The Festival moves its musical venues to museums Elder & MUNA

• Maria João & Carlos Bica Quartet will perform in Gran Canaria and the Chico Pinheiro Quartet & The Black Barbies, in Tenerife
• Both concerts will be held this Thursday 8 July (20.00 hours)

Islas Canarias, 7 July 2021. This Thursday, 8 July, the Festival Internacional Canarias Jazz & Mas will be staged at two new venues, the Elder Museum of Science & Technology (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) and the Nature & Archeology Museum MUNA (Santa Cruz de Tenerife). Both places are participating for the first time in the programming of the festival and they open the second week of concerts with entrance tickets sold out for the performances by Maria João & Carlos Brica Quartet in Gran Canaria and the Chico Pinheiro Quartet & The Black Barbies in Tenerife.

The Portuguese vocalist Maria João returns to the festival following her participation in the year 2017, staging two well-remembered concerts on the island of La Graciosa and at El Rincón del Jazz (Jazz Corner) in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, accompanied by ‘Ogre’, an electric trio. She now appears in a duo formation with Carlos Bica, another prestigious Portuguese artist; a collaboration which dates back to the ‘80s, when they recorded the albums Conversa (1986) and Sol (1991). After 10 years of performing together, and with many concerts around the world, they parted ways. Now, after 25 years, they are reunited, accompanied by André Santos (guitar) and João Farinha (keyboards), two of the most talented members of a new generation of Portuguese musicians.

Maria João, a singer with a unique style, became a benchmark in the realm of musical improvisation. She has outstanding vocal ability and a uniquely intense performance style for which she is recognized internationally, featuring in the line-up of today’s finest singers. Maria João constantly performs at the most prestigious music festivals around the world and she is the only Portuguese musician to have been nominated for the European Jazz Prize.

Carlos Bica is one of the few Portuguese musicians to have achieved international acclaim, having become a model example on the European jazz scene. Among his many musical groups that he led, and along with his involvement in other areas such as theatre, film and dance, his trio Blue with guitarist Frank Möbus and drummer Jim Black is this bassist and composer’s brand image.

Chico Pinheiro is considered to be a prominent figure both within and outside the Brazilean musical scene, as a distinguished guitarrist, composer & arranger. His latest release City of Dreams (2020), was nominated for the Grammy Awards in the ‘Best Latin Jazz Album Grammy 2021’. Alongside his projects as leader, he also has collaborated with artists such as Placido Domingo, Brad Mehldau, Dave Grusin, Dianne Reeves, Kurt Elling, Danilo Pérez, Nnenna Freelon, Bob Mintzer, Herbie Hancock, Julian Lage &Steve Cardenas, Esperanza Spalding, Ivan Lins, Rosa Passos, Chico César, Ed Motta, Chris Potter, John Patitucci, Lee Ritenour, Ari Hoenig, Peter Erskine, among others.

The Black Barbies is one of the most original and innovative proposals on the current music scene. This band from Barcelona brings musicians from different backgrounds together, both stylistically and geographically (Spain, Italy, Africa), which is why, from the very first note, they create a sensational, explosive mix of sounds and flavours of the most extraordinary kind. With the powerful voice of Xiluva Tomás at the helm and the musical direction of guitarist Oriol Riart, they also have the funniest and sexiest brass section in the whole of Barcelona. Always with a fresh, catchy and sensual sound, they combine their own songs and versioned hits from all times to the rhythm of jazz, swing, soul & funk.

In this 30th edition, the Festival Canarias Jazz & Mas 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; Canaluz; 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).