Sapri Jazz Waves

Jazz on the Gulf of Policastro

Sapri Jazz Waves is the jazz festival that defines the summer in Sapri, a town in the province of Salerno, Campania, overlooking the Gulf of Policastro at the southern tip of the Cilento region. Founded in 2011 by the social promotion association Officine Creative - Luigi Sainato, the event offers a series of open-air evening concerts every year between July and August, designed to connect holidaymakers with high-quality Italian jazz.

The connection to the local area has been clear from the start: the organizers explain that the festival was born from a love for Cilento, the town of Sapri, music, and visionary ideas. This approach has led the festival to change its setting several times over the years, while always remaining outdoors and just a stone's throw from the sea.

Festival Venues

The first editions were held in the gardens of the "Del Sole al Plebiscito" hotel, an intimate and ideal setting for listening. As the audience grew, the concerts moved to larger city spaces:

• Viale della Spigolatrice, the promenade named after the famous literary figure linked to the Carlo Pisacane expedition of 1857;
• Piazza Plebiscito, the civic heart of the city;
• Seafront performance area, the summer stage overlooking the gulf, now the main venue for the concerts.

Over a decade of music

The festival has surpassed its fourteenth edition and has hosted groups from the Italian jazz scene as well as nationally renowned names. Some documented highlights:

• 2012 (2nd edition), from July 21st to August 1st in the gardens of the "Del Sole al Plebiscito" hotel: Elisabetta Serio Trio at the opening and, in closing, a group with Fabrizio Bosso as a special guest on trumpet;
• 12th edition, with the first evenings on Viale della Spigolatrice (July 30th and 31st) and the closing in Piazza Plebiscito on August 16th, featuring everything from the Pasquale Mandia trio to the "Piano Stereo" piano duo;
• 2023 (13th edition), August 6th on the seafront, with Fabrizio Bosso and Julian Oliver Mazzariello in the project "Il Cielo è Pieno di Stelle", a tribute to Pino Daniele;
• 2024 (14th edition), from July 27th to August 12th, with the Daniele Bonaviri Trio, the Elisabetta Serio 4et with special guest Ste, and the I Passaggi di Tempo collective.

Free admission, nocturnal atmosphere

The formula has remained essentially the same over the years: free admission, seating on a first-come, first-served basis, and concerts starting around 10:00 PM, when the heat subsides and the seafront becomes the city's natural living room. It is a deliberate choice that makes the festival accessible to residents and tourists alike, helping it build a loyal following.

Beyond concerts: clinics and jam sessions

Over the years, the Sapri Jazz Waves Clinics have developed around the main program, featuring workshops and jam sessions that connect emerging musicians with the festival's guest professionals. This aspect gives the event an educational value in addition to its entertainment, in a geographical area where jazz study opportunities are not frequent.

Sapri and Cilento in summer

Attending a Sapri Jazz Waves concert also means discovering one of the most characteristic ports on the Cilento coast. Sapri marks the southern end of the Campania coastline, with its beaches, harbor, and a center that comes alive in summer with festivals, shows, and fairs. In this context, jazz acts as a cultural glue: an Italian program with an international scope, capable of attracting enthusiasts from nearby Basilicata and upper Calabria, just a few dozen kilometers away.