Friends of Jazz to Meet in Cuba

The 8th Friends of Jazz Festival will be held in Santiago de Cuba in September with the participation of Cuban and foreign musicians, invited by a city that is promoting this genre with various spaces and events.Under the auspices of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), the event will take place September 26-29 at the Heredia Theater, La Jutia Conga courtyard and the Iris Jazz Club, the latter next to the emblematic Plaza de Marte and the epicenter of the promotion of this genre in the city.

Since 2016, Santiago has shared with Havana the hosting of the International Jazz Plaza Festival, which has won recognition and served as an incentive to continue motivating the love for these instrumental combinations in an effort led by UNEAC and the Caguayo Foundation.

Performances have gathered Cuban creators such as Yasek Manzano, Carlos Miyares and his quartet, the Magic Sax Quartet, Alberto Lescay, Zule Guerra, Erick John and the group Influences, among others, alongside US artists Arturo O´Farrill, Terence Blanchard and Christian McBride.

World jazz giants, several of them winners of more than one Grammy award, have offered performances in this musical land par excellence and in an effort also supported by renowned musicians such as Bobby Carcases, Cesar Lopez and Roberto Fonseca.

Friends of Jazz has been held since 2011 and is committed to a genre that according to scholars arrived in Cuba through this city in the late 19th century, and has an enthusiastic audience in the country, due to the traditional Cuban rhythms that distinguish it, such as son, bolero, trova and guaracha. (Taken from en.granma.cu)