16.09.2021, by Luca Testoni

From September 21st to the 30th, seven young Italian jazz bands, selected from over 400 young musicians, will compete in JAM THE FUTURE. The winning group will be granted a chance to present their own compositions on one of the stages of JAZZMI 2021.

There’s the 3.00 a.m. quartet, striving to merge hip-hop with jazz, and another quartet, Fuwah, comfortably moving within the folds of experimental jazz.

And more: Fool Arcana, a duo suspended halfway between nu jazz, electronics and R&B; the Mediterranean jazz-rock played by the Filippo Loi Trio; and the jazz-funk of the five members of Mat Chiappin. But that’s not all: we will also find the label-defying jazz of two more duos: Ginger Bender and the combo formed by Sara Guidolin and Pietro Aloi.

These are the seven young Italian jazz ensembles who will compete during the third edition of JAM THE FUTURE | Music for a new planet, a live contest going onstage on the 23rd and 30th of September at Volvo Studio Milano.

The winners of the competition, whose only caveat is an obligation to submit original pieces, will gain a chance to present their compositions on one of the main stages of JAZZMI 2021, once again taking place in Milan from the 21st to the 31st of October. The very same chance that was offered to Studio Murena and the Enrico Le Noci Quartett in 2019, and to Bo!led, the winning ensemble of JAM THE FUTURE 2020, who will also be among the performers of JAZZMI 2021, as their concert scheduled for last year was cancelled due to Covid restrictions.

The JAM THE FUTURE participants were selected from an online casting call that began last spring, in which over 100 bands, and 400 young musicians, took part. JAZZMI then chose a list of seven ensembles, who will soon present their original compositions (no cover versions allowed!) in a space hosted by Volvo Studio Milano. One of the pieces will have to focus on a vision of the future for new generations, in light of the current issues connected to climate change and the pandemic.

The first evening of JAM THE FUTURE will take place on Thursday, September 23rd with performances by the seven participant bands. On this occasion, an expert panel will choose the three finalists, who will perform again on September 30th. The judges are: Luciano Linzi, artistic director of both JAZZMI and of Rome’s Casa del Jazz; Attilio Zanchi, a music professor at the Conservatorio di Milano as well as a jazz double-bassist known for his thirty-year-long participation in Paolo Fresu’s ensemble; Severino Salvemini, a Professor of Economics at the Bocconi University and co-author of the analysis on “Italian Jazz Festivals”; Mimmo De Musso, a journalist from “Zero” magazine; Elena Giorgi, an influencer blogging under the handle @lettricegeniale; and finally, Volvo Car Italia president and managing director Michele Crisci.

From September 24th to September 30th, listeners will be able to vote for one of the three finalist ensembles through both the festival’s social media and its official website jazzmi.it, while on September 30th, the day of the final performance, the audience at Volvo Studio Milano will have a chance to cast their votes live.

The highest average between the votes of jury, online and live audiences will decide the winner. Good luck and… happy jazz to everyone!

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