If the Mountain Doesn’t Come to Jazz…

A young teacher was posted to a little school in the medieval village of Marciac at the foothills of the Pyrenees. It could have been the beginning of a placid and settled existence in the scenic little enclave in Southwestern France, except for one thing—he had a passion for jazz.

I would have loved to have witnessed the conversation about the idea of organizing the first shindig 36 years ago. I can just picture the puzzled faces of incredulity. Why would people come here to listen to jazz? The teacher’s answer was…pourquoi-pas ?  The rest is history and Marciac is now synonym with a pedigree lineup to rival any of the main jazz events worldwide and, in the form of credentials, has Wynton Marsalis is its patron and had Jim Horowitz base the Aspen Jazz Festival on the Marciac model.

But what became of that teacher? Jean-Louis Guilhaumon is motoring ahead as president of the Festival and Mayor of Marciac, as well as principal of the high school. “The festival goes beyond having a good time for three weeks in the summer,” he says, “we have formed a strong link with the United States through the music born of their culture. The festival works in partnership with the school to bring training and internship opportunities for young people and is working on a future collaboration with New Orleans. It has sprouted added benefits for the community like the construction of the L’Astrada auditorium that holds 500 people for events year round.”

International stars like Wayne Shorter–who is celebrating his 80th birthday during the festival—Wynton Marsalis, George Benson, Diana Krall, Paco de Lucîa, Joe Cocker, Marcus Miller, Ahmad Jamal, Al Jarreau, and many more, usher in the new generation of musicians like Canadian singer Kellylee Evans and Israeli born pianist Shai Maestro. Showtimes are scheduled to allow visitors time to wander around, enjoy the local Gascon food and wine and generally have a swingin’ good time. It’s no wonder people keep coming back year after year.

 

 

Festival de Marciac

July 26 – August 15, 2013

19 Place de l’Hôtel de ville

32230 Marciac – Gers, Midi-Pyrenées

www.jazzinmarciac.com

Individual tickets start at 27€ depending on event

4 night- pass starts at 154€ – all festival pass 500€

 

Originally published in the June-July 2013 issue of France Today magazine.