Roma Jazz Festival

The 35th edition of the Roma Jazz Festival kicks off tonight at at Renzo Piano’s Jiffy Pop-inspired Auditorium Parco della Musica.  The annual festival had its own birth of the cool in 1976 as one of the plethora of outdoor shows and concerts across Rome each summer, but soon developed into a fully formed autumnal entity of its own.  The illustrious history of the festival has featured such internationally renowned jazz luminaries as Miles Davis, BB King, Sarah Vaughan, Fats Domino, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Norah Jones, Diana Krall, and I’m sure quite a number of other impressive musicians who don’t necessarily make up the Wikipedia entry for “All-time Most Famous Jazz Musicians”* (*not a real thing).

This year, the festival continues its residence at the Auditorium up by the MAXXI.  Dave Holland kicks things off tonight at 9pm, leading the way for twenty two days of fantastic music, featuring Pat Metheny, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Mike Stern and a host of others.

If you go…

What:Roma Jazz Festival
Where: Auditorium Parco della Musica, Viale Pietro de Coubertin 30 – the #2 tram from Flaminio stops near by, as well as some buses
When: Begins tonight, November 8th and runs through November 30th
Why: Great music, great city, great times.
How Much: Tickets run from 18-35 EUR

*See the website for more info and a complete list of performances.
**Tickets are available at the auditorium, by phone, or online at ListTicket (which you will have to create a login ID to use)