What happens when Italian cuisine and wine are paired with
global African music and served in a Medieval piazza in central
Italy populated by local people, tourists, and migrants from
the Global South? “Umbria Jazz Feast” is a research
project that investigates multisensorial intersections during
the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy. It
presents a new look at this festival by addressing the
question: how is jazz perceived as part of a new global
identity intersecting with local and global cuisine, art, and
culture?
There will be a special screening of Umbria Jazz
Feast, a documentary
film,directed by Alberto Guerri (Centro
Sperimentale di Cinematografia / National Film School, Rome,
Italy) and Department of Music Professor Pierpaolo
Polzonetti on Wednesday, May 6 at 6:30 p.m. in 1002 Cruess
Hall.
The screening is presented by Polzonetti and the Department of
French and Italian and co-sponsored by Global Affairs, Davis
Humanities Institute and the Departments of Music and
Cinema and Digital Media.
Free
Umbria Jazz Feast is made possible by the generous support of
the Eivind G. Lange (‘77) and Mary G. Puma Engagement and
Research in Italy Fund. At UC Davis, additional support was
given by a Seed Grant for International Activities from Global
Affairs as well as the College of Letters and Science and the
Department of Music.
Ameera Nimjee is an Assistant Professor in
the Department of Music at Yale University, with affiliations in
Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies, as well as a faculty
member of the South Asian Studies Council. Her primary
research is on the study of bodies, movement, and transnational
politics in South Asian performance cultures.
In 1949 Miles Davis recorded the legendary album “Birth of
the Cool,” which helped to grow a new branch in the history of
jazz music. ‘Cool’ Jazz is a style of playing which emphasizes
a lighter feel and less complexity than ‘Bebop’; which was also
a budding style when Miles Davis made this recording. “Birth of
the Cool” features a unique-sized 9-piece band, as well as
unusual instrumentation, including horn and tuba. The
Byron Colborn Nonet breathes new life into this music with some
of the Sacramento area’s top musicians.
Byron Colborn Nonet
Joe Mazzaferro, trumpet
Otto Lee, alto saxophone
Stephen Bingen Jr., horn
Brandon Au, trombone
Byron Colborn, baritone saxophone
Benwar Shepard, tuba
Alex Reiff, bass
Dave Bass, piano
Jim Frink, drums
Program
Miles Davis—
Move
Jeru
Moon Dreams
Venus De Milo
Budo
Deception
Godchild
Boplicity
Rocker
Israel
Rouge
