Jazz At The Island: Mezzotono / Nesrine

Jazz under the stars on Sharjah’s Al Noor Island – though the evening might be stretching the definition of ‘jazz’. The headliners are Mezzotono, the Italian a cappella five-voice group with a unique style which blends vocal harmonies, beatboxing, and vocal percussion. They aim to cover many music styles from jazz to pop via mambo, tango, folk music (especially Italian – they’re from Italy), big band jazz and classical. And the Franco-Algerian singer, songwriter and cellist Nesrine (above) is another breaker of genre boundaries, usually employing a unique lineup of voice, cello, and percussion to deliver a musical fusion that spans the Mediterranean region from North Africa to Southern Europe.

Whatever the definitions, though, this is an evening that we’d highly recommend.

The schedule:

4-5pm Tour of the island and the Butterfly House
5-5.30pm Vocal jazz workshop with Mezzotono (included in the ticket price, we think, but first come first served)
6-7pm Performance by Sens8tion (Sharjah Performing Arts Academy dance troupe)
7-8.30pm Interval for dinner
8.30-9.30pm Mezzotono
9.30-10.30pm Nesrine

The AED 100 ticket price buys you entry to the music, but there’s also a 250 AED option which includes dinner before the main acts; and a AED 450 deal for entry on both nights including dinner.