Jazz is a language, not just a style, said Ramón Blecua, the Cultural Counselor of the Spanish Embassy in Egypt during the launch of The Jazz Factory, Egypt's first international jazz festival. Starting from Wednesday Nov. 5, music venues across Cairo will witness a unique celebration of the most original and unpredictable of music genres. The festival will feature 13 performances by 18 musicians hailing from Europe and the Arab world, collaborating to promote intercultural exchange. The festival is a joint initiative between the European Commission's Delegation to Egypt, embassies of participating countries, the Egyptian Tourist Authority, the Ministry of Culture and Al Mawred Al Thaqafy (Culture Source) organization. When it first surfaced at the turn of the 20th century, jazz blended classical European music with African tribal beats and a trace of early 20th century American pop. The melding of music with cultural and racial backgrounds characterized the early rise of jazz; one of the few genres to transcend class and race barriers. It later spread vastly across the world, and continued to carry this element of unification through the decades, leaving a substantial and unique impact on every culture embracing it and symbolizing unadulterated liberty. Recognized for its fluidity and reliance on improvisation, it comes as no surprise that jazz has taken on numerous forms since its birth. In light of the jazz spirit, the EU commission hopes to boost relations between the East and the West in a manner as dynamic and creative as the music itself. Fusing music traditions from both worlds, the eclectic participating groups will present a diverse range of styles, ranging from traditional jazz to jazz flamenco, oriental jazz, Afro Cuban jazz, experimental jazz and more. Among the participating artists are Nardy Castellini (Spain), who's scheduled to perform alongside a group of Nubian musicians; Stepán Markovic Quintet (Czech Republic), Carlo Actis Dato Group (Italy), BSB Trio (The Netherlands), Radio String Vienna Quartet (Austria) and the Andre Ceccarelli Trio (France). Norwegian composer Jon Balke will perform a joint concert with a group from Siwa, featuring Moroccan singer Amina El Alawi. Lebanese jazz composer Toufic Farroukh and his oud player countryman Charbel Rouhana headline the Arab lineup, which also features El Dor El Awal (Egypt), Huda Asfour and Nizar Rohana (Palestine), Hisham Bajjou and Foulane Bouhssine (Morocco), and Nayssam Galal and George Oro (Syria). In addition to the concerts, participating artists will exchange ideas and expertise in a series of workshops held throughout the 10-day festival. The workshops will be supervised by Egypt's celebrated composer Fathy Salama and Peter Lipa from Slovakia, and aim to create a medium where musicians can communicate their experiences, share their influences and work together on making music. In celebration of the birth of jazz, artists will hold jamming sessions - open for the public - every night throughout the festival after 11 in a program entitled "After Hours. According to Salama, this festival is a dream come true. The Grammy winning artist's passion for both world music and the rich Egyptian melodic traditions is reflected in his works. Salama is best known for brilliantly, and fluidly, mixing oriental and modern music, an accomplishment he has been pursuing for most of his career and more recently through his group Sharkiat (Orientals). Oriental Jazz is one of many forms Egyptian musicians have used in recent years to stir interest in jazz. "It's not enough to have talent, said Salama, "more importantly; the knowledge about music has to exist. Being the artistic advisor of The Jazz Factory, Salama wishes to introduce audiences eager to explore new musical horizons away from the conventional sameness of both the current indie and mainstream Egyptian music scenes. The Jazz Factory will conclude on November 14. For more information, call (02) 2362 5057 or visit Al Mawred's website at www.mawred.org.
