In one world or the other

When two great artists such as Stefano Bollani and Trilok Gurtu meet on stage, we know we are in for a surprise. What we are promised is an unpredictable journey that starts with jazz and will land where improvisation meets experimentation. Their June 25 concert at Goldoni Theatre will open the 17th edition of the Venezia Jazz Festival. Piano and drums chase and challenge one another in a conversation that evolves with time in shape and in creative chaos.

Both contamination enthusiasts, Bollani and Gurtu range in genres like frontier explorers. Bollani has a deep, though playful, approach, and walks through music like reading a story we don’t know the end of. One of the most versatile, intriguing musicians in the European scene of today, he can range effortlessly from Bach to modern jazz, from Italian canzone to symphony. He worked with Enrico Rava, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, and Bill Frisell. Bollani performed with symphony orchestras in Leipzig and Paris, in Brazilian theatres, on TV, and in stages all over the world with irony, lightness, and depth. He was also awarded the Soundtrack Stars Award at the 2022 Venice Film Festival after his work on film and TV. Gurtu is a visionary and a radical – he revolutionized drumming by blending Indian, African, jazz, and electronic music into a very personal, very distinctive personal style. Born in a musical family in Mumbai, he began studying the table aged six. After moving to Europe in the 1970s, Gurtu grew to be an absolute reference point in world music and worked with Don Cherry, John McLaughlin, Jan Garbarek, Oregon, Ralph Towner, Joe Zawinul, Pat Metheny, Salif Keita, and Angélique Kidjo. His studio production touches spirituality, experimentation, and virtuoso style. Trilok Gurtu’s vision is one of bridges, not walls, and of listening, not labels. His projects Usfret, African Fantasy, Miles_Gurtu, and God Is a Drummer built a personal, powerfully inclusive musical universe. The 2025 Venezia Jazz Festival programme also lists Jean-Michel Jarre’s concert on July 3 and Giovanni Allevi’s on July 8. Venezia Jazz Festival is where we find beauty and vision in music. The Bollani/Gurtu concert is sure to be one of the most memorable of 2025.