The City of Perugia Hosted the Umbria Jazz Festival

In the Etruscan city of Perugia, in the region of Umbria, the so called “green heart of Italy”, the Umbria Jazz Festival has taken place. The festival presented ten days of music from July 10th until 19th.

The UJ Festival has been held annually since August 23rd 1973, and is recognized as one of the most important jazz festivals in Italy and among the most popular in the world.

250 events took place in the city center, from noon until late at night, offering a program under the heading of different kinds of music: in addition to jazz, over the years the Festival has opened up its doors to pop, soul, Latin rhythms and electronic music.

The main space for the evening concerts is the Arena Santa Giuliana, where the most popular artists perform, while during the day other events usually take place in the Morlacchi theatre, the Carducci garden, the IV Novembre square and several other locations including restaurants, wine bars and pubs, which host free concerts for their customers. The main attraction of the Festival is the city center itself: every alley can be the stage for live concerts or jam sessions that makes Perugia wholly surrounded by expressive music and fascinating sounds.

Among the artists who performed this year on the stage are: Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga for the only Italian date of their Cheek to Cheek Tour, Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock, Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, Paolo Conte, Brad Mehldau, the italian band Subsonica, Cassandra Wilson, Charles Lloyd, Dianne Reeves, Bill Frisell, Enrico Rava, Stefano Bollani, Paolo Fresu, Danilo Rea. Past editions have seen well known stars of world musical taking part in the Festival such as: Eric Clapton, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, John Lewis, Keith Jarrett, Elton John, Alicia Keys, Sting, Prince, Bobby McFerrin, James Brown, B.B. King, Chet Baker, Carlos Santana.

This year the UJ Festival has also celebrated thirty years of cooperation with the Berklee College of Music in Boston, which offers an annual program, which involves a two-week workshop in Perugia, to learn Italian and improve performance and music skills.

The energy of UJ Festival is not solely limited to the summer edition: towards the end of December, Umbria Jazz Winter takes place in Orvieto, a wonderful hill city in Umbria.

The Festival involves the participation of the European Union, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism, Regione Umbria and the Municipality of Perugia and Orvieto.

Umbria Jazz Festival is an opportunity that shouldn´t be missed for all those who want to experience high-quality music in an interesting and evocative scenario.