Leïla Olivesi, Tyreek McDole and SF Jazz Collective at the Angrajazz festival

“Fwe have been invited for 27 years to organize a jazz festival (...). We thought we absolutely fulfilled the goals we had, that it was to present a festival of great quality and to mark the calendar. And, in fact, today no one has any doubt that Angrajazz is in the national jazz calendar ", said José Ribeiro Pinto, of the Cultural Association Angrajazz, in the presentation of the poster.

“ All the great jazz lovers know there's Angra Jazz and they'd all like to come to Angra Jazz. And many come, fortunately. We have about 27% audience that comes from outside the island to watch the Angra Jazz ", added.

This year, the festival, which takes place in Angra do Heroísmo, on Terceira Island, marks the centenary of the birth of “two absolutely unavoidable figures in jazz history”, Miles Davis and John Coltrane.

The festival starts on day 02 with the Angrajazz Orchestra, “the oldest amateur orchestra in the country”, which this year invites musicians from the Angra Conservatory of Heroism and the Hot Club Jazz School.

Directed by Pedro Moreira, the orchestra will revisit the albums “Miles Ahead” and “Porgy and Bess”, which resulted from a partnership between trumpet player Miles Davis and composer Gil Evans.

Even on the first night of the festival, the octet of French pianist Leïla Olivesi, with the project “African Rhapsody” takes place at the Cultural Center and Congresses of Angra do Heroísmo.

José Ribeiro Pinto stressed that the pianist and composer, who has a “great career”, was “elected several times ‘Music of the Year’ in France”.

The second night opens with Portuguese pianist and composer Pedro Neves, who, after several records recorded in trio, released “Northern Train”, his first quartet album, “very applauded by critics”.

The following is the quartet of American singer Tareek McDole, “elected by Jazz Magazine magazine revelation of the year 2025” and winner of Jazz Vocal Sarah Bogdan in 2023.

On the last day, the festival hosts the duo of pianist Aaron Parks and US saxophonist Walter Smith III, who play John Coltrane's ballads and compositions in which they were inspired by the music of the American saxophonist.

“ They formed this group to celebrate John Coltrane's 100th anniversary at the request of a Belgian organization, and come to do four concerts in Europe. And they offered to come here. Therefore, this demonstrates well the importance that Angrajazz has in the jazz scene, not only in the national scene but also in the international scene ", Miguel Cunha, from the Angrajazz Cultural Association.

The festival ends again with sounds from the United States, with the SF Jazz Collective, which this year invited saxophonist Chris Potter to gather a septe and compose music inspired by the exhibition “About Place”, of the Museums of Fine Arts of San Francisco.

“The New York Times says it’s the most important contemporary jazz band,” said José Ribeiro Pinto.

In addition to the three days of the festival, the association also promotes Jazz on the Street, the week before it, in which it takes local and national bands to cafes and public places in the city of Angra do Heroísmo.

In total, the budget is around EUR 120 000, with public and private support and an estimated ticket office revenue of EUR 20,000.

José Ribeiro Pinto lamented the unpredictability of the allocation of support from the Regional Government of the Azores, claiming that it is only possible to organize the festival because the association works free of charge and has a “cushion” to cope with the waiting time.

“ We, at the moment, have no idea whether Tourism [regional direction] will give something or not. In recent years, it's given 25,000 euros. This year, they say it's going down, it won't work. We don’t know and it’s 25 thousand euros,” he said.

With greater predictability, the organization claims that it could bring larger groups or more sonative names at a better price, but José Ribeiro Pinto does not believe that the festival is no longer supported.

“ It will take a lot of courage not to support Angrajazz, because Angrajazz is an institution. Everyone knows, across the region, across the country and around the world. For example, we receive emails every day from foreign musicians offering to come play at Angrajazz ", stressed.

This year, the price of tickets has increased by one euro. Daily admission costs between 16 and 23 euros and the three-day package between 41 and 64 euros, with daily tickets of seven euros for over 65 years and under 25.

“ We are always very careful in the conservation of the public and we live in a region that is not exactly rich. We are fully aware that the prices we present here are practically derisory about other festivals or other national stages, but we are also aware of the public we have and the limitations of the public ", explained Luís Mendes, of the association Angrajazz.

The municipality of Angra do Heroísmo supports the festival in 30,000 euros and anticipates the estimated ticket office value of 20,000 euros.

“It’s quite considerable support. It is a support that is given by the municipality also having the notion of the importance that this festival has for the way it manages to attract the public, not only from each island, but also from outside the island Terceira ", said the vice president of the municipality, Guido Teles.