Issue No. 15

Jazz in Marciac
© Francis Vernhet
Peter Jones waxes lyrical...
Tucked away in the small valleys of the Gers in south west France is the classic
bastide town of Marciac. It’s not huge, it has a population of around 1300. The
town is dominated by a central village square whose town hall is its main feature,
lined with shops and cafés.
But one thing makes Marciac unique
amongst the many bastide towns of France
and that is Jazz.
Back in 1978 a small group of friends led by
school teacher Jean-Louis Guilhaumon
started a small jazz festival. Nearly 40
years later, it has become one of the most
important jazz festivals in the world.
More than 250,000 people visit the
Marciac Jazz Festival and 65,000 attend
concerts in the Chapiteau (a huge
marquee) erected on the town’s rugby
pitch. It’s here that not just some, but
nearly all of the biggest names in Jazz have
played over those 40 years.
The highlight of the 2016 festival for many
people was a performance by the
legendary Ahmad Jamal. At 86 years old he
came out of retirement to play his only
concert in the world that year. What, I
asked, bought him to play his music in a
little bastide town in Gascony, “when Jean -
Louis asks, you say yes, he is a very special
man” he said, and smiled.
One time school teacher Jean-Louis
Guilhaumon is now mayor of Marciac and
President of the Marciac Jazz festival. He is
also Vice-President of the regional council
of the Midi-Pyrenees.
He is immensely proud that the college he
taught at, now has Jazz on the curriculum.
20 pupils from the area have gone on to be
professional musicians and the town has a
permanent concert venue, the very modern
500 seat L’Astrada , which hosts music,
theatre and dance throughout the year.