This year the Heineken Jazzaldia celebrates its 45th edition. From the 21st to the 25th of July, once again on the occasion of the prestigious festival, the capital of Gipuzkoa will be surrounded by jazz music, a musical style that thousands and thousands of fans will be able to enjoy in the spaces prepared for the initiative in the city. In addition to those coming from abroad, the jazz groups of the Basque Country will also have the opportunity to present their music on the board thanks to the program dedicated to local groups. In this edition there will be exactly ten jazz bands from here, selected in the selection process that is currently underway.

The initiative to carry out a selection process among the jazz groups of the Basque Country, which was launched four years ago, has been confirmed by a very optimistic response from the Jazz Organizing Committee. In recognition of the musical material broadcast by the bands, fifteen have been given the opportunity to perform in various clubs in San Sebastian (Jade Caravan, Gabacho Connection, Los Wachisneis, Lazio Brothers, Sagi Quartet, Asier, Ajavares, Dynamic Trio, Stay Blues, The Hot Wok, 4Roots, R.S. Factor, Gregario De Luxe, Frida Pipol and Broken Brothers Brass Brand). The quality of the music and its relevance to the programming style of the Jazz Festival are taken into account when making this first choice. These groups are giving free performances from February to May at the FNAC Forum in Teserri and at the Victoria Eugenia Theatre Club. According to what has been heard and seen in these performances, the Jazz Organizing Committee will decide which of the ten Basque Country teams will be on stage this year.

The selection is in process R.S. Factor and Frida Pipol. The members of the first group are high-level graduates within the Jazz department at the Musikene Higher School of Music. Frida Pipol in the area of Errenteria is the fruit of the local trial. Despite not having the same opinion about jazz, both have characteristics that make them equal: the desire to make their music appear in public.

Access to a large audience

Nuances The two groups of nuances come together to make sure that the San Sebastian jazz festival is a good opportunity for them, especially because it gives them the opportunity to perform in front of a large audience. Frida Pipol bass player Iñaki Yague has confirmed that playing in Jazzaldia is one of her challenges as a musician. “All of us have always been fans of Jazzaldia and participating in it is a dream for us.” Seeing the groups around them playing in this type of initiative encouraged them to sign up. Olatz Otxoa Ochi, Iñaki Yague, Txema Aragones, Iker Ramos, Phillipe Enoch Wallace and Beñat Kortajarena started their musical project in 2002 and since then they have been working in the fields of funky, blues and jazz. “For us it is a great honor to be in the selection process, since we are amateur comparing ourselves to the rest of the teams.” They are aware that thanks to the program of local Jazz groups they have a unique opportunity: “It gives us the illusion of bands like us, and precisely because of the illusion, we move from small challenges; that is what drives us to continue in music.” He affirms that the goal is to reach as many people as possible once a musical project has been in hand and that this is guaranteed by festivals of this type. “They pay more attention to the group and consider you more for other festivals, parties or musical initiatives. And that’s always good for an amateur team like us.” Not only that, but the festival also gives them the opportunity to meet musicians who share their interests and concerns.

According to R.S. Factor was founded in 2007 by the musicians Rubén Salvador, Julen Izarra, Alejandro Satxa Soriazu, Javier Mayor and Hasier Oleaga. They make jazz of different varieties based on spontaneity. They work in swing, latin, ballad, blues, contemporary jazz, reggae and funk styles, among others. In addition to this musical project, they also work with renowned musicians such as Getaral Mendibil, Ruper Ordorika, Juan Carlos Pérez or Iñaki Salvador. The trumpet player Rubén Salvador admits that the Jazz Festival is a very important springboard for the bands here, but he thinks that the organizers take advantage of it and that the local and external bands do not value them in the same way: “They use us to fill the time gaps within the jazz program, and besides, these live shows are very poorly paid.” In addition, he does not believe that foreign groups with a similar level of direct exchange receive the same remuneration. Although they know that this is the case, they have decided to participate in the festival because as musicians it is important for them to perform in front of many people and it helps them to have a more complete curriculum.

The Yaguas have a different vision, because although the concerts of the local bands are relatively early, they attract many curious and itinerant people, which makes them think that they are very well received. “Last year, 1,500 people attended the Billie Jeans concert and it’s a band with a musical level similar to ours.” They get people moving at all hours.

Shortage of opportunities throughout the year

According to R.S. In the opinion of the Factory, they want to show that they are doing something for the teams here through the local teams program. “By offering more opportunities to perform in public or completing year-round programming, then they would really support us.” In fact, for the July festival, jazz music is heard everywhere, but remember that if you want to play the rest of the year you have to do your own and two. In view of this, Salvador’s proposal is to program twice a month in a club, that is, to do what they are doing now because of the selection of local teams, also throughout the year, but in better conditions. “We need to be seen and valued.” Even Yague agrees with this and confesses that he would like more people to move around jazz: “In the festivals of the Basque Country, the musical styles of rock, punk and pop-rock are heard the most and just funk and soula. In any case, even if people don’t go for it, when they find it, they’re shocked.” It also organizes adequate numbers of festivals in its image; however, it lacks a firm stance in favor of colorful styles. It also requires more bold bets even in the face of Jazzaldia, I would like to take the risk. For example, bringing to the beach stage bands that aren’t known but would wear a lot of stage. This would serve, among other things, to sharpen the viewer's ear in his image.

With the San Sebastián Jazz Festival there is a huge increase in the fondness for this music, but for the rest, the audience is not that crowded. “It has become a social action; in San Sebastián in those days everyone goes out to listen to jazz, whether they understand it or not,” adds Salvador. In any case, he emphasizes that he also has an optimistic side because a great meeting of people is created.
In his opinion, jazz is a music that grows from a more general perspective, both because there are more people listening and because the number of experts has grown. In San Sebastián, in particular, through Musikene a significant quarry has been created; the group of people who are playing is notable, as well as those who attend concerts as spectators and support jazz.
Both musicians look forward to this year’s Jazz Festival and recognize that they have hope to participate. R.S. wants to stage fresh songs based on new trends. Factor groups, undermining the standard. It will also offer the participation of all team members and a great interaction between them.For their part, the members of

Frida Pipol propose a musical bet of many colors, ingenuous and optimistic. “We combine different styles in the live, creating a danceable party.” In fact, their musical conception is contagious and they get people to participate in the live ones.

The proposals are there, now all that remains to be done is to find out which bands from the Basque Country will be on the stage next to the big names of jazz in July.