by Franco Banchi

Not everyone knows that UNESCO in 2011 declared the 30th of April the International Jazz Day to celebrate such a renowned musical genre and its ability to unite people all over the world. Listening to jazz music is a more suggestive experience if accompanied by good food.

Therefore, International Jazz Day is the perfect excuse to elicit a delicious meal that suits the occasion and helps to savour the music more intensively. The right, well-chosen gastronomic pairing can reawaken all senses in perfect harmony with a festival, a jazz club where unique and incredibly inspired original bands perform.

The first jazz players in New Orleans had among their most unchained fans those women who often became excellent cooks and fed musicians between concerts. The ballroom shows, or those inside the smaller barrelhouse offered typical Creole cuisine food too. We cannot forget those who, during the exhausting tours on busses coast to coast, other than playing, had to cook too, such as the poor Billie Holiday. They say she cooked for all of William “Count” Basie’s orchestra members.

And that is why, to our days, the most renowned European Jazz festivals, such as the one in Nice, have accompanied the exhibitions of phenomenal jazz musicians in the Cimiez Arena with colourful, noisy and delicious outdoor dinners. It’s with great pleasure that I recall in that magical context the virtuous mix of musical richness by Dave Brubeck, Jerry Mulligan, and B.B. King and the robust flavours of the creole cuisine.

The philosophy of contamination: from jazz to the table 

The history of Creole cuisine, like jazz music, derives from different cultures, origins, and traditions. Simple and earthy cuisine made with local components and enriched with spices and foreign aromas. The ingredients of jazz are not that far from this philosophy.

In New Orleans, the cuisine and jazz music originated both from contamination. Consequently, their marriage is perfect. An example comes from two culinary legacies: cajun and creole.

Cajun were the French colonizers who came from Canada and emigrated to the south of Louisiana at the end of the eighteenth century. In New Orleans, they built the French Quarter, bringing their culture, foods, and specific recipes that today, after three centuries, we can recognize as part of the traditions of that area. The Cajun cuisine is a mix of French cuisine and southern US traditions, where smoked meats, spicy pork sausages and rice known as boudin or river shrimps are cooked all together in one pot: the jambalaya.

But, as already written, the Creole cuisine is notable too, a result of European and African, Caribean and Spanish heritage, which constitute the majority of the population. The dominance of the so-called “holy trinity”, green peppers, onions and celery, sets off this sacredness.

The gastronomic peculiarities of this cradle of jazz were – and are – tripe, offal, red cabbage, red beans with rice (Fletcher Henderson also wrote a song in honour of this dish), joints, tails, trotters, and pig head.

Food among sounds and tastes: a word to jazz players.

Jazz musicians love to describe the subtle and inseparable connection between music and nourishment.

In a brief Mediterranean journey, we can focus on some episodes.

Paolo Fresu, one of the most important contemporary musicians, trumpeter and composer, has published a fascinating album with Omar Sosa, entitled Food, dedicated to the pleasure and need for nourishment in all its dimensions. According to this trumpet player, born in Sardinia and a profound expert of the Mediterranean culture, “food and music are two universes that intersect and illuminate emotions”. According to Fresu, an original uniqueness moves around food, and music can effectively represent it: from cutlery racks to the clinking of classes, from the crackle of embers to the gurgle of poured water.

Even to Stefano Di Battista, a renowned jazz saxophonist, the parallel between music and food is clear, so that it is an “absolute nourishment for the mind” and a provider of nearly physical sensations, hope, and magic.

Up and down Italy: jazz music in food and drinks.

In recent years, Italy has climbed many positions in its relationship with jazz music: it is now home to vital events and festivals, quite often accompanied by local dishes and wine. From the Alps to the Mediterranean, the variations on the theme are intriguing indeed, many created specifically to enhance musical events. It is a real gastronomic tour along the Italian boot. And here are some tastings.

The chefs of Val di Fiemme, with creativity, have dedicated specific recipes to the greats of jazz music. Thus, in Cavalese, they named after Duke Ellington the goat’s cheese tortello served on leek cream with crushed walnuts. They prepared a real culinary jam in Varena: red turnip gnocchi and Cavalese goat cheese core on a vegetable mix. In Predazzo, their proposal involved the legendary Louis Armstrong: black bread cream with poached eggs, spinach and cubes of Puzzone di Moena from mountain pastures. Even the mountain refuges gave their fundamental contribution, as in the case of Passo Rolle, with a tribute to Charlie Parker: a nest of polenta with melted cheeses from Fiemme and Primiero sprinkled with cranberry jam.

Torino has always been devoted to jazz and culinary experimentation thanks to valuable chefs who have bent foods and ingredients towards new and unprecedented horizons. That is the case of rice, to which they have attempted to infuse the essence of jazz music, a musical foundation to build all the jam sessions and the entertainment we want. We can start with a tasty rice base, first dry roasted, then cooked in oyster water – derived from different consistencies – sea butter and wild garlic oil. A recipe that further intensifies the savouring of the oyster and the taste of the sea in the mouth.

There is no shortage of more youthful and casual proposals, such as the Gombo Jazz pizza, a new recipe with asparagus cream seasoned with Creole spices, prawns marinated in lemon grass and light celery mayonnaise, and the Louis Armstrong hamburger. In this case, simple elements, such as chicken, are combined in a balanced and harmonious manner with more refined – and in the past forbidden – ingredients, such as the whiskey that flavoured the barbecue sauce. Home-marinated cucumber, salad, and dehydrated and crunchy onion complete the burger.

Without any doubt, wine has become one of the most researched combinations with jazz music, as proven by the large number of vineyards and cellars that, around the world, host annual events. The two art forms have become so entwined that people describe jazz and wine using the same definitions. Jazz music offers notes and nuance, just like a good wine containing entire worlds we have to visit several times.

One of the many examples we can make comes from the celebrated Jazz and wine in the Montalcino wine region. Moving to Southern Italy, we can point to Pomigliano Jazz, which, near the various musical stages, usually includes the tasting and communication of the wines produced with the native Campania vines. Before and after the concerts, it is possible to immerse in the colours, aromas and tastes of the wines of Vesuvius, above all the Lacryma Christi, the Catalanesca of Monte Somma, the Gragnano and the Lettere, the Aglianico, the Greco, the Fiano, the Coda di Volpe and Falanghina, in its different varietal nuances and territorial expressions of Cilento, Benevento and Irpinia.

Records playing with food.

We dedicate this final part to fun facts. We like to remember some famous jazz records, which, already in their title, refer to food and cooking, almost designing a complete menu.

We could start with Mark Knopfler’s unmistakable guitar and his thoughts dedicated to My Bacon Roll, followed by the lively interpretation of Chili Peppers by pianist Duke Pearson. Moving to Cheeseburger in Paradise, played by the Jimmy Buffett Band and T-bone Steak by Jimmy Smith, wizard of the electric organ, and continuing with lovely Mashed Potatoes cooked by Nat Kendrick & The Swans.

And we can’t miss a fine basket full of assorted fruit: Watermelon in Easter Hay by the brilliant Frank Zappa, Watermelon Man by pianist and bandleader Herbie Hancock and ‘Strange Fruit’ by Billie Holiday, a true monument of jazz and blues. Otherworldly.

The menu can end with the evocative sounds of Tasty Pudding, played by Chet Baker, one of the greatest jazz trumpeters, capable of creating a unique and peaceful atmosphere, perfect as musical accompaniment for an intimate dinner.

Jazz at the table

Chet Baker – Tasty Pudding

A jazz playlist isn’t so without Chet Baker. Among the greatest trumpeters in the world, his intimate artistic expression is perfect as background music for dinners and after-dinners. The atmosphere created by Tasty Pudding is soft and relaxed, in true Baker style.

Duke Ellington – Sugar Rum Cherry

Sugar Rum Cherry is Ellington’s stunning retelling of Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of the Flowers. Sensual and windy, it completely overturns the original version, recognizing the extraordinary touch of Duke Ellington. Your home will transform into the Cotton Club of the golden years.

Bud Powell – The Fruit

The piano is a smooth surface for Bud Powell, who seems to dance on the keys without the slightest effort. Powell was a true virtuoso, a fundamental figure for the birth of modern jazz. In The Fruit, you can enjoy all his creative flair and the fluidity of sounds.

Duke Pearson – Chili Peppers

With his elegant and essential style, Duke Pearson was a famous pianist in the sixties. His Chili Peppers combines jazz and funky influences with an engaging rhythm: the ideal soundtrack for a lively evening.

Jimmy Smith – T-bone Steak

Nicknamed the Incredible Jimmy Smith, his hallmark was the electric organ. With his music, Smith influenced the birth of soul jazz, which takes inspiration from blues, gospel and rhythm and blues: an eclectic triptych.

Paul Desmond – Samba with Some Barbecue

South American musicalities inspired Paul Desmond’s style: Samba with barbecue is the perfect example. Desmond said it “has a sound similar to a dry martini”. Even more so, it is the ideal soundtrack for a drink with friends.

Johnny Griffin – Hot Sausage

Griffin was one of the fieriest solo saxophonists in jazz history. That is why we can’t leave Hot Sausage out of our background music selection for dinner. With rhythm and liveliness, his arrangements will warm up the evening.

Tony Scott & Bill Evans – Vanilla Frosting On A Beef Pie

Tony Scott, clarinettist, and Bill Evans, pianist, collaborated over the years. And when two great jazz virtuosos meet, the result is only one: a perfect piece for an impeccable cocktail party.