The focus is on the well-groomed

The Bern International Jazz Festival was founded in 1976 by hotel entrepreneur Hans Zurbrügg. It is now run by his son Benny Zurbrügg. The 44th edition has been in full swing since mid-March and once again offers no experiments, but rather cultivated sounds. "Basically, we are sticking to remaining a genuine jazz festival and not trying to cram in everything that has sales potential in terms of style," explains Benny Zurbrügg. What has changed since the early days is the main venue, which was moved from the Kursaal Bern to the much more intimate Marians Jazzroom in the basement of the Hotel Innere Enge in 2003. This was under the motto "back to the roots"; after all, both jazz and blues originated in clubs. "Since then, each band has played one or two concerts a night with us, which gives the audience the chance to see their favorite band several times."

IJFB 2019

Bettye LaVette

The concept seems to work, as this year's example of Bettye LaVette illustrates: Four of her five concerts were sold out in advance. And not by chance, as her third appearance suggests: Accompanied by her four-piece band, the 73-year-old R'n'B and soul singer takes us through the highlights of her career since 1962. She is sometimes self-deprecating ("At my age, you shouldn't be trying to learn twelve new Dylan songs"), sometimes proud: she mentions several times that she has already been nominated five times for the most coveted of all music awards, the Grammy. The voice of Bettye LaVette, real name Betty Jo Haskins, may be showing a few signs of age, but it still manages to captivate with passion, temperament and a great deal of self-confidence. While the US-American sings the Dylan composition Things Have Changed with verve, blues and her accumulated life experience, she offers with My Man - He's A Lovin' Man a piece she performed at the age of 16 - is as crisp as it is blunt R'n'B. The 80-minute performance, during which LaVette also performed at Swamp Rock (He Made A Woman Out Of Me) and gospel (Close As I'll Get To Heaven) is dense and so full of tension that the audience feels inspired to give a standing ovation at the end of the concert.

IJFB 2019

Jerron Paxton

An hour later, Jerron "Blind Boy" Paxton begins to set up on the stage of Marian's Jazzroom. The 30-year-old wears denim dungarees and looks a little like a farmer from the old days. His music, which is mainly based on the acoustic folk blues of the early 1920s, fits in with this. The audience of around 50 listeners can hear how Paxton - who almost completely lost his sight as a teenager - traces the sound of his ancestors from Louisiana and strives for the greatest possible authenticity. Particularly impressive Ole Dog Bluein which the artist reports on the years of famine following the American Civil War, during which one million black people perished. The organic interplay of banjo sounds and Paxton's haunting vocals provides a highlight. According to festival director Benny Zurbrügg, the fact that the event is not sold out is due to the fact that the musician is unfortunately not yet as well known as Bettye LaVette. However, he is convinced that the evening double concerts are perfect for promoting the popularity of artists like Paxton.

After three weeks of the festival, it is still too early to draw any conclusions, explains Zurbrügg. "But the concerts so far have been a complete success, both artistically and in terms of visitor numbers." This view is also supported by the appearance of music legend Eddie Palmieri. The 82-year-old, who never saw himself as a jazz musician but as a representative of Latin dance, needs a little help to get to his grand piano, but the New Yorker with Puerto Rican roots leads his Afro-Carribean jazz sextet with the same steady hand. However, he leaves most of the spotlight and solos to trumpeter Jonathan Powell and saxophonist Louis Fouché, who provide plenty of drive and pressure. Although Palmieri plays songs such as Mambo Picadillo from the pen of Tito Puente or Samba Do Suenho by Cal Tjader, the result impresses with its light-footedness. This is not least thanks to his adept rhythm section, consisting of Vincente Rivero on congas, Luques Cortes on double bass and percussionist Camilo Molina. The trio knows how to vary non-stop between the intricate and the elegant - which makes for a firework of thrilling moments.

IJFB 2019

Eddie Palmieri and the Afro-Carribean Jazz Sextet