Canarias Jazz & Más kicks off on Friday 4 simultaneously on three islands

The Festival Internacional Canarias Jazz & Más Músicas Creativas kicks off its 34th edition featuring an intense & well stocked programme, in a weekend of the best of jazz in four of the eight islands, with the first 13 concerts signalling the start of a whole month of good music.

The official act of presentation was attended by the Director General of Cultural Innovation & Creative Industries at the Canary Islands Government, Cristóbal De la Rosa; the Councillor for Culture at the Cabildo (Island Council) of Gran Canaria, Guacimara Medina; the Mayor of Santa Brígida, José Armengol; the Managing Director of the Theatre & Auditorium Foundation of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Tilman Kuttenkeuler; the Managing Director of Gesprotur, Ignacio Solana; and the director of the Festival Internacional Canarias Jazz & Más Músicas Creativas, Miguel Ramírez.

The archipelago will vibrate in the coming days to the rhythm of jazz with the essence of American jazz, the best of Canarian talent and with special focus on the most recognized Latin voices of the genre. ‘Canarias Jazz & Más’ kicks off on Friday 4 July with concerts in La Graciosa, Lanzarote, Tenerife & Gran Canaria, at venues chosen to open an edition rich in nuances, featuring a total of 59 concerts at 28 venues in 16 municipalities in all the islands. Names like Dee Dee Bridgewater, Melissa Aldana Quartet and Alain Pérez y La Orquesta, among others, will shine this first weekend.

On Friday 4 July, the Festival opens the new edition on three islands simultaneously, with a jazz banquette and the best possible start for a programme featuring unmistakeable music & voices. The first session of performances will be held at the pier – Muelle de La Graciosa, the Tenerife Auditorium and the square – Plaza de San Juan in Arucas, Gran Canaria.

Among the main attractions to launch the Festival is one of the undisputed great divas of contemporary jazz, Dee Dee Bridgewater, who stages her performances on Friday 4 at the Tenerife Auditorium, Saturday 5 in the cave settings of Jameos del Agua in Lanzarote and on Sunday 6 at the Theatre Pérez Galdós in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. With four decades of success and several Grammy awards, Dee Dee Bridgewater arrives like a hurricane, accompanied by the energy of Carmen Staff (musical director & piano), Rosa Brunello (bass) & Shirazette Tinnin (drums), taking us on a musical journey that transcends time and borders. Entrance tickets to enjoy ’We Exist!’ by Dee Dee Bridgewater are now available.

The essence of Latin America will arrive this first weekend of the Festival in the shape of the Melissa Aldana Quartet, a formation led by the acclaimed Chilean saxophonist & songwriter, known for her distinctive & expressive jazz voice, which is as powerful as it is unforgettable, and who has consolidated her own style because of a deep emotional connection. Being the first female instrumentalist to win the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition, propelled her to the world stage, but it has been her rich narrative and the virtuosity of her technique which has led her to two Grammy nominations and staging performances on four continents. The concerts featuring the Melissa Aldana Quartet are free-entrance open-air ones and can be enjoyed in the public squares – Plaza de San Juan in Arucas, Gran Canaria on Friday 4 July and Plaza de El Médano in Tenerife on Saturday 5.

From Chile to Cuba, the incomparable style of the multi-award winning Alain Pérez y La Orquesta will follow Melissa Aldana in the launch of this 34th edition. Alain Pérez, nominated four times for the Latin Grammy Awards & winner of the Grammy for Best Traditional Tropical Album, has been a member of the legendary Cuban jazz band `Irake’ with Chucho Valdés, accumulating in his CV, successes as conductor of Isaac Delgado’s Orchestra and also as musical  producer for Estrella Morente, Celia Cruz & Miguel Poveda. The artist from La Havana stages his performances for all jazz lovers in the public squares of la Plaza de San Juan in Arucas, Gran Canaria on Friday 4 and la Plaza de El Médano in Tenerife on Saturday 5 July, both being free-entrance open-air concerts.

The lyrical sensitivity and improvisational talent & audacity of Ellister van der Molen has made her one of the most sought-after trumpet players in Europe. The artistic career path of a regular member of the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw, one of the most important jazz orchestras in the Netherlands and also a member of the Amsterdam Art Orchestra, is unstoppable. Ellister van der Molen will stage two concerts on the islands in quartet formation, accompanied by Federica Larusso on piano, Marius Beets on bass & percussionist Nitin Parree. The concerts will be on Saturday 5 at the Theatre Guiniguada in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and in the outdoor square of the Santo Domingo Convent in La Laguna, Tenerife on Sunday 6 July.

The Festival Canarias Jazz & Más also features local talent in its launch. The first to take the stage will be the artist from Tenerife Esther Ovejero, who will perform on the pier – Muelle de Caleta de Sebo, in La Graciosa on Friday 4. For their part, La Local Jazz Band will display all its potent jazz on Sunday 6 in the square of the Santo Domingo Convent in La Laguna, Tenerife from 19:30 hours onwards.

Family Concerts

The first weekend of Canarias Jazz & Más is also dedicated to the family audience, presenting a show for all ages ‘Ponké y la ciudad del jazz’ (Ponké & The City of Jazz), on Saturday 5 from 12:00 hours at the Theatre Guiniguada in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and on Sunday 6 July at the venue – Espacio La Granja in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, at the same time. Ponké is a curious and questioning young man who hears rumours about a City of Jazz and decides to go on a journey to find it. When he gets there, Ponké gets to know the Laloka Jazz Band. By means of their stories and music, the character and audience learn about the origins of jazz from blues & gospel, to ragtime and the first bands of New Orleans; the Swing Era, bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, jazz fusion… and much more.

For the Director General of Cultural Innovation & Creative Industries at the Canary Islands Government, Cristóbal De la Rosa, it was “of enormous significance that so many institutions are present in the presentation of this festival, which prompts reflection on the relevance of jazz in the Canary Islands” after 34 editions of this event “of intercultural character that allows the fusion of the roots with music of all kinds, which is tremendously interesting”, he emphasized.

The Councillor for Culture at the Cabildo (Island Council) of Gran Canaria, Guacimara Medina, applauded the continuity of a musical project “”which is not easy to maintain year after year” and that in this edition also features the venues Theatre Cuyas which hosts Take 6 and the Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra on Tuesday 22 and ‘Casa de Colón (Columbus House) on Wednesday 16, where the Festival Chat sessions will be held, followed by the performance of pianist Krzysztof Kobyliński.

The Mayor of Santa Brígida, José Armengol, for his part, expressed his appreciation to the effort of institutions & companies involved in the continuity of this cultural event, while recalling at the same time the “historical commitment that has always been in the municipality” for the festival.

For Canary Islands Tourism, the merit of ‘Canarias Jazz & Más’ figures among others that

“have known how to adapt to new times with an event that ranks the Canary Islands as a must-see cultural destination”, pointed out the Managing Director of Gesprotur, Ignacio Solana, who stressed that “culture occupies top place in the events sponsored by Canary Islands Tourism”.

For his say, the Managing Director of the Theatre & Auditorium Foundation of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Tilman Kuttenkeuler, commended that for yet another year Canarias Jazz & Más features the performances programmed at the venue Rincón del Jazz (Jazz Corner) by Lakecia Benjamin on 9 and Rita Payés on 17 July, as well as the Theatre Pérez Galdós, which hosts two of the most important attractions on the Billing for this edition, namely, Dee Dee Bridgewater on Sunday 6 and Gonzalo Rubalcaba on Friday 18,

“one of the most important jazz pianists of the moment not only for his own art but also for the influence he has had on several generations of musicians”, he assessed.

The director of the Festival Internacional Canarias Jazz & Más Músicas Creativas, Miguel Ramírez, closed the procedure by stating some of the data related to the Festival, namely, 59 concerts at 28 venues in 16 municipalities on the eight islands, of which 18 are paid-entrance & 41 free-admittance, with 42% of the ensembles made up or led by women, as well as the deliberation on the importance of always seeking “quality at the time of programming, regardless of the style of each artist”, he mused.

In this 34th edition, `Canarias Jazz Más’ will feature on eight islands thanks to the collaboration of all the institutions & companies that make it possible to hold this musical event, viz. the Canary Islands Government; ‘Promotur Turismo de Canarias’ (Canary Islands Tourism); the Cabildos (Island Councils ) of Tenerife, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palma, El Hierro, La Gomera & Gran Canaria; ‘Turismo de Gran Canaria’ (GC Tourism), Art, Culture & Tourism Centres (CACT) in Lanzarote; the City & Town Halls of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Santa Brígida, San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Arucas, Arrecife, Teguise, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Puerto de la Cruz, Adeje & Los Llanos de Aridane; the ‘Sociedad de Desarrollo de Santa Cruz de Tenerife’ (Santa Cruz de Tfe Development Society; stage venues Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Auditorium & Theatre Foundation; Tenerife Auditorium; Cajacanarias Foundation; Theatre Cuyás, Theatre Leal & Theatre Guiniguada; ‘Espacio La Granja’, Casa de Colón (Columbus House), Convent of  Santo Domingo in La Laguna, ‘Espacio Cultural CajaCanarias’, the

Convention Centres ‘Palacio de Formación y Congresos de Fuerteventura’ & ‘Centro de Congresos ExpoMeloneras’ and Avis.

All information regarding the artists participating at the 34th Festival Internacional Canarias Jazz & Más Músicas Creativas can be found on www.canariasjazz.com