The Festival celebrates its 30th year featuring a billing headed by Wynton Marsalis, Avishai Cohen & Snarky Puppy
- More than 50 concerts on eight islands, 30 groups from all over the world in a programme that starts on the 1st July and ends on the 25th
- Artists such as Fred Hersch, José James, Liv Warfield, Julian Lage, Brooklyn Funk Essentials & Patax complete the ambitious line-up
The 30th edition of the Festival Internacional Canarias Jazz & Más will indeed be a celebration. Between 1 and 25 July, it will cover the eight islands with more than 50 concerts featuring more than 30 international, national & local musical ensembles, that go to make up one of the most ambitious billings in its history. With an important increase in the sponsorship by the Canarian Government, the incorporation of a new private sponsor, Canaluz, and the support of the institutions most representative of the archipelago, the festival will present a programme in which The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, a complete universal institution of genre, the Avisahi Cohen Trio with the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra (in collaboration with the Canary Islands Music Festival) and the group from the USA Snarky Puppy, one of the most celebrated contemporary ensembles around, stand out in their own right. The return of the ‘San Bartolomé de Tirajana’ Town Hall, one of the most touristic municipalities of the country where two concerts will be staged, is also newsworthy.
The festival completes its line-up with some top class classic and up-and-coming figures, such as the pianist Fred Hersch, in a trio format; the powerful voice of Liv Warfield; the skills on the guitar of Julian Lage; and the aplomb of a good number of bands which this year go to make up the so-called ‘& Mas’ and who will offer performances related to jazz, like soul & funk, featuring the participation of José James and his rich style based on neo soul, hip hop & drum ‘n bass; the large ensemble as represented in Brooklyn Funk Essentials; the Latin rhythms trimmed with soul & funk by the Cubans Cimafunk; the garage soul of The Buttshakers; and the ever surprising blend of Latin jazz with which Patax arranges pieces of renowned artists, and which on this occasion happens to be a totally crazy rendition of The Beatles repertoire.
Juan Márquez, deputy minister of Culture & Heritage at the Canarian Government, stated that “this festival is every bit an institution of this land, has brought the best artists from all over the world” a reason, together with its 30 editions, “that the Canarian Government becomes its main sponsor because it is an emblem of our cultural fabric”. Márquez recalled that in spite of all “the difficulties” brought about by the pandemic, “we have managed to keep culture alive, and this month of July starts off with a boost and a recuperation of the sector that gives us value as a cultural paradise, coinciding as it does with the Canary Islands Music Festival, with which it has established close collaboration”.
Miguel Ramírez, director of the Festival, wished to express his gratitude to all the administrations involved in the sponsorship because “without the support of those at present and who have been in the past, it would be impossible to have got to this point”. And he particularly appraised the fact that “the Canarian Government had taken a forward step and that ‘Canaluz’ had taken on such a decided undertaking”. With regard to the statistics of the Festival, he recalled that “ there are 59 concerts, a record this year; more than 30 acts; some 355 musicians approximately; creating more than 700 direct jobs… “. For Ramírez, ”the enthusiasm is intact, given the added fact that for the first time we are present on eight islands in one edition”.
Enrique Arriaga, councillor for Culture at the Tenerife Island Council stressed “the importance of culture in these times” and wished to point out “the contribution made this year by the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra”. The councillor for Culture at Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Hall, Gladys de León, reminded people that the Festival is always a “prelude to summer”; Alfonso Cabello, the Santa Cruz councillor of the Society of Development also celebrated the “return to normality”, and Marco González, the mayor of Puerto de la Cruz, recalled the 2020 edition, that “was held despite the circumstances and the demogagy & populism against cultural activities, and demonstrated that they were both safe & possible”. Badel Albelo, councillor at La Laguna noted emphatically that his municipality “grows with the festival, this year new venues have been established, such as the Convent of Santo Domingo, in a perfect fusion”. Lorenzo Muñoz Cerdeña, general director of ‘Canaluz’, private sponsor of the festival, commented that “his company, 100% Canarian, wants to be alongside talent & culture”.
As always, the Canarias Jazz & Mas Festival offers in its programme renowned artists with others heading in that direction, but also aware of the up-and-coming ensembles. Musicians who move between classic jazz and the contemporary. Veterans on the national scene like Jorge Pardo with Carles Benavent & Tino Di Geraldo; and Maria Joao & Carlos Bica Quartet; with new faces ready to be launched, such as Cyrille Aimée, Chico Pinheiro Quartet; and also Ozma, Jean-Paul Estiévenart Quintet, Óscar Peñas & The Black Barbies.
And of course, it goes without saying, the stage venues at the Canarias Jazz & Mas Festival will be the setting for a good number of groups that were formed on these islands, and some of the veterans who have played at this event while just starting out, will return to be the star performers at the festival, like the Kike Perdomo Sextet. Up to a total of 11 Canarian groups feature in the programme, among those being Miriam Fleitas & D’Local Groove, Yone Rodríguez Sextet, Javier Infante & Pablo Rodríguez, Luis Merino, Simbeque, Luismo Valladares Quartet, Yexza Lara & Pablo Selnik, Pablo Queu Sextet, Gino Marcelli Trio, Jonay Mesa Quintet….
In this 30th edition, the Festival Canarias Jazz & Más goes to the eight islands for the first time in the same edition (having already staged concerts on all, but not in the same year), a milestone that is due also to the collaboration of all the institutions that have made it possible to celebrate this musical event: the Canary Islands Government; the Island Councils of Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, La Palma, El Hierro, La Gomera, Tenerife & Gran Canaria (through its Tourist Board); the Town Halls of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Santa Brígida, Teguise, San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, La Laguna, Puerto de la Cruz, Adeje, Los Llanos de Aridane, San Sebastián de La Gomera; and venues such as the Adán Martín Auditorium of Tenerife, the Auditorium & Theatre Foundation of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Theatre Guiniguada, the place of interest ‘La Granja’; and others that have been added this year, like the Elder Museum of Science & Technology, the Convent of Santo Domingo in La Laguna, the Convention Centre of ‘ExpoMeloneras’ and the Tenerife Nature & Archeology Museum (MUNA).
