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Panama Jazz Festival

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Panama Jazz Festival
PJF logo
GenreJazz
Dates2nd or 3rd week of January
Location(s)Panama City, Panama
Years active2003–Present
Founded byDanilo Perez
Websitehttp://www.panamajazzfestival.com

Search Panama Jazz Festival on Amazon.

The Panama Jazz Festival was founded in September 2003 by Panamanian Grammy-winning pianist Danilo Pérez.

A Fulbright Scholar, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Cultural Ambassador of Panama, and educator, founder of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute at Berklee College of Music, (MA, USA), Perez founded the festival with the mission of bettering the lives of people through shared musical experiences as listeners, on stage and in the classrooms.[1] Perez’s stated vision for the event is that "By offering performances and educational activities of the highest order, as well as practical, hands on training in the music and entertainment business, the Panama Jazz Festival aims to inspire and educate while providing tools and opportunities to build a better future for individuals and their communities."[2]

As such, and while the Festival annually offers a rich program of concerts by leading international jazz musicians, the emphasis is on music education. It has become the largest music education event in the region.

The Panama Jazz Festival provides a week of master classes by some of the finest institutions in the field, including Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory, the Golandsky Piano Institute, and the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico. The event has also become a center for auditions for admissions and scholarships for the participating institutions.

Other institutions that have participated in the festival include the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, the University of Massachusetts, the Sienna Jazz Foundation, and the Paris Conservatory.[3]

In just seven years, the festival has become a cultural tourism attraction that has already enticed to Panama more than 100,000 people from all over the world. The Festival has also announced more than 1,000,000 dollars in scholarships and more than 10,000 students, many of them international, have taken advantage of the Festival’s educational programs.[4]

Some of the artists featured in the festival include The Wayne Shorter Quartet, Chucho Valdés Quartet, John Patitucci, Joe Lovano, Rubén Blades, Randy Weston, Kenny Barron, Nnenna Freelon, Mike Stern, Lizz Wright, Jack DeJohnette, Stanley Jordan, Billy Cobham, and Ellis Marsalis.[2]

The festival supports the year-round educational programs of Danilo Perez Foundation, which brings art and music to children from extremely poor communities in the Republic of Panama.

Featured artists[edit]

[5][6][7]

YEAR ARTIST INSTRUMENT ORIGIN
2003 Danilo Perez Trio Piano, Bass, Drum *Grammy Award Winner
Kenny Barron Piano USA *Grammy Award Nominee
Mike Stern Guitar USA *Grammy Award Nominee
2005 Jack Dejohnette Drum and Piano USA *Grammy Award Winner
Carlos Garnett Tenor Saxophone Panama
Charlie Hunter Guitar USA
Joe Lovano Tenor Saxophone USA *Grammy Award Winner
John Patitucci Double bass and Electric bass USA *Grammy Award Winner
Victor Paz Trumpet Panama
Danilo Perez Sr. Voice Panama
Janis Siegel Voice USA *Grammy Award Nominee
Barbara Wilson Voice Panama
Carlos Garnett Tenor Saxophone Panama
Victor Paz Trumpet Panama
Kurt Rosenwinkel Guitar USA
David Sánchez Saxophone Puerto Rico *Grammy Award Winner
Mark Turner Saxophone and Clarinet USA
2006 Randy Weston (feat. Alex Blake) Piano USA
David Sánchez Saxophone Puerto Rico *Grammy Award Winner
Kurt Rosenwinkel Guitar USA
Mark Turner Saxophone and Clarinet USA
Victor Paz Trumpet Panama
Carlos Garnett Tenor Saxophone Panama
2007 Edmar Castañeda Harp Colombia
Nnenna Freelon Voice USA *Grammy Award Nominee
Carlos Garnett Tenor Saxophone Panama
Panamanian Band (feat. Danilo Perez, Billy Cobham, Santi Debriano, Jorge Sylvester, Renato Thoms) Piano, Bass, Drum, Saxophone Panama
Victor Paz Trumpet Panama
Banda Tributo a Chile (feat. Patricia Zarate, Mili Bermejo, Francisco Molina, Nando Michelin, Dan Greenspan) Saxophone Chile
2008 Tia Fuller Saxophone USA *A formal touring band member of Beyoncé
Kelley Johnson Voice USA
Stanley Jordan Guitar USA *Grammy Award Nominee
Catherine Russell Voice USA
Dave Samuels (Caribbean Jazz Project) Vibraphone USA *Grammy Award Winner
2009 Wayne Shorter Quartet (feat. Brian Blade, Danilo Pérez, John Patitucci) Saxophone, Piano, Drum, Bass USA *Grammy Award Winner
Luba Mason (feat. Rubén Blades, Jimmy Haslip, Hubert Laws) Voice
Marco Pignataro Quintet (feat. Eddie Gómez) Saxophone Italy
Chucho Valdés Piano Cuba *Grammy Award Winner
2010 Lizz Wright Voice USA
Carlos Garnett Tenor Saxophone Panama
Jamey Haddad Percussion USA
Joe Lovano Tenor saxophone USA *Grammy Award Winner
Terri Lyne Carrington Drum and Voice USA *Grammy Award Nominee
Ellis Marsalis Piano USA
Juanito Pascual Guitar USA
John Patitucci Double bass and Electric bass USA *Grammy Award Winner


National artists[edit]

ARTIST YEAR INSTRUMENT
Luis Carlos Perez 2018 Saxophone
Roberto "Toto" Ruiz 2018 Trumpet
Sammy y Sandra Sandoval 2018 Voice
Pureza Natural 2018 Voice, Guitar, Keys,

Bass, percussion, Drums, Saxophone, Trumpet

Proyecto Shuruka 2018 Voice, Percussion, Piano
La Colectiva 2018 Guitar, Drums, Trumpet
Graciela Nuñez 2018 Violin
Carlos Icaza 2018 Drums
Carlos Agrazal 2018 Saxophone
Carlos Garnett Tenor Saxophone
Dedé 2019
Alex Blake Sr. 2019 Trombone
Luz Acosta 2018–2019 Voice
Calabar 2019
Roberto Delgado 2019 Bass
Iván Barrios 2019 Voice
Alfonso Lewis 2020 Saxophone, piano
Joshue Ashby 2018–2020 Violin
Nikki Campbell 2020 Percussion
Billy Herron 2020 Guitar
Oscar Cruz 2018–2020 Percussion
Osvaldo Ayala 2020 Accordion
Samuel Batista 2020 Saxophone
Rubén Blades 2020 Voice
Ricardo Pinzón 2020 Guitar
Rey Cruz 2020 Percussion

Associated schools and organizations[edit]

Clinics and special programs[edit]

An important part of the festival is music education, and all invited artists teach master classes in the “Music Clinics”, where students from all parts of Latin America and the world come together to learn from the international masters of jazz. Among the international artists that have given lectures are Wayne Shorter, Chucho Valdez, Jack De Johnette, John Patitucci, Joe Lovano, Randy Weston, Brian Blade, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Nnenna Freelon, Kenny Barron, Marco Pignataro, Eddie Gomez, Regina Carter, Steve Turre, Stanley Jordan, Janis Siegel, David Sanchez, Charlie Hunter, Tia Fuller, and many more.[3][11]

The Panama Jazz Festival has also offered master classes on Panamanian Folklore, dance, classical music (with renowned national and international musicians and the best groups from the New England Conservatory), literature, production and engineering (thanks to the Berklee College of Music Production and Engineering Department), and many other subjects.[3][11]

Auditions and scholarships[edit]

Each year, the festival invites prestigious institutions to audition and recruit students from all over Latin America and the world. At present time the Panama Jazz Festival is the largest recruiting space in Latin America for admissions and scholarships for some of the best music schools in the Americas including Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory, Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico, Golandsky Piano Institute at Princeton University.[3][11]

Panama Jazz Festival honorees[edit]

[12][13][14]

  • Pianist Luis Russell (1902–1963) in 2003: Musical Director for Louis Armstrong’s band since 1935. Performed with King Oliver, Red Allen, and Jelly Roll Morton.
  • Pianist Victor Boa (1925–2004) in 2005: Known as the "High Priest of Jazz" and "Master of the Keyboard" of Panama. Victor was a key part of the vibrant Panamanian jazz scene beginning in the late forties and played alongside Panamanian jazz greats. His particular flavor of jazz was called "Tambo Jazz.”
  • Multi-instrumentalist Mauricio Smith (1931–2002) in 2006: Mauricio Smith was born in Panama but lived most of his life in New York City. He performed and recorded with Clark Terry, Charlie Mingus, Dizzy Gillespie, Chubby Checker, Eartha Kitt, Harry Belafonte, and many others. Smith was an original member of the NBC “Saturday Night Live" band and was the leader of the Latin band at the Rainbow Room for six years. He has scored music for movies, and wrote arrangements for Tito Puente and others. In addition to his jazz performances, Smith has performed classically as a flutist and soloist with the Puerto Rican Symphony and has given recitals at Avery Fisher Hall.
  • Singer Barbara Wilson in 2007:“Panama’s Ella Fitzgerald,” who spent a lifetime singing in her country. Unknown outside of Panama, this extraordinary jazz singer refused several invitations to move to the US in order to stay close to her family at home.
  • In 2008 the honorees were the PJF supporters for the 5th year Anniversary
  • Bassist, composer and arranger Clarence Martin Sr. in 2009: Contributed to Panamanian jazz since the 1940s and have influenced several generations of musicians from many genres such as jazz, classical, and Caribbean music.
  • Pianist Sonny White in 2010: Born in Panama, White lived in the US most of his life and recorded with Billy Holiday the classic song "Strange Fruit." He also performed with many other jazz artists such as Sidney Bechet, Artie Shaw, Benny Carter, Dexter Gordon, among others.
  • Trumpeter Víctor Vitín Paz in 2011: A pillar of the Latin jazz trumpet, was a cornerstone of the Fania All Stars for many years. He was a number one call for Broadway shows in New York City and performed with notable figures such as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie, The Jackson Five, among many others.

Recordings[edit]

Panama Suite (2006) was recorded with students and faculty of both the Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory in the band to commemorate five years of the Panama Jazz Festival. All tracks composed and directed by Danilo Perez and produced by Billy Herron and Berklee College of Music.

“The Panama Suite is a three-movement composition that combines urban sounds with Panamanian folkloric elements in a big band setting. It embodies the sound of the next generation of Latino musicians that represents the opening of geographical borders and the opening of the new mind. This state of mind demands both innovation and respect for tradition, with the hope that by exercising creative freedom the human species will find peace, truth, and justice.” – Danilo Perez[15]

References[edit]

  1. "U.S. Embassy Panama Supports 5th Annual Panama International Jazz Festival". October 27, 2007. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  2. 2.0 2.1 http://www.panamajazzfestival Official Website
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "2010 Panama Jazz Festival Educational Activities". January 11–16, 2010. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  4. "Panama Jazz Festival 2010". Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  5. Sabbatini, Mark (February 7, 2006). "The 2006 Panama Jazz Festival". Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  6. "6th Annual Panama Jazz Festival Set for January 12-17, 2009, Founder/Artistic Director Danilo Perez Announces". Billboard Publicity Wire. November 13, 2008. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 "Panama Jazz Festival 2010". Jazz Times. January 11–16, 2010. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  8. "Panama's Jazz Festival 2010 Press Conference". October 6, 2009. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  9. Jackson, Eric (January 16, 2008). "Mediterranean flamenco jazz at the Teatro Nacional". The Panama News. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  10. Dorbu, Mitzi (January 8, 2009). "Panama Jazz Festival: Scholarships Build Bridge to Opportunity". Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Educational Activities at the Panama Jazz Festival 2009". Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  12. Blumenthal, Bob (August 2007). "Jazzed Para Perez". Jazz Times.
  13. Ouellette, Dan (April 2009). "Panama Jazz Festival Builds International and Local Bridges". DownBeat. p. 20.
  14. Reich, Howard (6 March 2005). "A Culture With A Lost Past". Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
  15. Perez, Danilo (2006). Panama Suite (Compact Disc). Boston, MA: Art Share.

External links[edit]

[[:Category: Jazz | Music | Danilo Perez | Festival | Panama | Culture | Berklee College of Music]]


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