The Festival Canarias Jazz & Más stages over 60 concerts at 26 venues on eight islands
- 35 musical ensembles will perform at the main auditoriums, theatres & squares on the Canaries between 1st & 24th July 2022
- Marcus Miller, Gregory Porter, SFJAZZ Collective, Avishai Cohen Big Vicious, Septeto Santiaguero, Nate Smith + Kinfolk, Ben Wendel Quartet, Immanuel Wilkins & Samantha Fish complete part of the billing for the 31st edition
The numbers leave no room for doubt: more than 60 concerts divided into 26 venues on the eight islands make up the programme for the 31st Festival Internacional Canarias Jazz & Más, in which 35 musical ensembles will participate, 14 of them stemming from the Archipelago. Close to 200 musicians will transit between the 1st & 24th July for this cultural encounter, which for yet another year is backed by the Canarian Government through the deputy minister of Culture & Heritage. Marcus Miller, winner of two Grammy Awards; Gregory Porter, with another two; and the group San Francisco Jazz Collective (SFJAZZ Collective), directed by the saxophonist Chris Potter, also a Grammy winner, will be some of the main attractions of the programme presented today at the press conference in the place of interest ‘Espacio La Granja’ in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Juan Márquez, deputy minister of Culture & Heritage at the Canarian Government, officiated the event in an act where also present were Enrique Arriaga (Vice president & Councillor for Culture at the Tenerife Island Council); Marco González (Councillor for Culture & Mayor of Puerto de la Cruz); Tatiana Brito (Councillor for Culture at El Hierro Island Council); Gladys de León (Councillor for Culture at Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Hall); Yaiza López Landi (Councillor for Culture at La Laguna Town Hall); Adolfo Alonso Ferrera (Councillor for Tourism at Adeje Town Hall); & Miguel Ramírez (director of the Festival Canarias Jazz & Más); and it was opened with a performance by one of the Canarian musicians featured in this year’s billing, Jonay Martín.
Márquez expressed the importance it has for the cultural fabric of the islands “the celebration of a festival which fulfils 31 years and remains committed to a high level in its billing, featuring some of the best artists of the genre year after year” and pointed out that “we feel that this festival is ours, it forms part of the cultural landscape of the islands and has established its presence on all the Canary islands, something we set out to do since we agreed to be the main backer of the event”.
For his part, Miguel Ramírez expressed his gratitude for the “presence and firm commitment by each & every one of the institutions that are present another year as promoters of this project through which great figures of music continue to feature”. He recalled that despite these last two hard years “in which they had to adapt to the protocols of Covid-19, the festival didn’t falter, because we understood that people need to meet, regain a sense of normality”. Now “we do it again in better conditions” but keeping our commitment to “safety in the areas where the festival is held”.
As a fact to be taken into account, Ramírez went on to say that this year “we feature a Ukranian band in the billing, and we hope they can be with us because right now they are over there, experiencing the war, and one of them is even fighting”. The Festival’s director declared “his total rejection of the war in Ukraine”.
He also provided more figures generated by the festival, “it becomes not only a cultural engine but an economic one as well during the celebration”. Ramírez highlighted that this year about 70 external public and private companies will participate (hotels, security, sound, lighting, transport, etc.) and they generate “some 300 jobs, directly & indirectly”. And he added that this year they are going to carry out an external promotion campaign (in specialist magazines of countries that send tourists to the Canary Islands”.
Among the artists & groups to add to those that have already been mentioned are trumpeter Avishai Cohen ‘Big Vicious’, Nate Smith + Kinfolk, Ben Wendel Quartet, Immanuel Wilkins, Samantha Fish, Kadri Voorand in Duo with Mihkel Mälgand, Septeto Santiaguero, Ángela Cervantes y Pepe Rivero Quartet, Trio Corrente, Philip Lassiter, Yusan, Barencia, Pokaz Trio (Ucrania), Lucía Fumero Trío, Jesús Prieto ‘Pitti’, Pepe Bao Sextet, Berta Moreno, Sumrrá and 14 Canarian ensembles: Gran Canaria Big Band, Carlos Meneses Trío, Ernesto Montenegro Quintet, Gabriela Suárez Trío, La Local Jazz Band, Rayko León Quartet, JC Machado, Anna Rodríguez & Eliseo Lloreda, Jonay Martín Trío, Los Jinetes del Groove, Projeto Brasileiro, Javier Montero Jazz Band, Alexis Alonso Ensemble and JM Churchi & Son de la Tierra.
The ‘Festival Internacional Canarias Jazz & Más’ will again have the support of the Canarian Government through the deputy minister of Culture & Heritage as main sponsor; the Island Councils of Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, La Palma, El Hierro, La Gomera, Tenerife & Gran Canaria; the Gran Canaria Tourist Board; the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria & Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Halls, the Santa Brígida, San Bartolomé de Tirajana, La Laguna, Puerto de la Cruz, Adeje, Los Llanos de Aridane, Alajeró, Arrecife & Teguise Town Halls; and stage venues, such as the Tenerife Auditorium, Theatre Leal, Auditorium-Theatre Foundation, Theatre Guiniguada, Theatre Cuyás, place of interest ‘Espacio La Granja’; the Elder Museum of Science & Technology, the ‘Paraninfo’ at the ULPGC, the Santo Domingo Convent in La Laguna, ‘Espacio R, Café Theatre Rayuela and Fábrica La Isleta.
