QUICK TAKES

Eighth Annual Panama Jazz Festival

By Juan Carlos Martinez

It's that time again when the streets of Panama City are flooded with the sound of poignant notes coming from multiple saxophones, pianos and trumpets. The 8th version of the Panama Jazz Festival is back again. This 8th Jazz Festival will run from January 10th until January 15th. As usual the center stage will be Panama's Old Quarter where Teatro Nacional and the Fundación Danilo Perez are located.

The Panama Jazz Festival is organized by the Danilo Perez Foundation and was created in order to contribute to strengthen the cultural, social and academic environment of Panama. It is a week long jazz fest with concerts, jazz clinics, auditions for international music scholarships, among other events.

Last year more than 22,000 people attended the event including tourists from around the world. Additionally 830 students participated in the various educational programs and 14 students received scholarship to study in Berklee College of Music, in Boston and the Golandsky Piano Institute in the University of Princeton, NJ.

The event will officially begin on January 10th at 10:00 am but the music clinics will begin at 9:00 am and run until 4:00 p.m. at Atlapa Convention Center. The clinics will be offered by various international musicians and music schools such as the New England Conservatory, the Puerto Rico conservatory, the Golandsky Piano Institute, Berklee Global Jazz Institute, among others. Many of these schools will also be holding admissions and scholarship auditions which are open to international applicants as well.

The Jazz Festival week kicks off on Monday with the inauguration in Atlapa at 10:00 am from then on the rest of the week mornings and early afternoons are taken up with clinics for musicians. Monday, 10th of January and Tuesday 11th have late afternoon concerts starting at 4:00 p.m. in Salón San Lorenzo in Atlapa. Wednesday, 12th is Gala Night with a concert at 7:30 p.m. in Teatro Nacional in Casco Viejo with Vitin Paz and his orchestra. Every year the Jazz Festival is dedicated to an outstanding jazz musician and this year it honors Vitin Paz. Thursday 13th and Friday 14th have concerts at Atlapa and Saturday 15th closes with a huge free open air concert in Casco Viejo starting at 12:30 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. at Plaza Cathedral.

The Danilo Perez Foundation, the organizer of the Panama Jazz Festival, was established in 2005 but it is a result of 25 years of dreams and hard work, spearheaded by world renowned pianist, Danilo Perez. Born in Panama in 1965, he started musical studies at age 3 and by age 10 was already studying classical piano at the National Conservatory. He completed musical studies at the Berklee College of Music and among other things is currently the Artistic Director of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute.

He has earned three Grammy nominations as well as numerous other awards. He has again been nominated for a 2011 Grammy for his release Providence in the category of “Best Jazz Instrumental Album”.