Panama Jazz Festival

Panama Jazz Festival

The Panama Jazz Festival was founded in September 2003 by Panamanian Grammy-winning pianist Danilo Pérez.

A Fulbright Scholar, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Cultural Ambassador of Panama, UNESCO Artist For Peace, educator, founder of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute at Berklee College of Music (MA, USA). Perez founded the festival with the mission of bettering the lives of people through shared musical experiences as listeners, on stage and in the classrooms. ^[1] Perez's stated vision for the event is that: "By offering performances and educational activities of the highest order, as well as practical, hands on training in the music and entertainment business, the Panama Jazz Festival aims to inspire and educate while providing tools and opportunities to build a better future for individuals and their communities." ^[2]

As such, and while the Festival annually offers a rich program of concerts by leading international jazz musicians, the emphasis is on music education. It has become the largest music education event in the region.

The Panama Jazz Festival provides a week of master classes by some of the finest institutions in the field, including Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory, the Golandsky Piano Institute, and the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico. The event has also become a center for auditions for admissions and scholarships for the participating institutions.

Other institutions that have participated in the festival include the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the Sienna Jazz Foundation, and the Paris Conservatory. ^[3]

In 13 years, the festival has become a cultural tourism attraction that has already enticed to Panama more than 220,000 people from all over the world. The Festival has also announced more than 4,000,000 dollars in scholarships and served more than 10,000 students from Latin American and the world. ^[4]

Some of the artists featured in the festival include The Wayne Shorter Quartet, Herbie Hancock, Chucho Valdés Quartet, John Patitucci, Joe Lovano, Rubén Blades, Randy Weston, Kenny Barron, Nnenna Freelon, Mike Stern, Lizz Wright, Jack DeJohnette, Stanley Jordan, Billy Cobham, and Ellis Marsalis, Jr..^[2]

The festival supports the year-round educational programs of Danilo Perez Foundation, which brings art and music to children from extremely poor communities in the Republic of Panama. The idea for the Danilo Perez Foundation originated in the 1965 when Danilo Perez Urriola (father of the pianist) started his educational programs with children of extreme poverty in Panama and created an elementary and high school curriculum where all classes were taught through improvisation, composition, and the performance of music.

Featured International Artists

Associated schools and organizations

• Panamanian Government: Presidency, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture, and Panama City Mayor
• Embassy of the United States^[8]
• Embassy of Spain^[9]
• Embassy of France
• Danilo Perez Foundation
• Berklee College of Music and Berklee Global Jazz Institute ^[7][10]
• New England Conservatory ^[7]
• Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico^[7]
• Golandsky Institute^[7]
• Paris Conservatory
• Wayne State University

Clinics and special programs

An important part of the festival is music education, and all invited artists teach master classes in the "Music Clinics", where students from all parts of Latin America and the world come together to learn from the international masters of jazz. Among the international artists that have given lectures are Wayne Shorter, Chucho Valdés, Jack DeJohnette, John Patitucci, Joe Lovano, Randy Weston, Brian Blade, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Nnenna Freelon, Kenny Barron, Marco Pignataro, Eddie Gómez, Regina Carter, Steve Turre, Stanley Jordan, Janis Siegel, David Sanchez, Charlie Hunter, Tia Fuller, and many more.^{[3] [11]}

The Panama Jazz Festival has also offered master classes on Panamanian Folklore, dance, classical music (with renowned national and international musicians and the best groups from the New England Conservatory), literature, production and engineering (thanks to the Berklee College of Music Production and Engineering Department), and many other subjects.^[3][11]

Music Therapy Symposium

The Music Therapy Symposium was founded in January 2013 by Chilean saxophonist, music therapist and Executive Director of the Panama Jazz Festival Patricia Zarate. The mission of the Latin American Symposium on Music Therapy is the dissemination of the theory and practice of music therapy in Latin America.

Auditions and scholarships

Each year, the festival invites prestigious institutions to audition and recruit students from all over Latin America and the world. At present the Panama Jazz Festival is the largest recruiting space in Latin America for admissions and scholarships for some of the best music schools in the Americas including Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory, Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico, Golandsky Piano Institute at Princeton University.^[3][11]

Honours

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Recordings

Panama Suite (2006) was recorded with students and faculty of both the Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory in the band to commemorate five years of the Panama Jazz Festival. All tracks composed and directed by Danilo Perez and produced by Billy Herron and Berklee College of Music.

"The Panama Suite is a three-movement composition that combines urban sounds with Panamanian folkloric elements in a big band setting. It embodies the sound of the next generation of Latino musicians that represents the opening of geographical borders and the opening of the new mind. This state of mind demands both innovation and respect for tradition, with the hope that by exercising creative freedom the human species will find peace, truth, and justice." – Danilo Perez^[24]

References

External links

• Panama Jazz Festival Official Website
• Panama Jazz Festival YouTube Channel
• Panama Jazz Festival MySpace
• Panama Jazz Festival Facebook
• Danilo Perez Foundation
• Danilo Perez Official Website