Fuengirola to become the epicentre of jazz during international festival

Fuengirola will become a haven for jazz fans from 26 February to 1 March with the celebration of the 22nd Malaga international jazz and modern music seminar. This event will bring together international musicians from the Netherlands, USA and Spain, who will perform a series of Avant-garde, traditional, post-bob and cool-jazz concerts.

Following the high attendance recorded last year, this edition will be structured into two sections: one dedicated to seminar participants and another featuring free concerts. The seminar includes workshops, masterclasses and training programmes attended by students from different countries.

The workshops are classes designed as dynamic spaces for learning and creation. They offer a practical approach where participants work each morning on technical, interpretive and creative aspects adapted to their level.

The concerts and activities will be held in various locations in the town, including the Speakeasy Jazz Club, Plaza Reyes Católicos and the Casa de Cultura, while the Hotel Las Palmeras will host nightly jam sessions from 11.30pm.

The schedule includes a performance by American multi-instrumentalist Walt Weiskopf, who has played with numerous established figures, including Frank Sinatra and the popular jazz-rock band Steely Dan. Weiskopf, born in Georgia in 1959, embarked on his career in New York at the age of 21, performing with the legendary drummer Buddy Rich's Big Band, and has since released 16 recordings as a bandleader and numerous credits as a sideman.

Award-winning Dutch pianist and composer Rob van Bavel will bring his distinctive bebop, modern and fusion jazz to this festival, a musician who has toured extensively throughout the USA, Canada, Europe and Japan. He has won several awards, among them, second prize at the coveted Thelonious Monk Jazz Piano competition in Washington D.C; first prize at the soloist awards in Germany, and a Dutch Grammy for the CD, Rob van Bavel Trio.

Bavel plays with his own orchestra, trio and sextet, as well as accompanying jazz celebrities like Rita Reys.

The lineup also includes American drummer and bandleader Johnathan Blake, son of the late jazz violinist John Blake Jr. Considered one of the most accomplished drummers of his generation, Blake has proven himself a complete and versatile musician. Taking up the drums at the age of ten, inspired by his father, who was his chief mentor, the 50-year-old bandleader has since performed with numerous celebrated jazz artistes, as well as recording extensively.

Another established musician is Martijn van Iterson, an acclaimed Dutch jazz guitarist, composer and highly respected teacher. He is widely regarded as one of the finest jazz guitarists in the Netherlands.

www.malagaworkshopjazz.com/