The San Sebastian Jazz Festival (official name: Heineken Jazzaldia) is held every year during the third week of July in the Basque city of Donostia (also called San Sebastián), which has been a tourist destination since the 19th century because of its beautiful scenery, history, cultural activity and cuisine. The Festival takes place in the third week of July and lasts for five days.
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The festival was founded in 1966, becoming the first jazz festival organised in Spain and one of the oldest in Europe. The Heineken Jazzaldia hosts around a hundred concerts in twelve stages located in different points throughout the city of San Sebastian. Some of these concerts are free and some others are ticketed; and some of the venues are in the open air and some others are indoors. Among these, the shows in Zurriola Beach and the terraces of the Kursaal Auditorium are the most popular. In the 2013 edition, around 155,500 people enjoyed the festival.
History
The San Sebastian Jazz Festival (Heineken Jazzaldia) takes place every year since 1966 and it is the eldest of Spain and one of the eldest in Europe.
The history of the festival can be linked to that of the contemporary jazz. Many important artists have participated in the festival, such as Charles Mingus, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Dexter Gordon, Art Blakey, Ray Charles, Sarah Vaughan, Stan Getz, Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, Gerry Mulligan, Weather Report, Hank Jones, Sonny Rollins, McCoy Tyner, Wynton Marsalis, B.B. King, Diana Krall, Van Morrison, Liza Minnelli, Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett and Ray Gelato, amongst many others.
The first San Sebastian Jazz Festival was on September 10 and 11 1966. The following year the schedule changed to July, in which has been celebrated since. At first, the Jazzaldia was an International Contest for amateur groups and only one professional performance was given: Mickey Baker.
The Trinity Square (Plaza de la Trinidad) was chosen by the organisers to be the main location of the Festival. This square was built in 1963 following the project of the architect Peña Ganchegui to commemorate the hundred-year of the demolition of the walls of the city. The square is located in the heart of the Old Town and it is placed between a Renaissance building (San Telmo Museum), the 18th century Basilica of Santa María, Urgull Mountain and the picturesque houses of this Basque Old Town.
The Trinity Square has embodied the essence of the Jazzaldia throughout the years. Musicians agree on the placement of the square and the audience is close to the stage. In the mid 1970s bigger names started to perform in the Jazzaldia, so wider venues were needed and the shows were moved to the Velodrome and the Sports Hall. However, at the beginning of the 1990s the Trinity Square regained its importance in the Jazzaldia.
During the first years of the festival, the programme stated a preference towards mainstream and traditional jazz and blues with artists such as Milt Buckner, Jo Jones, Cab Calloway, John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters. Some years later, the Jazzaldia updated its programme in terms of style after two performances by Charles Mingus in 1974 and 1977. The San Sebastian Jazz Festival became a cultural reference in Spain during the 1980s and the 1990s. Some of the concerts, like the one in the Velodrome by Chick Corea in 1981, attracted 15,000 people. However, with the passage of time the level of attendance decreased; this fact was due to the rise of music festivals and musical manifestations that took place in Spain during those decades.
In 1992, the organisers decided to go back to the origins of the Festival, the Trinity Square, and stopped organising shows in the Velodrome. Nowadays, there are a dozen stages spread through the city. The Festival has increased the number of people in the concerts each year and also the variety of ages, making the Zurriola Beach the most popular venue among young people.
Stages
The Festival is spread through the city taking advantage of the natural scenery and architecture the city offers. The Jazzaldia combines indoor-ticketed concerts with free concerts performed in the open air such as Zurriola Beach and the terraces in the Kursaal. This venue is in the heart of the medieval Old Town of San Sebastian and is the soul of the 48-year history of the Festival. Jazz musicians play at the stage located between two major landmarks of San Sebastian, the Basilica of Santa Maria and San Telmo Museum.
Donostiako Jazzaldia Award
Since 1994, the Heineken Jazzaldia gives an award to an outstanding person in the field of jazz performing in the festival. The award recognises the contribution of the artist to jazz and the influence on the following generations of musicians. The award consists of an engraved plaque with the most characteristic stage of the Festival, Trinity Square.
The list of winners is a list formed by some of the most important talented artists in the field of jazz. Awarded artists so far are: