In 1978 I bought an album by the New York Jazz Quartet called Song Of The Black Knight. It contained a tune called Estoril Soul, and I guessed that its composer – Roland Hanna, I think – had had a good holiday in Estoril. I now realise that the tune was probably a tribute to the Estoril-Cascais jazz festival, as well as a word-play on Estoril Sol, the hotel which accommodates the festival’s musicians.
Despite its early immortalisation in the NYJQ’s tune, the Estoril festival, unlike those in Nice, The Hague, Antibes, Montreux and elsewhere, remains largely unknown outside Portugal. In part this perhaps results from Portugal’s relatively recent emergence into mainstream European life. From 1926 to 1974 it lived under authoritarian rule, first of António Salazar and later Marcelo Caetano, and it’s tempting to see the shanty towns which sprout between the sliproads and freeways on the outskirts of Lisbon as a legacy of that period.
The jazz festival has always featured top American artists, but it has one significant disadvantage for prospective foreign visitors. Although the 1995 programme, the 14th, boasted a selection of the best of the summer’s festival roster – James Carter, Maceo Parker, Nat Adderley, George Shearing, Ray Brown, Kevin Mahogany and Jimmy Johnson – it had only these (no fringe or local events) and arranged them in a series of concerts over three weekends, July 1-15. Thus any hope of a festival ambience was thwarted, and the foreign enthusiast who would spend three weeks in Portugal solely, or even primarily, for the sake of seven concerts by artists they could probably see nearer home must be a rare breed.
There is also a problem of profile for the festival, even in local terms. Cascais, where half the concerts took place, is only a modest sized fishing port, but mention of the event to one expat American met with the response ‘What jazz festival?’
Festival organiser Duarte Mendonca has been made aware of the benefits of condensing the concerts into a shorter period, but he fears that in the event of, say, a one-week festival, his local audience would be reduced by holiday or work commitments.
Whatever the logistical problems of the festival, it certainly has much else going for it. Lying about half an hour west of Lisbon airport, the Cascais-Estoril conurbation is a mature and picturesque tourist resort enjoying a moderately rather than blisteringly hot summer and fully geared up to the exploitation of its fine sandy beaches, marine gastronomy and royal past. The extraordinarily opulent 19th century palace perched on a high hill at nearby Sintra must have broken many backs in the course of its construction, if not the royal bank.
The outdoor location for a number of the concerts was no less attractive. This year, due to the refurbishment of their old home, the Parque Palmela behind the Hotel Estoril Sol, the al fresco events were transferred to the Parque Marechal Carmona, its peacocks providing a fitting antiphony to James Carter’s squawkier moments. Next year, the festival will come closer to the one-site ideal, moving back to the Parque Palmela and adding jam sessions in the hotel after the main concerts. Indoor concerts took place in the air-conditioned auditorium of Estoril Casino, where the 76-year-old George Shearing and his excellent new quintet with Louis Stewart gave a typically immaculate and compelling performance.
The appeal of such settings and the energy and dedication of Duarte Mendonca are beyond question. Given more investment and a bit of telescoping and programme tweaking, Estoril-Cascais could be a contender for the festival first division.
For details of Estoril Jazz 96, contact the Portuguese Trade and Tourism Office, 2nd Floor, 22-25A Sackville St, London W1X IDE. Tel: 0171 494 1441. Fax: 494 1868.
