Date: 16 – 17 June 2023
Time: 7pm till late
Venue: The Fringe Club & The Wanch
Free Event, RSVP Online: https://bit.ly/3wo8RPH
Festival website: makemusichk.com
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Make Music, Hong Kong! music festival was created in 2018 by Alliance Française de Hong Kong and the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong and Macau. It is co-funded by the European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macau, with the participation of European countries’ consulates or institutions. It is a special event within French May Arts Festival.
“Make Music, Hong Kong!” is preceded by Music Day, which Alliance Française de Hong Kong has organised since 1985. Make Music, Hong Kong music festival is inspired by the Fête de la Musique (World Music Day) which originated from France. The national music festival in France is widely celebrated on 21st June around the world, the day of the summer solstice in the Northern hemisphere. Make Music, Hong Kong! ’ showcases a mix of amateur and professional artists of local or foreign origins. Every year, local bands and half a dozen European bands are presented to the Hong Kong public in remarkable cultural venues. Previous festival locations include Tai Kwun, Fringe Club and West Kowloon Cultural District, all of which are historical and cultural landmarks of the city.
At this edition of Make Music Hong Kong! the Italian Cultural Institute will present:
MASSIMILIANO ROLFF TRIO – “Gershwin on Air”
George Gershwin’s extraordinary musical world emerges, caresses us, amazes us and finally overwhelms us in the uniqueness of this concert. Rolff shapes in a contemporary writing, the songs,
the musicals, the jazz and the orchestral sound that made Gershwin’s music the pillar on which the ‘American Sound’ is built.
Melody is the main character of this concert, where interplay, imaginative atmospheres, soul and swing are revealed, in a climax of vibrant improvisations. The concert features a suite from “Porgy and Bess” (including Ain’t necessarily so, Summertime, I loves you Porgy) and many great Gershwin’ songs such as A foggy day, Embraceable you, But not for me…
Massimiliano Rolff: Double Bass
Massimiliano Rolff’s music, founded on a deep knowledge of the jazz tradition combined with a personal taste for composition, has become in recent years a point of reference for many lovers of
jazz music in Italy and in Europe.
As a freelance bassist in recent years he has played in the most renowned jazz clubs, festivals, theaters, TV shows, Embassies and Italian Cultural Institutes in Italy, Holland, France, Austria, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Portugal, Hungary, Bulgaria, Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Argentina, Uruguay, China, Japan, Hong Kong and USA with Steve Grossman, Scott Hamilton, Eliot Zigmund, Perico Sambeat, Jesse Davis, Dave Schnitter, Federico Britos, Phil Woods, Peter King, Garrison Fewell, Herb Geller, Rachel Gould, Eric Legnini, Danny Grissett, Sangoma Everett, Andrea Dulbecco, Andy Gravish, Dado Moroni, Flavio Boltro, Paolo Damiani, Gabriele Mirabassi, Luca Begonia, Marco Tamburini, Gianpaolo Casati, Carlo Atti, Andrea Pozza, François Chassagnite, Claudio Chiara, Luca Santaniello, Karen Edwards , Johannes Faber, Emanuele Cisi, Enzo Zirilli, Jasper van’t Hof, Alessio Menconi and many other fantastic musicians. Since 2006 he has released 8 albums as a leader, composer and arranger [Unit Five, 2006 – Naked, 2009 – More music, 2012 – Scream! 2016 – Italian Life in contemporary time, 2016 – Cubiculum, 2017 – Home Feeling, 2018 – Gershwin on Air, 2021] receiving international awards, acknowledgments and critical reviews. He has participated in the recording of dozens of albums as a sideman.
In 2008 he founded the Count Basie Jazz Club in Genoa, and since 2011 he has taught at the Conservatories of Messina, La Spezia, Monopoli and Palermo. He currently holds the chair of Jazz Bass at the Piacenza Jazz Conservatory.
Joost Swart: Piano
“Joost Swart is undoubtedly one of the most interesting pianists to have appeared on the Dutch scene in recent years” (Remco Takken, Dutch jazz critic). During his first year, Joost became a founding member of the famous Francien van Tuinen Quintet. After having intensely toured the great Dutch stages with Francien and having played at the North Sea Jazz Festival 5 times, Joost subsequently moved to New York where for a few years he participated in the vibrant music scene of the Big Apple, alternating numerous tours in Europe and Japan. Recent highlights include regular concerts with Benjamin Herman, Jesse van Ruller, John Engels, Hans Dulfer, Rick Margitza, Vincent Herring, Don Braden, Valery Ponomarev, Freddie Bryant, and Ralph Peterson among
others.
Antonio Fusco: Drums
A multifaceted and creative Italian drummer with a focus on the African-American jazz tradition, Antonio Fusco has recorded more than fifty albums, as a sideman, leader and co-leader, from pop to avant-garde jazz. A multifaceted and creative Italian drummer with a focus on the African-American jazz tradition, Antonio Fusco has recorded more than fifty albums, as a sideman, leader and coleader, from pop to avant-garde jazz. He toured Europe, Africa, Asia and America and numerous festivals in Italy. He has played with: Tim Berne, Nick Hampton, Yuhan Su, Paolo Fresu, Tino
Tracanna, Paolino Dalla Porta, Francesco Bearzatti Tinissima 4et, Reem Kelani Band, Giovanni Falzone 5et, Giovanni Falzone Contemporary Orchestra, Henrik Jensen FB 13, Bruno Heinen, Peter
Ehwald, Bruno Heinen and ma ny others. He is currently involved in several projects both as a leader and as a sideman including Antonio Fusco Quintet, Antonio Fusco Trio, Massimiliano Rolff
trio Gershwin On Air, Simona De Rosa Vuelvo al Sur. From 2017 to 2022, he lived and taught at the jazz department of Beijing Contemporary Music Academy, China and regularly conducts drum
lessons and online masterclasses on various platforms.