones, he also signed numerous albums as a leader, notably with his group Spectrum Band in the early 70s. A master in the art of polyrhythm and the key drum of jazz rock, Billy Cobham has illuminated with his science hundreds of sessions that, from Miles Davis to the Mahavishnu Orchestra via Dreams with the Brecker brothers, cover a staggeringly wide spectrum. In 2009, the artist released Drum ‘n’ Voice 3, a return to the jazz-funk sound of the 1970s, with guests such as Brian Auger, George Duke and Gino Vannelli.Cobham plays his drums using the open-hand technique, which allows the musician to play without crossing his right hand over the snare drum. His concert at the Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival is certainly be one to watch.
Charles Lloyd Sky Quartet in Ljubljana
Living legend Charles Lloyd — who came up in the mythical 1950s generation of saxophonists like John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman, and who has performed alongside every jazz great of the last seven decades, from B.B. King and Don Cherry to Keith Jarrett and Brad Mehldau (not to mention the Beach Boys) — takes his universally acclaimed 2024 album The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow on tour for an unmissable set at the Jazz Festival Ljubljana. Selected as DownBeat’s Album of the Year, Sky — a mix of “old and new material played by an all-star lineup,” which here includes pianist and composer Jason Moran, bassist Larry Grenadier, and drummer Eric Harland — was released on Lloyd’s 86th birthday. “Lloyd well knows he’s in the twilight of a great career,” wrote The Guardian in a five-star review of the album, “but you’d never know it from the light and joy glowing through this music.”
Chief Adjuah in Ljubljana
Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah born Christian Scott is a scion of New Orleans’ royalty of art and culture, the Harrisons, and the grandson of legendary Big Chief, Donald Harrison Sr. The trumpet – a proclamatory instrument, seems to have been a logical choice for young Christian, and the elders used to say he’s got “the sound that could call the children home”. His music is communicating. A true “call and response”, a tribute to the rich cultural and activist legacy of his ancestors. In further respect to his true identity, in 2023 he officially changed his name to Chief Xian aTunda Adjuah. Surprisingly, he has been to Ljubljana only once, in 2009, with Marcus Miller’s band, where he played a key role in the Tutu Revisited tribute concert to Miles Davis’ album. This time he comes with his quintet and his latest album Bark Out Thunder Roar Out Lightning.