In November, the Jazzinvaders were invited to play in Spain twice. On Friday the 14th, we arrived in Granada, a gorgeous town with a lot of history, a large community of students and among them – as it turned out – many music fans.
The night in the Boogaclub was just cooking. Linda and Rolf traded some serious improvisations on stage and the crowd almost almost tore down the roof as we pledged to play our third encore. On Saturday morning, we caught a glimpse of the beautiful city and enjoyed some healing Mediterranean Sun, despite the fierce obstruction by countless female hand-readers. During the afternoon, we travelled to Madrid by bus. A nice trip that exposed us to some breathtaking Spanish landscapes. In the country’s capital, we had an early soundcheck in Le Swing Club, a small but cosy nightclub-style place no jazz tourist would ever find. As we grabbed the chance to play more acoustically, it turned out to be a ball. The audience couldn’t stop dancing, this is how we like it! All credit goes to the bernice Spanish people who organized this, and thanks to Ton, our never-fatigued manager, who with only a single iPhone, did an incredible job bringing everything to a good end. From negotiating luggage conflicts with not-too-intelligent bus drivers, to maintaining the band’s signature sound in spite of color-deaf sound-engineers. From bringing sleepyhead tenorists to the airport on time, to unexpected expertise on local delis like cafe con lecce. This in brief, was our two memorable nights in Spain, and we are always ready for more!
Tom Beek