Luigi & Pascuale Grasso Quartet 12 April

The Cri du Port in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute presents a concert by a quartet with two virtuoso Italian saxophonists. Described as an Italo-Franco-American quartet brought together by a love of be-bop. Their repertoire includes some of the standards by the greats, Charlie Parker, Theolonius Monk, Bud Powell.

8:30 at the Cri du Port. Entry 12€ 

Luigi and Pascuale Grasso Quartet

The Scots are coming 13 -15 April

Come to the Hôtel du Département (big blue building metro Saint Just) to sample the best of Scottish food, design and culture.  The Scots are the guests of honour at Artisans 13. There will be music and dancing, a milliner, a women's clothes designer, bags, jewellery, recycled bikes and food. You can get a real Scottish breakfast each morning and there will be special events all day. If you want to practise your English (whether with an English, Scottish, Irish or American accent) there is an English language apero on Friday from 5pm to 7pm.

Open from 10 am to 7pm. Entry is free.  The programme (in French) is here.

Nicolas Cante & Nicolas Dick at La Meson 6 April

A duo that La Meson has brought together; Nicolas Cante (www.kantatik.net) and Nicolas Dick (Kill the Thrill, www.myspace.com/nicolasdick) will perform their very own version of electro acoustic improvisation with a range of instruments, objects and machines. Sounds interesting.

Friday 6 April, 8pm La Meson, Entry 10€

(c) Keuj

Manuel Hermia Trio, Cri du Port 29 March

Jazz musician and explorer of world music, Manuel Hermia is involved in a number of musical projects, one of which is this trio (Manuel Hermia Saxophone, Flute, Bansuri; Manolo Cabras, double bass; Joao Lobo, drums, percussion). Their album Long Tales and Short Stories won the Octave Prize for the best Jazz project.

The concert at the Cri du Port starts at 8:30 on Thursday 29 March and costs 12€

Manuel Hermia

Babel Med (World) Music Weekend 29-31 March

Babel Med is a world music forum with the days dedicated to professionals and the evenings open to the public. You can hear music from all over the world all in one place. There are a number of stages and around 10 performers each evening. 

It costs 15€ per evening. It's at the Dock des Suds. It starts at 7:30 on Thursday and 6:30 on Friday and Saturday and finishes around 2am. The tram (but not the metro) will run late to encourage you use public transport.

Choral concert Gréasque 24 March

It's not exactly Marseille but it's close and it's a good cause. This concert features two local choirs Voix en Sol Mineur and Orphée. It's in the Salle R Galhuid in Gréasque (close to the Mairie), it starts at 8:30 and it's in aid of Rétina France, a charity that promotes research into ophthalmology. Entry is free (though you may wish to contribute to the charity).

Image courtesy www.picgifs.com

World Water Forum Part 2 - Carnival 17 March

This year Marseille's traditional carnival will be all about water to mark the end of the World Water Forum.

The main event will be a procession from the Rond Pont du Prado to the Parc Borély on 17 March from 2:30 to 3:45, with a finale in the Park from 4pm. All the big names will be there including Posiedon, Venus, Noah, Archimedes and Ulysses. Not to be missed.

image from carnaval2012.info

There are also processions all over the city on different dates, for details (in French) see the City's website.