An aspect that caught my attention in both of them jazz festivals that I visited this end of the year was the marked local accent of their programming.
That is the main mission of cultural activity in our country, to build a local scene by integrating the authenticity of each region with the world. In the third edition of Festijazz Popayan the local and regional presence was noted with a group of committed musicians called Payán Jazz Group, the local group Campajazz and the representation of Cali by Groove Out.
Organized by the Popayán Music Festival Corporation, which is the same entity that performs the traditional Easter music gatheringThis event included master classes for music students at the Popayán University Foundation, as well as concerts in symbolic venues of the city such as the Country Club and the Casa de la Moneda.
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The receptive public was key to the success of the event, as well as the students who participated in the workshops with great enthusiasm (https://www.facebook.com/festivaldemusicapopayan).
And the festival Jazz voices is a band contest that takes place in Cartagena and it is already ten years old. This year it was celebrated around the champeta as the central theme.
In previous editions, the contest has awarded arrangements by Alejo Durán and José Barros, among others. This time, each group had to present an arrangement of a champeta theme adapted to jazz. This simple fact alone makes the participating groups, coming from much of Colombia and neighboring countries, explore and integrate this regional genre of African influence into their repertoire.
This condition of participation becomes a multiplier of the local culture, since the contestant bands will disseminate the champeta in their places of origin and in future productions.
Voces del Jazz also carried out academic activities and included local bands such as the group Jazz & Jam, with whom I had the opportunity to assemble a demanding repertoire. This group is part of the educational program of Unibac, a Cartagena institution dedicated to the training of artists from the Caribbean region (https://www.facebook.com/VocesDelJazz).
You can read: ‘The Eddy’ / opinion column
Seeing the enlightened eyes of the attendees confirmed to me that the seed of music was well sown in these festivals.
Oscar Acevedo
Jazz musician and critic
[email protected]
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