International Recognition

The fourth edition of Jazz Point Ibiza ran from 12 to 15 October 2023, bringing together an impressive international cast across four days and four distinct venues around the island. As in previous years, the festival balanced headline concerts with free community events and educational masterclasses, cementing its reputation as one of the most thoughtfully curated jazz festivals in the Mediterranean.

The festival opened on Thursday evening at WOM Radio Café in Santa Eulària, where the Pere Navarro Trio — the Ibiza-born trumpet player and one of the brightest young voices in the Spanish jazz scene — headlined an Opening Party Jam Session alongside international special guests. The night continued at The Standard, Ibiza, where the full cast of musicians gathered for an afterparty jam session into the night.

Friday took the festival to the stunning Safragell Hotel near San Lorenzo for an elegant musical dinner. The evening featured two groups: the Juanma Trujillo Trio, with Venezuelan guitarist Juanma Trujillo joined by special guest Javier Vercher on tenor saxophone, followed by the Albert Cirera Sextet, the adventurous Catalan multi-reedist, who presented his debut album Aquella Cosa at Jazz Point.

Saturday night moved to the iconic Teatro Ibiza in Ibiza Town for the festival's headline concert. Alex Sipiagin — the Russian-born trumpeter and flugelhorn virtuoso based in the US — led a powerful ensemble alongside Grammy Award-winning Cuban saxophonist Ariel Bringuez and the Trevor Coleman Trio, the three-time Emmy-nominated composer and pianist from New Zealand.

Sunday was a double bill at Can Ventosa. At noon, the Big Band Ciutat d'Eivissa under the direction of Vicent Tur performed a funk and fusion-oriented programme featuring the music of Joe Zawinul, Eddie Harris, and others — a departure from their usual repertoire that showed the ensemble's versatility. That evening, the stage was shared by two outstanding acts: first, the Perico Sambeat Quartet with special guest Javier Vercher, featuring Spain's most internationally respected saxophonist at the head of a stellar quartet; then the duo of Marta Sánchez and María Grand, pairing two of the most acclaimed Spanish and Swiss-American jazz voices of their generation.

On Saturday afternoon, Can Ventosa also hosted masterclasses open to local musicians, with sessions led by Alex Sipiagin on the art of the jazz trumpet, Javier Vercher on jazz improvisation, and Marta Sánchez alongside Caleb Wheeler Curtis on the process of composing.