A successful edition
From the Chapiteau to the Temple, via the Next Step, the Club and the town's cellars, over 55,000 festival-goers turned out for the 9-day Cully Jazz Festival, despite the capricious weather.
Wayne Shorter captivated the audience, Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés provided one of the Festival's liveliest moments, not forgetting the trio formed by Paolo Fresu, Jan Lundgren and Richard Galliano with HEMU students. The eagerly-awaited Franco-Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf thrilled the enthusiastic Chapiteau crowd.
A number of Swiss artists also shone this year, including Thaïs Diarra from Bienne, the trios of Gauthier Toux and Florian Favre, and the powerful duo formed by Tobias Preisig and Stefan Rusconi, who presented Levitationa powerful, luminous opus recorded at the Culliéran Temple in July 2014.
A total of 12 Festival IN concerts were sold out, and 13,300 tickets were sold. The total budget for this 2016 edition exceeds 2 million francs, and the financial result should be close to break-even.
The Club, a successful first year
New for this 34th edition, the Club's new stage welcomed artists from some of today's finest jazz bands: Eyot's Serbian quartet, Phronesis' Scandinavian-British trio and Sylvain Rifflet's metal project were among the most talked-about experiences at this new Festival venue.
Great success for Autour du jazz
Numerous cultural mediation activities played a major role at this year's Cully Jazz, with musical bal(l)ades by Pierre Corajoud, a concert in the dark, creative workshops and sounds, offering privileged access to young people and adults alike. Special mention should be made of the Treasure Hunt on Saturday April 9, which attracted no fewer than 600 people, and the Concert Explained to the schools of Bourg-en-Lavaux, which brought together more than 300 pupils for a jazz lesson.
The 35th edition of the Cully Jazz Festival will take place from March 31 to April 8, 2017.
