Good attendance and a fantastic musical mix. The press is unanimous: "An excellent year!" The organizers are satisfied. Criticism only to Radiotelevisione Svizzera italiana: "We feel like we've been snubbed." Italian jazz wins the audience award, as well as the critics' praise.

The 26th edition of JazzAscona ended on Saturday night with a stellar performance by the Biréli Lagrène Trio and with a Jazz Club tent transformed in dance floor by the popular band of Roy Bennett & Gordon Edward's Stuff.

"This was an extremely successful festival," says president Aldo Merlini. Despite the Word Soccer Cup Championship taking place, and despite a thunderstorm that put a dent in the last evening of the festival—notoriously the night that registers the highest revenue, with several thousand people not coming because of the bad weather—the organizers are satisfied of this year's edition, which was attended by 63'000 people during ten days. The financial results are estimated to be more than positive, also thanks to the generous contributions of the sponsors. "We just ended ten days of fantastic music," said Mr. Merlini in the closing press conference that took place on Sunday morning. "However, we are unhappy with the little coverage that the festival received from Radiotelevisione della Svizzera italiana (RSI), who repeatedly forgets about JazzAscona in favor of Lugano's Estival Jazz, of which RSI is the producer. It's a very unpleasant situation. RSI needs to realize that Ticino does not end in Lugano and a festival like JazzAscona deserves much more respect."

The 26th festival will be remembered for its great mix of different styles, for featuring renowned and emerging musicians alike, and for its special events, such as the concerts by Ray Gelato, Biréli Lagrène, and Paula Morelenbaum & SWR Big Band. Good feedback also in regards to the collateral events, such as Judy Carmichael's live radio talk show Jazz Inspired, which will be broadcast this fall on NPR. All of the above contribute to making Ascona a springboard for emerging musicians and an important place for artists to meet and gain new musical inputs. “In this context," said artistic director Nicolas Gilliet, "the most moving moments were the many occasions when musicians of different bands joined the stage with other groups in impromptu joint performances. This is the true spirit of JazzAscona!"

Italian jazz garnered special praise at this year's festival. The winner of the BancaStato Audience Award, which was given for the first time this year, was the Chicago Stompers, a young formation from Milan that plays a 1920s repertoire, imitating the look of that period in great detail. The runner-up, in a very close match, was the band of American vocalist Niki Haris and trombonist Wycliffe Gordon. The third in line was singer and saxophone player Drew Davies, who garnered attention and praise with his Rhythm Combo.

Critics, represented by the main jazz media in Europe, selected as favorite musician the talented vocalist and revelation of this year Catherine Russell, as well as Attilio Troiano's Big Band. Born in Matera, Attilio Troiano is a young emerging artist, who is garnering international acclaim after having started his musical career here in Ascona. Both multi-instrumentalist and composer, Troiano presented for the very first time standards that he arranged, in addition to his own compositions, which included "Jumpin' in Ascona". His big band, which featured some of the most talented musicians at this year's festival, obtained a well-deserved standing ovation.

Overall, the consensus seems to be that the level of the programming increases each year, and the festival management is committed to continuing this trend.

The dates of next year's JazzAscona festival will be announced shortly.