A few days after the successful conclusion of the 2013 edition of the Nice Jazz Festival, Nice Premium met with one of the key figures in the organization, the artistic director, Sébastien Vidal, who succeeded in creating a program widely acclaimed by the public.
Nice Premium: Sébastien Vidal, a program that hit the mark at the Nice Jazz festival. What were the ingredients of this success?
Sébastien Vidal: Pleasure, sharing, generosity (This is the city’s proposal for this festival: 6 bands for 35 euros), lots of jazz, lots of young talents, a city and its agents mobilized and in action… and we who walk in the footsteps of this immense ship.
NP: You played the card of eclecticism, what were your best assets in your game?
SV: The youth. 80% of the artists who came this year are under 40. They are 100% jazz but not just that. They are reinventing jazz at the beginning of the 21st century and therefore reach different, varied, and complementary audiences. That’s what we bet on.
NP: A sold-out evening. What was your feeling when you were told about it?
SV: I think I cried. Seriously, we worked so hard for it that it’s a wonderful reward… For me and for all those with whom we shared this adventure. A festival is a fantastic human adventure. There are shouts, love, movement, life, embraces, sweat… together, for a common goal… to make sure the artists meet the public. When that happens, it’s the most beautiful reward.
NP: What would you say to the perpetual grumblers who criticize a certain lack of jazz to the detriment of other genres?
SV: That they haven’t really looked at this year’s program (or that they should educate themselves a bit more on jazz). 80% jazz. Esperanza, Robert Glasper, Shai Maestro, Dédé, Stephane Belmondo, Eric Legnini, Omer Avital, Tigran, Kellylee Evans, Guillaume Perret, Christian Scott, Gerald Clayton, Logan Richardson, Gretchen Parlato, Stephane Chausse, Etienne M’Bappé… etc… if that’s not jazz, I don’t know what is.
NP: Without revealing too much, do you already have other projects for the 2014 edition?
SV: Yes, present the next call for auditions, propose the most innovative and ambitious project possible to the city and fight to win the call for auditions and have the immense honor again to be chosen by the city.
NP: What was your best moment during the festival and why?
SV: The opening of the doors on the last day. We took a photo with the team. Not my team. The festival team. With Dimitri Triadafillidis (director of communication) and his team who carried this project along with all the other city services that ensured the festival existed. By their side was my technical director, my production assistant, etc… Together, we formed a great family. A new family for me that makes me feel a little more like a native of Nice… in short… it’s silly, but after the photo, I was extremely moved.
NP: An anecdote that made you smile?
SV: We had planned a blue car to bring George Benson from the artist’s entrance to the backstage… George arrived… and finally decided to walk through the festival, quietly whistling amidst the festival-goers.
NP: Sébastien Vidal would be a happy conductor if…?
If he returned next year as the artistic director of the Nice Jazz Festival 2014…
Photo credit: www.nice.fr
