Tweet
The Daily News, Lebanon
June 30 2005
Byblos International Festival presents world-class music for all
tastes
Ancient Phoenician town to be transformed in late July, August by
top-notch jazz, pop and classical sounds
By Ramsay Short
Daily Star staff
Thursday, June 30, 2005
BEIRUT: It hasn't been easy for Naji Baz and his Buzz Productions
company to put together the Byblos International Festival in the
northern Lebanese town of Jbeil this year. First his preferred dates
to hold the festival in the cooler month of June had to be dropped in
favor of late July due to Lebanon's four-week long elections, thus
bringing him into direct competition with the Beiteddine and Baalbek
Festivals making it more difficult to put bums on seats.
Second, he has had to face - like all the other festivals - questions
of ensuring his acts' safety after the spate of bombings which began
with the Valentine's Day killing of former Premier Rafik Hariri and
the weeks of political uncertainty that have ensued. Persuading some
acts that Lebanon was a safe place has not been easy.
Third, Baz dealt with the most painful situation for any promoter and
that was the confirmation of the Scottish punk-rock band Franz
Ferdinand for the festival and then, as word spread, the announcement
of their cancellation due ostensibly to recording commitments.
Finally, on the day of the Byblos Festival Program announcement last
Tuesday, the Lebanese politician George Hawi was brutally murdered in
a car bomb and though no one would ever give more importance to a
musical event over the assassination of a respected man, the press
conference was cancelled. The same had happened on the day of the
Beiteddine Festival's program announcement when the outspoken
journalist Samir Kassir was similarly killed.
And so rather than the excitement normally generated by the
announcement of the summer festivals' line-ups, in 2005 the programs
have gone off with a mere pop.
Despite all of this, Baz and his team have come up with a festival of
world music that, though not on par with last year's hugely
successful edition featuring reggae legend Jimmy Cliff, pop-rocker
Bryan Ferry and glam-rockers Placebo, is still a celebration of music
that is rarely witnessed in Lebanon.
"It has been a nightmare but I am confident we have put together now
a tight line-up that is worthy of the Byblos Festival brand," Baz
told The Daily Star.
For the two nights of July 22 and 23 a Lebanese audience will have
the opportunity to witness the popular rock of Roger Hodgson, the
lead singer and guitarist of 1970s and 80s band Supertramp. They will
have the chance to listen to the brilliant abstract jazz of pianist
Brad Mehldau and his trio, (July 24), as well as the Cuban sounds of
Omara Portuondo - one of the few remaining living stars and only
female one, of the now legendary Buena Vista Social Club (July 29).
Add to that the 20-string Armenian Serenade Chamber Orchestra with a
deep and haunting classical program (July 31), and the oriental jazz
of the stunning Azerbaijani pianist and singer Aziza Mustafa Zadeh
(August 4) followed by a Rahbani family musical based on Gibran
Khalil Gibran's famous book "The Prophet" (August 17-20).
Baz is also putting on, as he does every year, a show of the Arab
Star Academy kids though this is not strictly part of the Byblos
Festival on July 15.
Perhaps the best thing, though, about Byblos is the setting. All the
performances take place in the heart of the ancient town's old
quarter with the backdrop of the fantastic Crusader Citadel magically
lit against the night sky. The whole experience of Byblos, like
Beiteddine and Baalbek, is one of elegant beauty and singular moments
with the buzz of the modern-day souk surrounding the festival and
fine foods available at the restaurants in the old port and town
center. Go for a weekend, stay the night and enjoy the city's beaches
during the day. A great advantage of Byblos is that it is just
half-an-hour's drive from Beirut, a much shorter journey than those
to Baalbek and Beiteddine.
In the end, however, it is for the music that you will go and though
the caliber of performers this year is second to none in their
fields, the lack of a superior name may well affect sales. The
program is also not one that will attract the younger generation that
Byblos has so actively pursued in recent years. That plan was dented
by Franz Ferdinand's cancellation, although Baz and the band's agent
at Helter Skelter in London insisted they would come in 2006 fresh
off the release of their new album later this year.
The highlights of Byblos 2005 though, without question are Mehldau
and Portuondo. The former is an American jazz piano virtuoso who can
fill venues as prestigious as London's Wigmore Hall and with his trio
is reminiscent of a quietly reflective Ahmad Jamal. Mehldau makes no
concessions to the audience, rarely communicates with them and simply
plays brilliant original music. There are no electronics, fusion or
smooth-jazz singers, just powerful composition and long
improvisations. On the Byblos stage it is likely to be an immensely
satisfying performance.
The septuagenarian Omara Portuondo will be very different and perhaps
more accessible to an unquestioning audience - a diva of great
presence, she will perform with 12 Cuban musicians and transform
Byblos into Havana for a night of traditional Latin sounds. In the
1940s and 1950s hers was the velvet voice of the jazz/bossa
nova-inspired genre known as filin. Today Portuondo's show is a
translucent one made up of 5 decades of Afro-Cuban artistry seasoned
with strings, woodwinds, guitars, and background vocals, all about
love.
Aziza Mustafa Zadeh, though less well-known, has been performing for
many years and has played to audiences around the world. Her father
was the leader of the Azerbaijan Jazz movement until he died in 1979
and she has continued his legacy playing a brand of world jazz on her
piano, scatting like Ella Fitzgerald and incorporating the
traditional Azerbaijan form of Mugam into her jazz. A highly
improvisational style, Mugam refers to a modal system of music of
which there exist over 70 types, all defined by their specific
pattern of intervals, range, as well as direction of melodic movement
and rhythm. This will be a fascinating show.
For lovers of classical music the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra
presenting the Serenade Chamber Orchestra from Yerevan will be an
elegant evening of pure string pleasure, while Oussama, Mansour and
Marwan Rahbani's latest musical play telling the story of Gibran's
"The Prophet" features the artwork of over 80 Lebanese artists.
The show that will pack the Byblos Festival, however, will be that of
Hodgson. Famed for his unique alto voice, Hodgson's former band
Supertramp achieved global fame with the soft rock of songs like
"Dreamer" and "Breakfast in America," and his many fans in Lebanon
are unlikely to let him leave the stage without at least three
encores.
For more information or tickets for the Byblos Festival go to
www.byblosfestival.org or contact the Virgin Megastore Ticketing
Office on +961 1 999666
June 30 2005
Byblos International Festival presents world-class music for all
tastes
Ancient Phoenician town to be transformed in late July, August by
top-notch jazz, pop and classical sounds
By Ramsay Short
Daily Star staff
Thursday, June 30, 2005
BEIRUT: It hasn't been easy for Naji Baz and his Buzz Productions
company to put together the Byblos International Festival in the
northern Lebanese town of Jbeil this year. First his preferred dates
to hold the festival in the cooler month of June had to be dropped in
favor of late July due to Lebanon's four-week long elections, thus
bringing him into direct competition with the Beiteddine and Baalbek
Festivals making it more difficult to put bums on seats.
Second, he has had to face - like all the other festivals - questions
of ensuring his acts' safety after the spate of bombings which began
with the Valentine's Day killing of former Premier Rafik Hariri and
the weeks of political uncertainty that have ensued. Persuading some
acts that Lebanon was a safe place has not been easy.
Third, Baz dealt with the most painful situation for any promoter and
that was the confirmation of the Scottish punk-rock band Franz
Ferdinand for the festival and then, as word spread, the announcement
of their cancellation due ostensibly to recording commitments.
Finally, on the day of the Byblos Festival Program announcement last
Tuesday, the Lebanese politician George Hawi was brutally murdered in
a car bomb and though no one would ever give more importance to a
musical event over the assassination of a respected man, the press
conference was cancelled. The same had happened on the day of the
Beiteddine Festival's program announcement when the outspoken
journalist Samir Kassir was similarly killed.
And so rather than the excitement normally generated by the
announcement of the summer festivals' line-ups, in 2005 the programs
have gone off with a mere pop.
Despite all of this, Baz and his team have come up with a festival of
world music that, though not on par with last year's hugely
successful edition featuring reggae legend Jimmy Cliff, pop-rocker
Bryan Ferry and glam-rockers Placebo, is still a celebration of music
that is rarely witnessed in Lebanon.
"It has been a nightmare but I am confident we have put together now
a tight line-up that is worthy of the Byblos Festival brand," Baz
told The Daily Star.
For the two nights of July 22 and 23 a Lebanese audience will have
the opportunity to witness the popular rock of Roger Hodgson, the
lead singer and guitarist of 1970s and 80s band Supertramp. They will
have the chance to listen to the brilliant abstract jazz of pianist
Brad Mehldau and his trio, (July 24), as well as the Cuban sounds of
Omara Portuondo - one of the few remaining living stars and only
female one, of the now legendary Buena Vista Social Club (July 29).
Add to that the 20-string Armenian Serenade Chamber Orchestra with a
deep and haunting classical program (July 31), and the oriental jazz
of the stunning Azerbaijani pianist and singer Aziza Mustafa Zadeh
(August 4) followed by a Rahbani family musical based on Gibran
Khalil Gibran's famous book "The Prophet" (August 17-20).
Baz is also putting on, as he does every year, a show of the Arab
Star Academy kids though this is not strictly part of the Byblos
Festival on July 15.
Perhaps the best thing, though, about Byblos is the setting. All the
performances take place in the heart of the ancient town's old
quarter with the backdrop of the fantastic Crusader Citadel magically
lit against the night sky. The whole experience of Byblos, like
Beiteddine and Baalbek, is one of elegant beauty and singular moments
with the buzz of the modern-day souk surrounding the festival and
fine foods available at the restaurants in the old port and town
center. Go for a weekend, stay the night and enjoy the city's beaches
during the day. A great advantage of Byblos is that it is just
half-an-hour's drive from Beirut, a much shorter journey than those
to Baalbek and Beiteddine.
In the end, however, it is for the music that you will go and though
the caliber of performers this year is second to none in their
fields, the lack of a superior name may well affect sales. The
program is also not one that will attract the younger generation that
Byblos has so actively pursued in recent years. That plan was dented
by Franz Ferdinand's cancellation, although Baz and the band's agent
at Helter Skelter in London insisted they would come in 2006 fresh
off the release of their new album later this year.
The highlights of Byblos 2005 though, without question are Mehldau
and Portuondo. The former is an American jazz piano virtuoso who can
fill venues as prestigious as London's Wigmore Hall and with his trio
is reminiscent of a quietly reflective Ahmad Jamal. Mehldau makes no
concessions to the audience, rarely communicates with them and simply
plays brilliant original music. There are no electronics, fusion or
smooth-jazz singers, just powerful composition and long
improvisations. On the Byblos stage it is likely to be an immensely
satisfying performance.
The septuagenarian Omara Portuondo will be very different and perhaps
more accessible to an unquestioning audience - a diva of great
presence, she will perform with 12 Cuban musicians and transform
Byblos into Havana for a night of traditional Latin sounds. In the
1940s and 1950s hers was the velvet voice of the jazz/bossa
nova-inspired genre known as filin. Today Portuondo's show is a
translucent one made up of 5 decades of Afro-Cuban artistry seasoned
with strings, woodwinds, guitars, and background vocals, all about
love.
Aziza Mustafa Zadeh, though less well-known, has been performing for
many years and has played to audiences around the world. Her father
was the leader of the Azerbaijan Jazz movement until he died in 1979
and she has continued his legacy playing a brand of world jazz on her
piano, scatting like Ella Fitzgerald and incorporating the
traditional Azerbaijan form of Mugam into her jazz. A highly
improvisational style, Mugam refers to a modal system of music of
which there exist over 70 types, all defined by their specific
pattern of intervals, range, as well as direction of melodic movement
and rhythm. This will be a fascinating show.
For lovers of classical music the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra
presenting the Serenade Chamber Orchestra from Yerevan will be an
elegant evening of pure string pleasure, while Oussama, Mansour and
Marwan Rahbani's latest musical play telling the story of Gibran's
"The Prophet" features the artwork of over 80 Lebanese artists.
The show that will pack the Byblos Festival, however, will be that of
Hodgson. Famed for his unique alto voice, Hodgson's former band
Supertramp achieved global fame with the soft rock of songs like
"Dreamer" and "Breakfast in America," and his many fans in Lebanon
are unlikely to let him leave the stage without at least three
encores.
For more information or tickets for the Byblos Festival go to
www.byblosfestival.org or contact the Virgin Megastore Ticketing
Office on +961 1 999666