Gulf News, United Arab Emirates
March 10 2007
Smooth and soulful jazz swings into Media City
By Marie-Louise Olson, Staff Reporter
It was a grand opening night at the Dubai International Jazz
Festival, which saw performances from Freddy Cole, Guy Manoukian,
Kamal Musallam Trio and Dee Dee Bridgewater. People flocked from all
walks of life to be a part of this much anticipated yearly event,
which was held in the Dubai Media City amphitheatre.
The evening started at 7pm with a fine performance from Kamal
Musallam Trio with Rony Afif on the drums, Elie Afif on the bass and
Kamal Musallam playing his artistry on the oud. People were scattered
about sitting on soft red bean-bags provided by Cacharel or on the
grass chatting and having a great time. There were also benches and
tables available for those who wanted a bite to eat.
Then came Freddy Cole. With a purple starry backdrop and green smoke
that curled around Cole and his piano on the Skywards Stage, the
audience sat mesmerised as they listened to the American legend. He
might be in his 70s, but Cole’s voice and presence on stage proved
yet again that age doesn’t matter. His captivating, smoky voice
singing, "I’m so in love. There’s nothing in life but you" was
exactly the swinging jazz sound the audience was craving. His raspy
whispers of love singing a Lionel Richie song got the audience
whistling and clapping. And as he occasionally glanced into the
crowds with a cheeky grin while biting his lower lip in passion, it
was obvious that he has surpassed the title of just being Nat King
Cole’s younger brother. Here was a true jazz legend.
Amazing energy
By the time Freddy Cole had finished his show the atmosphere was
lively and an amazing energy was in the air. People wandered over to
the Cadillac Stage to watch the next act – the young and popular Guy
Manoukian. The Lebanese singer with Armenian origins has been playing
classical piano since he was four years old. He was on fire and with
his 8-person band, he more than blew the crowd away. The music, which
Manoukian himself says is a fusion of Oriental and Arabic with rock,
jazz, blues, classical and funk, got everyone up from their chairs to
dance. Manoukian, whose onstage outfit was a red T-shirt and jeans,
played his piano with intense passion. There were no words, just
music. Half way through the show he finally spoke to the audience –
albeit with a little microphone confusion – and introduced his
musicians.
On came a guest singer, who with a raw and deep voice sang a
traditional Armenian song. After the show, Manoukian who has played
in Dubai many times before, said, "I just wanted to do one song to
add a little bit of my Armenian heritage. I did it to make one point
– that music has no boundaries. 99 per cent [of the audience] didn’t
understand what he was saying, but it was nice for the ears. When you
have a good sound, then it doesn’t matter."
Manoukian, who was pleased with the show, said: "The audience was
amazing, they were really communicating with me. I was glad to keep
them excited and stay unpredictable throughout the concert. I wanted
to leave my set on a high, and I think I did the best I could do
today."
The amphitheatre was packed now. Everyone was in a great mood, and as
the much anticipated performance by American diva Dee Dee Bridgewater
kicked off, people started dancing and grooving to the music. Dee
Dee’s music is completely African orientated. A few years ago she
started a quest to discover her African heritage and now embraces
Malian music as the connection to the ‘motherland’. With wrenching
emotion in her face, Dee Dee sang about Africa and kept the audience
captivated till the very last note.