KlapYaHandz, Cambodia’s first Hip Hop and Alternative music label plans to relaunch the International Jazz festival in Phnom Penh on April 30th envisioning to develop the jazz scene in Cambodia.
The Phnom Penh International Jazz Day will bring the Marc Berthoumieux Trio to Phnom Penh which includes Marc Berthoumieux himself (the accordion & band leader) Laurent Vernerey (Double & Bass guitar) and Giovanni Mirabassi (Piano).
“It’s been a decade already that our team brought you some exquisite jazz moments in the country, from Martin Jacobsen trio to all the outstanding musicians line up of the four editions of the "Audi international Jazz festival Phnom Penh" and the NHK trio Asian tour just right before the global Covid crisis. Today, we are proud to announce the return of some major artists touring again in the region by bringing the best of jazz event in Cambodia and this year we are proudly part of the Marc BERTHOUMIEUX Trio ASEAN tour.” Said Mr. Steven Gargadennec, Founder and AD of Cambodian International Jazz Festival.
Bringing top quality artist in Cambodia will bring both good cultural and business opportunities among the different layers of the society. Jazz music is also thriving among all our neighbours. From Thailand to Korea, Japan to Indonesia, China and Malaysia, the jazz scene in SEA is becoming the main global one.
Although Jazz music could be considered as niche in the cultural scene in Cambodia, the western music considerably influenced the country in the fifties and this for 20 years until the terrible events happening in the mid 70’s. The revival of this cultural golden era when West was meeting East is KlapYaHandz International Jazz’s main moto.
Mr. Sok Visal, founder of KlapYaHandz label added: “The KlapYaHandz Jazz Series aims to grow the jazz scene in Cambodia; it is a great initiative for promoting the country's culture and tourism. Based on the popularity of our previous events, we intend to organize such concerts regularly and relaunch the Cambodia International Jazz Festival shortly. We are incredibly grateful for the support in assisting with our growth and continuity within the region as our network and audiences continue to grow.”
In November 2011 the UNESCO General Conference proclaimed the 30th April as “International Jazz Day”. This International Day brings together communities, schools, artists, historians, academics, and jazz enthusiasts all over the world to celebrate and learn about the art of jazz, its roots, its future and its impact.
About Marc BERTHOUMIEUX Trio:
Marc BERTHOUMIEUX has his first stage performance at the age of eleven. After piano lessons at the Geneva Conservatory, his learning and experience will be rather self-taught with more than twenty years spent on the boards practicing music for dance. At the age of thirty, he was noticed by jazz musicians on the French scene. As an accompanist, he performs with artists from all walks of life such as Charles Aznavour, Celine Dion, Harry Belafonte, Patrick Bruel, , Gilbert Bécaud, Serge Lama, the Opera Tenors Andréa Bocelli and Placido Domingo and many others...
In jazz, we find him in particular with Didier Lockwood, Youn Sun Nah and plays in the quartet of Dee Dee Bridgewater for a tour of more than two hundred concerts around the world for the album "J’ai Deux Amours". Throughout his career he collaborated with major international artists in over 100 albums and 10 albums as leader.
Giovanni Mirabassi is a Paris-based Italian jazz pianist, born 4 May 1970 in Italy. Self-taught, he learned by listening to Bud Powell, Art Tatum, and Oscar Peterson. At seventeen, after a few important experiences in Italy (he played with Chet Baker in 1987 and with Steve Grossman in 1988), he settled in Paris in 1992. He is famous in Japan with his regular collaboration with Hayao MIYAZAKI (founder of Ghibli animation studio).
Laurent Vernerey is an extremely renowned bass and double bass player. He also collaborated, as a bassist, in the music of several movies. Laurent has 800 collaborations since 3 decades and is the most wanted bass player and musician in Europe and major role on over 60 albums
About KlapYaHandz:
KlapYaHandz is Cambodia’s first Hip Hop and Alternative music label. Founded in 2005 by SOK Visal, KlapYaHandz has since then helped launched the career of many new artists and has introduced to the Cambodian audience other genres of music like Reggae, RNB, Jazz, Blues, Afrobeats, etc… KlapYaHandz is also the first label to manage International Artists from around the World (Izame SIVA, a London born artist with Nigerian roots with Jamaican influences, B-KONEXION Acid Jazz multicultural band, and BEL-AIR a French POP artist from Paris).
