“Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
A story with a happy ending
The Indaliana Jazz Band Cultural Association started in 1998 and moved to its current venue in 2003, which prompted the birth of the well-known CLASIJAZZ music venue. Since then, and thanks to years of coordinated effort, a broad musical and cultural offering open to all of Almeria’s citizens has been made available. All CLASIJAZZ activities are organized by the members, who altruistically contribute with their time and effort towards the spreading of different types of music, including classical, jazz, traditional blues and bossa nova.
We consider the training department worthy of a special mention, as they are essential so that more and more people may enjoy music in a more active and hands-on manner. For this reason, three seasons ago we promoted the specialized workshops which now have more than 100 students of all ages, they cover guitar, initiation to jazz, drums and harmonica among others, their clear objective being on-stage rehearsals at our jam sessions.
Every week, top-end quality concerts of different styles such as Jazz, Classical Music, Flamenco, Boleros, Latin and many others take place at our venue. We have organized more than 1,200 concerts to which over 60,000 people have attended since the inauguration. Although it’s not only concerts that have provided entertainment at CLASIJAZZ. Under the association’s protective eye, stable groups have formed and reached a level of maturity which now allows them to divulge jazz of all eras through trios, quartets or large music groups.
In this way, in the last few years we’ve managed to create and maintain groups that have turned out to be key for the enrichment of the province of Almería’s cultural scene, including the Clasijazz Big Band (directed by the acclaimed director Ramón Cardo), Dixieland Clasijazz, the Clasijazz Gospel Choir and a number of quality combos and groups that have flourished within this atmosphere.
Thanks to the collaboration agreement reached in conjunction with the Almería Professional Music Conservatory, the Young Big Band and the Conservatory’s Young Dixieland have been created, they are both comprised of young musicians who wish to further their music studies.
In the past Clasijazz seasons we have seen internationally-acclaimed artists such as Barry Harris, Lee Konitz, Gary Bartz, Eric Alexander, Ignacio Berroa, Enrico Pieranunzi, Jim Rotondi, Joe Magnarelli, Jerry Bergonzi and Joe Lovano to name but a few, all of which partook of the Grand International Concerts cycle. We’ve also been lucky enough to enjoy the presence of important internationally-renowned national artists such as Perico Sambeat, Ignasi Terraza, Albert Bover, Albert Sanz, Iñaki Salvador and a long etcetera…
This year’s novelty is the distribution of events by musical categories and activities, to this end a system of colours has been devised in order that people associate their musical taste with the different cycles organized by Clasijazz. This will enable you to map your musical preferences and discover new styles.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the musicians that have accompanied us on this journey… Thanks for making us so happy.
We have a new venue
On the 8th of September we inaugurated a new Clasijazz venue located in calle Maestro Serrano 9, in the Centro Comercial Oliveros area. We enjoyed the street band and Clasijazz Dixieland concert, the Almería Conservatory Young Big Band with their magical repertoire and the Swing Big Band, another band born from Clasijazz which plays Swing and Funky. An amazing venue with ample space and marvellous acoustics, which we hope you will enjoy through all the activities and concerts we prepare, as always, with tender loving care.
Becoming a member
For fees ranging from 10€/month you may enjoy a huge variety of concerts and take part in many activities. You may also sign up your children to some of the many Clasijazz workshops available for all ages and different musical levels.
You may also bring guests that can become provisional members at a reduced rate to watch a show.
You’ll have the possibility of rehearsing with your group at the Clasijazz rooms for very little money. But above all we would like you to enjoy our new installations with incredible acoustics and Clasijazz’s great concert line up, where you’ll find not only Jazz, but Lyrical and Flamenco Cycles, Classical Music, Magic for children, Jazz for babies, International Concerts, Concerts from important Spanish groups, Jam Sessions, Concerts by members of the the association, constant Concerts from Large bands such as Big Bands and Dixieland and a vast number of activities, all of which inject swing in our veins. We have a room for children, where they may enjoy the concert and then retire to rest or continue playing, the room has educational northern games.
If you’re interested you can fill in the online enrolment form. Or if you’d rather, send it to socios@clasijazz.com with the required data and we’ll call you to confirm.
For over ten years Clasijazz has been promoting jazz and classical music in different fields. Despite having had some of the most important jazz stars both national and internationally speaking, our association is not just simply a concert venue. Our objective is to divulge music from the very base, and to this end, we organize didactic activities that bring jazz closer to our town. A good example of these activities is the Young Big Band, which is organized in conjunction with the Conservatory and the newly created Young Dixieland. The Clasijazz music workshops are organized around this concept. All of the teachers are locally-renowned musicians and actively partake in groups based at the Clasijazz venue, such as the Clasijazz Big Band and Clasijazz Dixieland.
The workshops are aimed at anyone who is interested in understanding jazz and modern music, regardless of the level at which they play their instruments. The main objective will be to delve deeply into jazz improvisation. Students may enrol for classes designed for their instruments as well as for collective instrumental classes (combos), where they´ll be able to play music in a real context and under the supervision of their teachers. Also, auditions and jam sessions in which students may take to the stage to further develop what has been learnt will be organized periodically. Teachers from the national or international scene will periodically attend to teach a master-class. Members of the workshops will benefit from special prices.
Main orchestras
The Clasijazz Big Band is a great 23-strong band whose repertoire covers different eras, such as swing from the 30’s-50’s, Sing Sing Sing, Rhapsody in Blue, and more modern sets, like the complex arrangements by the Phil Collins Big Band. A fantastic set which includes the great big band names: Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller…
Few clubs in the world have their own 21-strong Big Band and two great singers like Isabel López and Noemí Pérez. Their style is Village Vanguard, the Big Band is still going strong every Monday, at Clasijazz we intend to promote Big Band music and make it last for many years through a regular program of regular concert every year. A lot of effort and excitement has gone into creating this band for the benefit of all the jazz enthusiasts in Almería; it aims at paying homage to music for Big Bands, which is extremely important in the history of jazz.
The Big Band Swing and Funky started in Almería in 2012 with the objective of enjoying beautiful music written for Jazz’s most important element: «The Jazz orchestra». The anticipation for their repertoire is such that we’ve chosen two styles for transmitting to the audience in each show: Swing and Funky. Two styles that make us stand up and relive scenes from the golden age in New York, with its big bands playing in unbridled swing and dance clubs. Dancing and enjoying musical soirées which will transport you in time is encouraged. We would like the audience to listen to this music live, as it is a source of intense pleasure, and they are songs that introduce you into the world of jazz with tons of energy.
Dixieland Clasijazz is a New Orleans-style jazz orchestra. They carry out street band activities and play concerts in the open air or inside concert halls.
The FIMA Orchestra made its début on the 28th May 2011 at the Cervantes Theatre in Almería. The director is violinist and teacher from Almería Emilio José Fenoy, and almost thirty musicians are in the group. Its objective is the following: promoting culture in general, classical music in particular but also Renaissance and Modern music. The FIMA Orchestra is a project started by the Indaliana Foundation for Music and the Arts. If you would like to get in touch with the association, you may do so by email on: fundacionindaliana@gmail.com
For upcoming events, check the calendar [Spanish]. In this calendar, you’ll find all the activities and concerts planned by Clasijazz. You may use the filters by category or keyword to find what you are interested in more quickly.
You can also check your YouTube channel for more videos.
