The town that made me fall in love with jazz
Until 2015, I had never been south of Rome in Italy. Then came an invitation to head far south of Rome, to the heel of Italy to be precise…a region that had never entered into my imagination until then: Puglia. The invite to Puglia came about as a result of a blogging project I had pulled together with 15 friends called Must Love Festivals. In Puglia we were attending 5 festivals in total and I decided to attend a Jazz festival called Locus , held in the picturesque hilltop town of Locorotondo.
Here’s a look back at those memorable few days in Locorotondo, what I did , everything we ate, saw, places we visited in Puglia and hopefully it will be inspire you to visit Locus festival, Locorotondo and this beautiful corner of Puglia.
Wandering the whitewashed streets of Locorotondo
I arrived in Locorotondo late on a balmy night in July and went straight to bed, exhausted after hopping on 3 flights to get to Bari. It was pitch dark when I arrived so I had little or no clue of what the place looked like till the following morning when I opened the windows of our cosy rented apartment. The sparkling morning light blinded me. I stepped out into a sea of white. We were in a narrow street lined with beautiful, whitewashed cottages and flower baskets hanging from the balconies above. Suddenly came the sharp blast of a trumpet and deep baritone of the trombone. A brass band appeared from nowhere marching down our narrow street. It all felt quite ethereal.
Locorotondo itself is a pretty network of old streets that wrap around the concert square, and it sits on a hill above the local area. From here you can see a few trulli dotted across the valley below.
Starting the day with a Puglian breakfast
Once the brass band had passed it was time for breakfast. Where to go? My favourite was Docks 101.
Our typical Puglian breakfast each morning would be a strong espresso along with a crostata marmellata (closest thing in the UK to this is a jam tart) or chocolate torte. This would be enjoyed outside in the full blaze of morning sunshine with a copy of the Corriere della Sera, of which I understood very little, but still nothing beats the smell of a fresh morning paper and coffee.
Catching the Locus Festival
I have never been a fan of jazz music until I went to Locus, so I had minimal expectations.
As part of the festivities we attended a Q&A session with Ashley Kahn, Grammy award-winning journalist and author of some of the most influential books about jazz: Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece, The House That Trane Built, and A Love Supreme: The Story of John Coltrane’s Signature Album.
Kahn went deep into the stories behind the musicians. How Miles hooked up with Bill Evans. John Coltrane’s expansion of his musical horizons while working with Davis. On Coltrane, he explained how the musician was more interested in the spiritual journey when it came to his music. Music for him was the search for truth, the search for perfection and also God. Kahn’s passion for jazz was infectious and for a novice like me, meeting Ashley was the perfect antipasti before the main course of the night, Laura Mvula.
I had no clue who she was till I came to Locus. She was terribly shy and soft spoken but when she sang, her voice really soared and sent a shiver down my spine. Complex orchestral arrangements of vocals, piano, strings and brass all combine to create this amazing symphony of sound. Very deep and soulful. If this is jazz, I love it.
The highlight of the final night was Gregory Porter. He had the most amazing voice. Very soulful, beautiful lyrics and powerful. He reminded me of Nat King Cole and also a lot of Marvin Gaye. The crowd would not let him go. One encore. Two encores. He finished the show with a beautiful rendition of Nat King Cole’s Mona Lisa.
Here’s a beautiful video that my friend, Peter Parkorr filmed of Locus Festival that will give you bit of an idea of the magic of Locus and THAT performance by Gregory Porter
Note: Locus has grown well beyond jazz and now mixes soul, hip-hop, electronic and indie. It runs in late July and early August, with some events in iconic venues such as the Grotte di Castellana caves.
Eating lunch at a fishmonger in Ostuni
After a leisurely breakfast we piled into our hire car and headed to the picture postcard town of Ostuni, another one of those impossibly pretty Italian towns.
If you are in Ostuni in time for lunch, head to the Pescheria Il Delfino. It looks quite unremarkable outside but it was packed with locals with not a tourist in sight, which felt like a good sign. Inside, the restaurant also is a working fishmonger.
You can buy your gambas (large prawns), octopus or cuttlefish by the weight and have it grilled for you along with a side order of fries if you wish. I had a delicious seafood pasta with clams and mussels. Puglia definitely is for seafood lovers.
Swimming at Villanova beach
The other great thing about Puglia is that you have 700 km of coastline. So if you are looking for a nice beach, it’s pretty easy to find one. Just a short hop from Ostuni, we found Villanova. Small but lovely beach. Family friendly. The water was warm, clear and good for a swim.
Having my first aperitivo with tarallini!
Afterwards, I had a martini rosso ( first time in my life, was a revelation! ) from the beach bar. Along with the drink I was served the local snack, tarallini. They are crispy little rings of baked dough, seasoned with aromatic fennel seeds. Delicious stuff.
Exploring baroque Martina Franca
Martina Franca is a beautiful town rich in baroque and Moorish influence. I loved just walking around enjoying the rich contrast of architectural styles, which in many ways reflect the layers of history that this region has.
Seeing the trulli of Alberobello
Last but not least, we spent an afternoon roaming the streets of Alberobello with its unique whitewashed trulli houses (1,500 in total) and grey cylindrical roofs. The trulli are truly unique to this part of Puglia and their origins are still a mystery. A wonderful place to wrap up our trip to Puglia.
Locorotondo: Getting there and away
Fly to Bari or Brindisi. A hire car makes day trips easiest. Without one, Locorotondo has its own station on the Ferrovie del Sud Est line from Bari, about two hours and under €10, though some services are replaced by buses, so check before you travel.
