The bucolic landscape of the Monferrato hills, in North-west Italy, is home to one of the most unique, variegated, and long-lived music festivals in Europe. Jazz:Re:Found, since its’ inaugural edition fifteen years ago, has grown to become an unmissable appointment for any open-minded music enthusiast and industry professional as well, who look at it as the perfect example of a boutique festival.
After a couple of venue changes throughout the years, in 2019 Jazz:Re:Found has found home in the tiny village of Cella Monte, a splendid UNESCO World Heritage site on top of one of the many hills surrounded by vineyards that characterize the Monferrato region. This year’s edition, taking place from August, 31 to September, 3rd, features, as usual, a much-diversified music selection that ranges from neoclassical and experimental live performances to feel-good, no-nonsense House and Disco DJ sets, courtesy of a carefully picked lineup of young local heroes and world-traveled veterans.
Jazz:Re:Found Festival 2023 – the lineup
Starting the dances on Thursday are Naples’ own Nu Genea with their live band. After gaining international acclaim thanks to their unique DJ sets, built on their hometown’s most obscure records, the duo released their sophomore album “Bar Mediterraneo” and focused on promoting it on tour with a full live band that they will bring to Cella Monte. Before them is Panorama Bar resident Lakuti and Turin-based selector Andrea Passenger.
Friday will feature a much broader lineup, whose highlights will certainly be the concert of German neoclassical composer Nils Frahm, whereas house music legend Louie Vega will be behind the decks to do his thing. And let’s not forget about Gilles Peterson, a long-time friend of Jazz:Re:Found who’s been bringing his encyclopedic knowledge of dance music wherever he went in the world for more than 30 years; he will be joined by his former Dingwalls partner Patrick Forge, another monument of British DJ culture.
Saturday will be hot and offer some more heavyweights with the likes of refined selector Ben UFO, the eclectic Mr. Scruff, the unpredictable Lefto, and many, many more. The festival’s last day, Sunday, promises to keep the quality level as high as usual but focuses more on live acts such as electronic-jazz behemoths The Comet Is Coming, who are disbanding later this year, Belgian up-and-comers Echt!, and French multi-instrumentalist FKJ who will close down the event with his delicate compositions.
Apart from the interesting and variegated lineup, Jazz:Re:Found’s strength lies in the unique experience it can provide, with its’ four stages scattered throughout the picturesque village of Cella Monte. During those special four days a year, the village itself becomes the festival, hosting typical food and wine stands in the streets, shoulder-to-shoulder with the local shops.
Walking these streets and taking your time to explore the surroundings helps to immerse yourself into that one-of-a-kind laid-back atmosphere that sets this festival apart from the majority; a sort of a slow food experience, if you will, enhanced by the possibility to plant your tent in the camping area to completely dive into the wonders of the well-kept secret that is the Monferrato region. Bus transportation from Milan will be available, with details to be specified on Jazz:Re:Found’s social media pages.
Find more info and tickets here.
