The Summertime Tel Aviv JazzFest rolls out an international lineup

Once upon a time the Red Sea Jazz Festival, the country’s major event in the field, took place annually, down in Eilat, right at the tail end of the summer vacation. Nowadays that slot in the calendar has been taken by Summertime TLV JazzFest the third edition of which will be held at the Gray Club in Tel Aviv, August 27-30.

Perennial artistic director Barak Weiss has curated an international roster of acts covering a wide range of stylistic bases, ranging from straight-ahead jazz to Ethiopian music and Brazilian rhythms and textures. The latter will be provided by New York-based Brazilian percussionist-vocalist Nanny Assis who joins forces with veteran Latin-leaning Israeli flutist Mattan Klein to perform a tribute to legendary Brazilian composer, pianist and guitarist Antônio Carlos Jobim. Assis and Klein team up again for a special afternoon family concert on the last day of the festival with a program of bossa nova and samba numbers. 

Double bass player Ari Roland also makes his way over from abroad. The American instrumentalist stars in the festival curtain-raiser called Intimate Gershwin alongside New York resident Israeli vocalist Yaala Ballin. Together they will salute the unparalleled body of work created by Jewish American siblings Ira and George Gershwin in the first half of the twentieth century. Roland and Ballin will be joined by trumpeter Danny Rosenfeld and pianist Gil Surin.

Weiss has clearly spread his cultural net across wide domains with the second day’s itinerary opening with the Merkana Ethiopian-Israeli jazz quintet, featuring veteran saxophonist Nadav Haber and with vocalist Tombola Abebaw joining in for the occasion.

Tribute slots throughout the festival

There are also several tribute slots over the four days, including the August 29 (7 p.m.) show based on the work of modern jazz pioneer pianist-composer Thelonious Monk fronted by San Francisco resident Israeli singer Noa Levy partnered by pianist Yonatan Riklis, supported by bassist Alon Nir and ever-smiling drummer Shai Zelman.

Creations by iconic bass player Charles Mingus also get an airing at the Blues & Roots show headed by popular bassist Gilad Abro, with Riklis and Zelman involved in this one too. There is also a well-deserved homage to the work of ground-breaking Polish pianist-composer Krzysztof Komeda who died in 1969 at the age of just 37. The Komeda salute is spearheaded by pianist Stav Achai, with Roi Avivi on guitar, double bass player Daniel Harlev and high-energy drummer Shachar Haziza, with wind instrument-playing Benny Masterman guesting.

Entertainment appears to be the name of Weiss’s game and many of the concerts will be preceded by screenings of movies on relevant themes, such as footage of last year’s reunion of pioneering Israeli jazz act Minuet. And there is a second Polish contribution to the festival roster with a screening of a video shot in Warsaw, in 2021, of the Polish septet Jazz Forum Talents.

For tickets and more information: https://grayclub.co.il/shows-artist/summertime-tlv-jazzfest/#upcoming_shows