Silhouettes swayed beneath the soft glow of the street lamps. The six voices of Gospel Lab could feel the flow spreading through the crowd as dozens of people found themselves unable to remain seated. Most were women, although even the sound technician — and a few men in the audience — eventually joined the impromptu choreography.
It was not because finding a seat at Portal Nou had been impossible fifteen minutes before some of the island’s finest singers took the stage. Aránzazu Fernández, Jordi Sanou, Clàudia Bardagí, Matteo Crocetti, Eslauren and Reya Thomas joined the Big Band Ciutat d’Eivissa, bringing their voices to a performance built around one of the ensemble’s most familiar traditions: sharing the stage with guest artists.
On the second night of Eivissa Jazz, the big band from Eivissa — around fifteen musicians deeply rooted in the island’s vibrant musical scene — delivered a fiery set that drew thousands of people to Reina Sofia Park beneath the walls of Dalt Vila.
The atmosphere intensified as Heatwave’s “Boogie Nights” kicked off a carefully crafted repertoire. The band treated each piece with energy, elegance and a clear desire to connect with the audience. That connection grew stronger as the concert travelled through the best of soul, funk, disco and R&B.
It was a Saturday-night fever for a Wednesday evening.
The performance eventually moved towards a more ceremonial gospel finale with “Magnify the Lord”, a fitting reminder that music can sometimes feel like a way of reaching the heavens. For the Big Band Ciutat d’Eivissa, the concert was also a celebration: the ensemble marked its 10th anniversary in spectacular fashion.
Ibossim Flamenco returns to Eivissa Jazz
“Water!” shouted Pedro Brekón from one side of the stage as Carlos Sarduy pushed through an intense trumpet solo. Around them, percussion and brass players — Alain Ladrón de Guevara, Aarón Puente, Omar Guzmán, Luis González “El Coco” and Marcelo “Tumba Latimba” — gave shape to a performance that marked the return of Ibossim Flamenco to Eivissa Jazz after fifteen years.
“We’ve brought together gypsies and Cubans to make people enjoy themselves,” Noemí Escudero had said before disappearing briefly behind the curtain.
The singer and leader of a project that has spent years raising flamenco’s palos while opening them up to other musical languages, including jazz, returned with a finale packed with palmas, Cuban tumbaos and a touch of granaína.
The result was a celebration tinged with melancholy, dedicated to Federico García Lorca, ninety years after his murder and disappearance during the Spanish Civil War.
“He loved our people so much that there is always a good reason to remember him,” Escudero told the audience before introducing a majestic encore, “El romance de la luna.”
It was a moment of pure artistry, performed by a married couple whose connection goes well beyond show business. Escudero and Brekón are partners both on and off stage, and parents to two daughters, Habana and Allegra, who are already showing signs of following in their parents’ artistic footsteps.
While their parents performed, the girls ran beneath the ancient walls of Dalt Vila, adding an intimate family scene to a night defined by music, heritage and cultural fusion.
The third night of Eivissa Jazz brings another eclectic line-up
The third day of Eivissa Jazz promises another enticing musical combination at the Baluard de Santa Llúcia.
The programme features The Illusions, with saxophonist Nathan Haines as a special guest, alongside L.A.B. Trio.
After a second night that moved seamlessly between big-band jazz, gospel, soul, funk and flamenco, the festival continues to showcase the diversity and creative energy at the heart of Eivissa’s music scene.