JazzAP - Festival Diffuso del Piceno

A festival that embraces the entire Piceno

JazzAP - Festival Diffuso del Piceno is one of the most original jazz festivals in the Marche region. Its formula is that of a widespread festival: instead of concentrating concerts in a single venue, JazzAP moves from town to town, bringing live music to the squares, parks, and viewpoints of a dozen municipalities in the province of Ascoli Piceno. Ascoli Piceno is the heart and starting point of the event, but the festival belongs to the entire Piceno territory, from the provincial capital to the coast of San Benedetto del Tronto, down to the villages of the hinterland and the towns at the foot of the Sibillini Mountains.

The philosophy of the widespread festival

The idea behind JazzAP is simple and powerful: jazz is not just music for clubs or auditoriums, but can become an experience that traverses places, people, and landscapes. Each concert is designed to interact with its setting, a historic square, a panoramic hill, a mountain viewpoint. Thus, the festival also becomes an invitation to discover the small centers of the Piceno, often far from the main tourist routes, accompanied by the notes of Italian and international artists.

International-calibre programming

The artistic direction of pianist Emiliano D'Auria has, over the years, built a program capable of uniting world jazz stars and new voices from the scene. Artists like Stefano Bollani, Erik Truffaz, and many protagonists of the national and foreign scene have performed on the JazzAP stage, alongside quartets, trios, and ensembles ranging from gospel to blues, from swing to more contemporary sounds. It is a festival that speaks to enthusiasts but also knows how to win over the general public, thanks to often free-entry evenings that fill the village squares.

Music, community, and territory

JazzAP is promoted by the Municipality of Ascoli Piceno along with the Province and the involved municipalities, with the participation of local communities, Pro Loco associations (local tourism promotion boards), and territory associations. In addition to concerts, festival editions have featured mountain excursions, meetings, and side events, intertwining musical culture with the discovery of the Piceno landscape. The result is an event that, edition after edition, has become an anticipated fixture of the Marche summer.

Where it takes place

The evenings take place in numerous municipalities in the province of Ascoli Piceno: in addition to the provincial capital, the festival reaches Monteprandone, Force, Spinetoli, Monsampolo del Tronto, Castignano, San Benedetto del Tronto, Montefiore dell'Aso, Castorano, Ripatransone, Montegallo, and the hamlet of Paggese, drawing a musical map that unites sea, hills, and mountains in the heart of the Marche.