The penultimate evening of the Nice Jazz Festival combined the potential of the new generation of jazz and “sweet soul music.” In the heart of Nice, audiences of all kinds came together.
In the pre-opening of the Nice Jazz Festival, the “Nice is Jazz” talent show introduced a selection of amateur jazz groups from the City of Nice. Jérôme Vinson and his musicians won this talent show. They performed on the stage of the theater of verdure, opening for the highly anticipated Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and Avishai Cohen. On piano, double bass, and drums, the winners of “Nice is Jazz” presented, for example, their reinterpretation of the theme song from the film Sous le ciel de Paris (1951). Applause resonated and found an echo near the Masséna stage. The audience discovered Charles Bradley and his band there. With his true/false airs of James Brown, this 63-year-old artist, driven by rhythm, ensured the show with a lamé vest and red pants. He communicated with his audience and delivered messages of tolerance and openness. “Look around you, look at the world, shake the hand of your brothers and sisters around you.” This was followed by a few handshakes in the audience, a good start…
A new musical style, Supafunkrock!
At 8:15 PM, the theater of verdure stage welcomed the band Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue. These seven musicians created Supafunkrock, their own musical style mixing jazz, funk, rock, hip-hop, and soul. The leader, Troy Andrews, alternates fiery trombone performances and vocal performances without ever tiring.
A quarter of an hour later, the highly anticipated Macy Gray arrived on the Masséna stage. With a white boa around her neck, she didn’t play the diva role. She spoke to her audience, wished to be close to them, and shared her feelings, as she did on her Twitter account @MacyGraysLife, where she wrote on July 10, “In Nice, France. Really beautiful. Fine men. Beaches. Casino. Live music outside my window […]” (Editor’s note: In Nice, France. Really beautiful. Charming gentlemen. Beaches. Casino. She hears live music outside, from her window).
Avishai Cohen, pure jazzman, and the much-anticipated Seal
In the third part of the evening, the performances of Avishai Cohen on double bass and his musicians won over the audience. With his album “Seven Seas,” this Israeli musician has become one of the most popular jazzmen of the last decade. Cultural diversity and jazz, a beautiful combination where the audience could find themselves.
For his part, Seal put on a show with a few tracks from his album “Commitment” released in 2010. His covers from his album “Soul,” certified diamond with nearly a million copies sold, were highly applauded. “This is a man’s world” or “Here I am” by Al Green, these standards reinterpreted with his very distinctive and smooth tone, united all audiences.
Photo credit: Rachel Turpin
