The 17th edition of the Dimajazz festival will be held from May 11 to 14 at the Zénith Ahmed-Bey in Constantine. After two years of absence, the flagship event dedicated to jazz in Algeria returns with an exclusively female program.
Jazz and blues fans can finally find their favorite festival from this Wednesday at the Zénith Ahmed-Bey hall in Constantine. After two years of suspension due to restrictions linked to Covid-19, the Dimajazz returns this year with a program, certainly reduced, but promising.
This 17th edition will span four evenings and will open on Wednesday May 11 at 8 p.m. with English blues-woman Jo Harman and her band. Since the release of Dirt on my tongue, her first self-produced album in 2013, the young singer has continued to surprise and command the admiration of the most meticulous music critics in England and elsewhere. And for good reason, beyond the blank check that she very quickly obtained by performing in the company of giants of the genre (Patti Smith, Joan Baez, Sinead O’Connor, etc.), she continues to build slowly, but surely, his own musical universe by offering himself great freedom and a thirst for originality. His second album, produced in 2017 in Memphis (cradle of the blues), is hailed by critics for its dual classical and modern roots: we appreciate tasty encounters between soul, blues, gospel and pop.
On May 12 at 7:30 p.m., the Ahmed-Bey hall will host a concert by Austrian bassist Andrea Fraenzel. A versatile artist trained at the Vienna Institute of Music and Performing Arts, under the leadership of well-known names such as Peter Herbert and Thomas Stempkowski, she now travels on several stages around the world. She also teaches in many institutes, especially in India. The same evening, the public will have an appointment with the Finnish singer-songwriter Erja Lyytinen. The love story between Erja and music began as a teenager, when she performed in her high school. She then studied in Sweden and Finland, moving from soul to blues, then produced her first album in 2002 with the group Dave’special, of which she wrote and composed most of the titles. She will open for world-renowned artists like Carlos Santana and Robert Plant (former Led Zeppelin singer). Her career, which now culminates in more than twenty years, has taken her to many stages all over the world, where an informed public warmly applauds her demanding and singular repertoire.
On May 13, Italy, guest of honor at this 17th edition, will headline with singer-songwriter Ilaria Pilar Patassini. Powerful voice and obvious charisma, the singer is hailed for her refinement and her cosmopolitan musical universe. With four albums to her credit, Ilaria travels the jazz and blues stages around the world and collaborates with big names in Western musical creation. She will be followed on the stage of the Zénith de Constantine by the French rock quintet Little Odetta. Audrey (lyricist and singer), Lucas (composer and guitarist), Aurélien (bassist) and Florian (keyboardist) formed this atypical group in 2019 and are today among the most prominent artists on the French rock scene.
And for good reason, the quintet, which has been collaborating individually on several projects for a few years, quickly established itself thanks to a refined mix of rock, rhythm’and’blues and the soulful voice of Audrey. Their first eponymous album was also produced in collaboration with big names in musical production: Frédéric Jaillard (Feu Chatterton, Thomas Dutronc, etc.) and Steve Prestage (Peter Gabriel, Gary Moore, etc.)
The closing evening of this 17th Dimajazz will be Algerian with a concert hosted by singer Samira Brahmia in the company of the Orchester national de Barbès.
It should be noted that the organizers of the festival inform the public living outside Constantine that attractive reductions will be offered to them at a hotel in the city. In addition, the ticket office is already open for sale at the Palace of Culture and at the Zénith Ahmed-Bey.
Translated by Hope from https://www.lesoirdalgerie.com/culture/la-fete-de-la-musique-dz-est-de-retour-80940
