Jazz festival on the Corniche is for newbies as well as aficionados

St Regis Abu Dhabi is hosting a new three day jazz festival beginning on October 15. Here's a look at what is in store.

The American trumpeter Dominick Farinacci. Mona Al-Marzooqi / The National

A touch of New York is coming to the capital this week. The St Regis luxury-hotel brand is bringing its acclaimed jazz heritage to its Abu Dhabi Corniche location with a three-day jazz festival.

The inaugural Jazz at St Regis will feature a host of performances, children’s workshops and a gala dinner compèred by award-winning international acts.

What’s happening

The event was designed in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center Doha, the glitzy jazz venue at St Regis Doha.

It kicks off tomorrow night with a Midnight Supper performance by the vocalist Gregory Generet and the American trumpeter Dominick Farinacci. Don’t worry, the Midnight Supper title is a name linked with an old St Regis tradition – the show actually begins at the more civilised time of 9pm. Tickets cost Dh450, including beverages.

Thursday is designed for the family. Held in conjunction with the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation, The St Regis Family Day will feature musicians mixing it up with the community. It will offer the ideal chance for children to receive their first trumpet lesson, aided by a professional musician. Tickets are Dh120.

The suits and gowns will be out on Friday night when the festival concludes with the Journeys with Jazz Gala. Again led by Generet and Farinacci, the glitzy evening will feature sophisticated tunes courtesy of up to 11 artists performing a range of styles, from romantic ballads to some east-meets-west fusion pieces. Ticket prices start at Dh500, including soft drinks.

The performers

Nearly a dozen international and regional performers will be involved over the three days.

The bill boasts a few standouts, including Farinacci, who is making his Abu Dhabi debut after wowing crowds as a regular at Jazz at Lincoln Center Doha.

Hand-picked by the jazz great Wynton Marsalis, the centre’s director, Farinacci, 31, has won numerous jazz awards and his smooth style and slick onstage banter is destined to make him a crowd favourite. .

Generet, meanwhile, has accumulated a devoted following in US jazz clubs thanks to a deep voice reminiscent of legendary crooners Johnny Hartman and Billy Eckstine.

Rounding out the major international artists is Christian Tamburr, the American vibraphonist who formerly toured with Julio Iglesias and Cirque du Solieil as its musical director.

It’s world music

With jazz festivals a mainstay on the international music circuit and Jazz at Lincoln Center opening its first overseas branch in Doha in 2012, the genre is essentially another form of world music, says Farinacci.

As the event’s headliner and global ambassador to Jazz at Lincoln Center, he played a key role in organising the festival and stresses that jazz can be enjoyed by all cultures.

“The platform of jazz is malleable and it is able to work with other musical cultures in a truly collaborative effort,” he says.

“Just take a look at the defining elements of jazz. The rhythm comes from African traditions, some of the harmonies come from Europe. And then you have other artists bringing in their own elements, particularly those from South America. So it really all works together.”

Bring the kids

Jazz at St Regis is all about removing the misconceptions surrounding the genre, the biggest of which is that it is purely an adult pursuit.

Hence the creation of Thursday’s family day, which includes morning and afternoon sessions.

Farinacci says he is delighted to bring the concept to Abu Dhabi after its success in Doha, where the monthly events regularly sell out.

“It’s brilliant and a lot of fun,” he says. “It’s a chance where we interact with the kids and we want to get them on stage and play with some drums. We will also have a piano player and singers and we will teach them a few lessons on that.

“The whole point is to get the whole family involved and it’s open to all, for those who never heard jazz before to actual music students.”

The first of many

The event will be the first and definitely not the last, according to Candice D’Cruz, the St Regis associate director of marketing.

She hopes it will become an annual fixture at which music lovers congregate to hear the best the genre has to offer.

“This is really what it’s about,” she says. “For people to come together and enjoy themselves. We don’t want it to feel like a highbrow event. Jazz has come a long way and we want it to show that it can be enjoyed by everyone and especially children.”

• For more information, call 02 694 4553 or email [e-mail]