BERGAMO JAZZ SUMMER 2025 @LAZZARETTO

Concert on
Friday, June 27, 2025, at 9:30 PM
with
Mare Nostrum
Paolo Fresu/Richard Galliano/Jan Lundgren

 

Three extraordinary concerts of international scope that are added to the usual Bergamo Jazz programming in March, three special events organized as part of the summer initiative promoted at the Lazzaretto by the Department of Culture of the City of Bergamo: Fondazione Teatro Donizetti and Bergamo Jazz, together with the International Piano Festival of Brescia and Bergamo, with the support of BCC Milano, will bring highly prestigious artists to the Lazzaretto who reflect the long tradition of two of the most important music festivals not only in the city.

It begins on Friday, June 27 with an authentic supertrio that bears the “name of Mare Nostrum and which aligns the trumpet of Paolo Fresu, one of the most beloved Italian jazz musicians, even” abroad, the masterful accordion of the Frenchman Richard Galliano and the piano of the Swede Jan Lundgren, a refined specialist of the 88 keys.

Mare Nostrum was born in 2005 from the “encounter between three strong personalities of European jazz: at the” beginning it was an experiment whose success pushed Paolo Fresu, Richard Galliano and Jan Lundgren to continue on the path of “original fusion between different influences, from folk music to classical, from French” songwriting to jazz. All with the Mediterranean Sea in the background, which has always been a crossroads of cultures, of ancient and modern stories, a symbol of dialogue between peoples, but also of terrible tragedies that one would like to put behind but which are unfortunately still relevant today.

The Mare Nostrum designed by Paolo Fresu, Richard Galliano and Jan Lundgren is a sea of sounds, a utopia of beauty in which each of the three musicians is reflected, putting their respective wealth of experiences at the service of a common musical and poetic vision. Since 2007, the group has produced four albums, all for the “German label ACT Music, the” last of which includes a touching reinterpretation of “La vie en rose” and “Hope”, an anthem to hope that the trio dedicates to a world that needs today more than ever the values of dialogue and inclusion that Mare Nostrum has always advocated.

Paolo Fresu has been an institution of Italian jazz for the last three decades. As a leader and sideman, he has participated in over 350 recordings, released by various labels, from Splasc(h) to Blue Note, from ECM to Act. Richard Galliano is a unique innovator of the accordion and a singular voice of his instrument. Encouraged by Astor Piazzolla, he created the New Musette, a personal version of traditional French music, which has become one of his trademarks. He has recorded more than 50 solo albums in jazz, classical music, and various musical styles from around the world. His impressive list of collaborations includes artists such as Chet Baker, Eddy Louiss, Ron Carter, Wynton Marsalis, Serge Reggiani, Claude Nougaro, Barbara, Juliette Greco, Nigel Kennedy, Enrico Rava and renowned orchestras.

Pianist Jan Lundgren is a pioneer of European jazz who combines classical music, folk traditions, and improvisation. This becomes evident in Mare Nostrum, in his trio and in his personal vision of European standards and Swedish standards, in the fusion of choral-renaissance music and jazz.

Bergamo Jazz 2025 at the Lazzaretto will continue on Thursday, July 10 with another event of absolute importance, the concert of American vocalist Kurt Elling and his fellow countrymen Yellowjackets: the “summit meeting between today’s leading exponent of male jazz singing and one of the most iconic bands in the” jazz-fusion area, will take place in the wake of the music of Weather Report, a legendary formation that has left behind indelible traces of adventurous and innovative music.

Finally, on Friday, July 18, Bergamo will see the return, after more than 50 years since his previous concert in the city, of Herbie Hancock, one of the brightest stars in the world music firmament. The celebrated American pianist and keyboardist will perform at the Lazzaretto leading a band including trumpeter Terence Blanchard, guitarist Lionel Loueke, bassist James Genus and drummer Jaylen Petinaud, all musicians of proven value.

 

All concerts will begin at 9:30 PM.