Jazz Peru International Festival 2010

With the summer rapidly approaching, the festival season looms in the near future, forcing us to once again look at the role of Latin Jazz in the jazz festival. Over the past few years, the presence of Latin Jazz has become more regular on the jazz festival circuit. While the appearance of Latin Jazz at festivals bodes well for the exposure of the art form, the artists appearing represent a very thin slice of the modern scene. Many of the same names appear across the country as festival favorites Poncho Sanchez, Eddie Palmieri, and Pete Escovedo dominate the festival scene.

These are amazing artists with historically important backgrounds that audiences enjoy; they are great festival choices, but any good festival should balance their program with newer artists. Other festivals rely upon their local Latin Jazz scene, integrating regional talent into the larger festival’s lineup. Once again, this is a good thing, as it invigorates the local scene, but then festivals need to incorporate national artists.

The most prevalent Latin Jazz issue facing jazz festivals is the dominance of Afro-Cuban Jazz as a representative of the music. Afro-Cuban Jazz makes up a huge piece of the style and it should be a part any jazz festival, but the modern Latin Jazz world contains much more diversity. Many jazz festivals address some of these problems, but for the most part, Latin Jazz occupies a precarious position upon the festival scene.

The United States hosts a good number of jazz festivals during the summer, but it doesn’t really offer many balanced representations of Latin Jazz; we need to look South for that, to the Peru International Jazz Festival. The 2010 festival brings a wide selection of artists, ranging from the well-established name artist to the the local talent. The backbone of the festival sits in several appearances by trumpet player Gabriel Alegria and his Afro-Peruvian Jazz Sextet.



The group symbolizes the strength of jazz in Peru and the potential of the meeting between the two cultures. Recent Grammy winner and leader of the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, pianist Arturo O’Farrill represents both jazz celebrity and musical visionary. He brings his group to the festival, with some Afro-Cuban Jazz credibility and a broad perspective on the greater Latin Jazz world. Colombian harpist Edmar Castañeda stands as one of the most intriguing Latin Jazz artists of the past several years, bringing his unusual jazz instrument into a mixture of jazz, Colombian rhythms, and traditional Latin Jazz ideals.

His presence at the festival not only guarantees some outstanding music, but it also demonstrates a need for diverse musical experiences. These three artists alone deliver enough strength to drive large audiences into the festival, creating magical music experiences. This is a jazz festival though, and there’s more than Latin Jazz on the agenda - additional artists include tabla player Badal Roy, French musicians the Eric Longsworth Quartet, Chilean vocalist Camila Meza, and more. The Jazz Peru International 2010 Festival promises to be a stellar event that brings together musicians from across the musical spectrum into a unique collective.

Stateside festivals could learn a thing or two about Latin Jazz programming from the Peru International Jazz Festival. In honor of the festival’s 2010 schedule, today’s Weekly Latin Jazz Video Fix is dedicated to the festival’s artists. The first clip features Alegria and his Afro-Peruvian Jazz Sextet performing the song “Puerto Pimentel” at Tutuma Social Club.

The next video show Castañeda performing a dynamic solo piece entitled “Jesus Of Nazareth.” The last shot find O’Farrill displaying his genius in a solo piano performance at Puppet’s Jazz Club in New York. These three videos give a taste of the music available at the festival; it should be an amazing few days! If you make it out to the festival, please do send your feedback this way - enjoy!
http://www.chipboaz.com/blog/2010/05/25/weekly-latin-jazz-video-fix-jazz-peru-international-festival-2010/