All that Jazz.
What has JAZZ got to do with property on the French Riviera?
Why am I writing about JAZZ on a real estateblog?
Marsalis says “Jazz is not just ‘Well, man, this is what I feel like playing.’ It’s a very structured thing that comes down from a tradition and requires a lot of thought and study”.…and so does real estate which is not just ‘Well, man, this is what I feel like building’.
Or it isn’t normally like that, and if it is you don’t want to buy it!
Is that reason enough to write about JAZZ on a property website?
Louis Armstrong said
“If you have to ask what jazz is, you’ll never know”
And in case we were confused
“All music is folk music, I ain’t never heard no horse sing a song.”
Bringing on the music!
For us it was the treat of a lifetime. In the 1970’s we used to listen and love to dance to our George Benson L.P’s. NEVER imagining that we’d see him perform, on a beach, in Juan les Pins, on a starry night, with the Mediterranean as the backdrop.
But that’s what happened last Saturday night! And it was AMAZING!
It wasn’t our first time to Jazz a Juan. We were lucky to see Norah Jones there two years ago.
Jazz a Juan is one for the world’s great Jazz festivals, 54 years since it began in 1960. It takes place annually over two weeks in July, with two acts every night. (We saw Beth Hart before GB came on and loved her show. We came straight home and bought a whole lot of her songs online – highly recommended!) It wasn’t George Benson’s first time either – in fact it was a celebration, because his first time to Jazz a Juan was in 1964 when he was just 21. It was his fiftieth anniversary gig!
He told us that when he came here in 1964 he had never seen the sea, nor a beach or a palm tree in his life, so it was a very BIG deal for him, and has remained his favourite for the 7 visits he has made to the festival since. And did he enjoy his evening! They had a real party up there, so we were the lucky ones!
This year there were 24 stars to choose from but the biggest names (to us at least) are GB of course, and Stevie Wonder who plays this Friday with Gregory Porter as the opening act!
Whilst dropping names, here are just a few more who have played at Juan les Pins over the last 54 years – in no particular order as they say – Ray Charles, Fats Domino, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Muddy Waters, Oscar Peterson, Jimmy Cliff, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, James Brown, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Johnny Clegg, Randy Crawford, Chuck Berry, Miriam Makeba, Joe Cocker, Bob Dylan, Tracy Chapman, B.B.King, Isaac Hayes, Dave Brubeck, Norah Jones, James Blunt, Bill Wyman, Jeff Beck, Joss Stone, Jamie Cullum, Carlos Santana, Sting – and many, many more!
The French Riviera is renowned for many good things and every month, every week, every day there’s something that you really shouldn’t miss going on.
Little wonder that the whole world wants a little piece of property on the French Riviera, and all that Jazz!
A “jazzy” villa for sale in the hills above Cannes, overlooking the Mediterranean.
