Blues n Jazz Festival Rapperswil
Date: 27th June 2008
This evening we went down to Rapperswil for
the annual Blues
n Jazz festival. We arrived at 18:30 on the first day of
this three day event to see Otis
Grand & Bluesgamblers kick off Friday evening in Fischmarktplatz. We
secured our seats at the Dieci
pizzeria for a spot of dinner being careful to ensure we
overlooked the stage. Having order our dinners, we kicked back
in the summer sun - simply waiting for both dinner and the
gigs to get going.
Shortly after our food arrived, Otis took to the stage
After
the Bluesy style of Otis Grand, the exuberant style of Johnny
Sansone was quite somethin'. The enthusiasm acordionist
and harmonica player Johnny Sansone has for his music, his
original music, is contagious and the crowd caught it. Big
style. Playing many tunes from his latest album Poor Man's
Paradise Johnny seems to take many of his cues from the real
life - some of which seem to come from his home town of New
Orleans which (according to his website) turned
his life upside down along with the lives of many others.
While the acordian is not normally my particular choice of
instrument, Johnny's evervesant persona, skilled playing and
straight-forward down to earth subject material made his performance
highly enjoyable.
After
Johnny Sansone, we headed onto Rapperswil's Hauptplatz to see
the Louisiana born blues guitarist Sherman Robertson. Known
being the the guitarist of choice on Paul Simon's Graceland
album, Shermans energetic performance went down a treat the
spacious, yet full, Hauptplatz.
At
the end of the evening we made our way back to Fischmarktplatz
to see the legendary Roger
Chapman. Chappos musical skills are beyond doubt having
previously sung the hit "Shadow on the Wall" on Mike
Oldfield's Crises album and further success in Germany and
other European countries. I've never seen Chappo live before
and have to admit I was excited when I discovered he was performing.
As is customary in Rapperswil, the mood at the Blues n Jazz was convivial. The crowd is friendly, local and, generally, has a good knowledge of blues and jazz.
My sincere thanks goto Urs Hämmerle (President of the Committee and Hotelier) and the Committee of the Blues n Jazz Festival for their hard work in organising the Blues n Jazz Festival. Of course, my thanks also goto the performing artists without whom this gig would not be possible.
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Related websites
- Blues n Jazz Festival
Official website of Blues n Jazz Festival - Rapperswil Tourism
Official website of Rapperswil Tourismus - Rappi Fasnacht
Official website of Fasnacht