We are happy to introduce the last part of our programme. This year the Italian Fusion Festival hosts, for the first time, a Jam Session.
A jam session is an informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To “jam” is to improvise music without extensive preparation or predefined arrangements, except for when the group is playing well-known jazz standards or covers of existing popular songs.
One source for the phrase “jam session” came about in the 1920s when white and black musicians would congregate after their regular paying gigs to play the jazz they could not play in the “Paul Whiteman” style bands they played in. When Bing Crosby attended these sessions, the musicians would say he was “jammin’ the beat,” since he would clap on the one and the three. Thus these sessions became known as “jam sessions.”
The jam sessions in Dublin started about 9 years ago, organised weekly, to play jazz standards in a relaxed atmosphere and to create a community of musicians in Dublin. The person who came up with the idea is an Italian, Marco Santaroni, who from the beginning involved some musicians in the organization (including Marco Francescangeli who is looking after the session at the festival). It was initially at the Grand Social, later moved to various other places (International Bar, Music café, Bohemian bar in Phibsboro, Hot Spot in Greystones). The jams are free, and very inclusive and accessible. Find musicians of all levels: professionals, hobbyists, and students. There is a Facebook page and a Meetup group to promote/organise the jams.
Here are the musicians who take part in the jam session at the Italian Fusion Festiva: Marco Francescangeli, Luisa Annibali, Riccardo Marenghi, Dario Rodighiero, Graham Wood, Maciej Blizinski, Johannes Aspman, Ken Hall, Andy Smith, Marion Smith, Mary Murphy, Enid Conaghan.
The Jazz & Pizza edition Lineup 2022 in 12 Videos
Blog, Music7PM – Almonte & Molina – A Guitar Duologue
8PM – Luisa Annibali Band
9PM – Maja Elliott Ensemble
10PM Antoni O’Breskey – Nomadic Piano Project
11:30PM – Jam Session
Winner Short Video Competition 2022
Blog, VideoA Decent Proposal by Cathal Feeney is the winner of the Short Video Competition at the Italian Fusion Festival 2022.
All videos are been projected on the 2nd of July during the Italian Fusion Festival. The winner was announced during the event and was awarded with a plaque and a small cash price.
Motivation: “‘A decent proposal’ encompasses the true spirit of the Italian Fusion Festival as it really represents a fusion of the Italian and the Irish culture with members of the cast and the crew coming from both countries. The cinematic language develops through the use of a wide range of different shoots creating the right pace for the physical acting that characterizes this work. The storyline unravels through the tale of two voices over and is truly delivered by the original score able to grasp the light and refreshing sense of the urban comedy of the video.”
Cathal Feeney started filmmaking when he joined the Dublin Filmmakers film club in Dublin in 2011. In the intervening period, he has worked on numerous short films in various roles, although mainly as a writer and director. The Interview was his first film followed by Oh. Oh was made as part of a 72-hour challenge at the Offline film festival in Offaly where it took first place. His filmmaking style would lean toward comedy.
Shame by Chiara Provenzano, with 51,88% of the votes, won the Audience Award
Photos Jazz & Pizza Edition 2022
BlogCredits: Maurizio Pittau
Credits: Gaia Garofalo
Credits: Felice Luca Maglione
Credits: Shauna Donnelly
TV programmes at the festival
Blog, PressThe Italian Fusion Festival will host a TV crew of the Italian TV program “Little Big Italy” this evening. The TV crew interviewed the festival coordinators at the Italian Institute of Culture this morning. The scenes recorded at the festival and the interviews will be part of the TV show and more precisely of the section of the TV show “Italians in the city”, where events and activities of Italians abroad are shown. Little Big Italy is an Italian television program produced by Magnolia and broadcast by Nove (part of Warner Bros. / Discovery). The TV program is led by restaurateur Francesco Panella, who visits a different city for each episode in search of the best Italian restaurant.
At the festival, we will host also Declan Cassidy and his crew. Cassidy is making a television documentary about the Italian community in Ireland. The director of the festival Maurizio Pittau was interviewed by Declan as well at the Near FM radio studios.Declan Cassidy is a director and producer in Irish film and television. A founding member of the Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA Awards), Declan Cassidy began his film career in the documentary genre and in 2021 Cassidy founded EurAV European Audio Visual CLG, a not-for-profit company that works to promote media literacy, climate action and social inclusion through community media provision and training.
Jam Session
Blog, Music, PerformanceWe are happy to introduce the last part of our programme. This year the Italian Fusion Festival hosts, for the first time, a Jam Session.
A jam session is an informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To “jam” is to improvise music without extensive preparation or predefined arrangements, except for when the group is playing well-known jazz standards or covers of existing popular songs.
One source for the phrase “jam session” came about in the 1920s when white and black musicians would congregate after their regular paying gigs to play the jazz they could not play in the “Paul Whiteman” style bands they played in. When Bing Crosby attended these sessions, the musicians would say he was “jammin’ the beat,” since he would clap on the one and the three. Thus these sessions became known as “jam sessions.”
The jam sessions in Dublin started about 9 years ago, organised weekly, to play jazz standards in a relaxed atmosphere and to create a community of musicians in Dublin. The person who came up with the idea is an Italian, Marco Santaroni, who from the beginning involved some musicians in the organization (including Marco Francescangeli who is looking after the session at the festival). It was initially at the Grand Social, later moved to various other places (International Bar, Music café, Bohemian bar in Phibsboro, Hot Spot in Greystones). The jams are free, and very inclusive and accessible. Find musicians of all levels: professionals, hobbyists, and students. There is a Facebook page and a Meetup group to promote/organise the jams.
Here are the musicians who take part in the jam session at the Italian Fusion Festiva: Marco Francescangeli, Luisa Annibali, Riccardo Marenghi, Dario Rodighiero, Graham Wood, Maciej Blizinski, Johannes Aspman, Ken Hall, Andy Smith, Marion Smith, Mary Murphy, Enid Conaghan.