PANAMA

If you are passionate about music, then don’t miss the eighth annual Panama Jazz Festival. Indulge yourself in a full week of soul stirring music by international and local musicians who will amaze you with their fantastic vocal and instrumental talents.

Panama Jazz Festival is a cornerstone cultural event held every January in an attempt to bridge the gap between different cultures by celebrating the world’s diversity through music. The fest will be held from January 10^th to 15^th, 2011, and more than 16,000 music aficionados are anticipated to attend. Every year, this event transforms the capital into a center-stage of culture, rhythm and art. Founded by Grammy-winning composer and pianist, Danilo Perez, this celebration honors Panama’s rich history, and has become an integral part of the country’s cultural calendar. 

Titillate your senses with performances from well known artists like Grammy nominee Panamanian pianist and composer Danilo Perez, Grammy Award-winning jazz trumpeter Brian Lynch, New York-based jazz alto saxophonist and composer Rudresh Mahanthapp, voted #1 jazz trombonist in 1998, 1999, and 2002, Conrad Herwig, and Latin Grammy nominee and master percussionist Paoli Mejias. They will be performing daily through the weeklong fest, and more details about the artists can be found at the official site: www.panamajazzfestival.com. 

Panama Jazz Festival 2011

The Panama Jazz Festival will feature a number of week-long events at four different venues: Plaza de la Catedral, Teatro Nacional, Teatro Anayansi, and Atlapa Convention Center. Ticketed concerts, free concerts and evening concerts will be featured, along with an opportunity for music students to develop their skills through conducted classes.

Vitin Paz 

The Panama Jazz Festival 2011 pays homage to one of the great trumpeters in the history of Latin music and one of the most renowned musicians in the history of Panamanian popular music. Born in Panama City in 1932, Vitin Paz is noted for his work with artists such as Tito Rodriguez (for whose band he was music director), Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Johnny Mathis, Henry Mancini, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae, Sammy Davis, Jr., The Jackson Five, Stevie Wonder, Sarah Vaughan, Bill Evans, Stanley Turrentine, Aretha Franklin, and James Brown among others. Paz also worked on Broadway, at shows like ‘Cabaret’, ‘Cats’, and ‘Guys and Dolls’. He returned to Panama in the late 90s and while he has remained active as a performer and recording artist, he also focuses on his work as an educator. 

Learn and Have Fun

The core of Panama Jazz Festival is music education, and this year the Danilo Perez Foundation will sponsor artistic workshops, clinics and classrooms for aspiring musicians, where invited artists will hold music clinics and teach master classes. Students all across Latin America, and anyone else interested in the genres of art, culture and music, can participate in these workshops. Music institutions have always been an active part of the festivities, with auditions for admissions and music scholarships for different academic programs. This year, the participating music institutions include Berklee Global Jazz Institute, New England Conservatory,   The Golandsky Piano Institute, Conservatorio de Paris, and Fundacion Tonica De Mexico. Panama’s fest also offers courses on jazz, composition, improvisation, instrumental music, Panamanian folk music, classical music master classes, and master class of Flamenco Jazz.