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Jan 19-21, 2006: Third Annual Panama Jazz Festival is dedicated to Panamanian flutist Mauricio Smith |
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Written by Ronaldo Oregano
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Tuesday, 06 December 2005 |
 Danilo Pérez
"Panama, for one weekend, the hub of
jazz universe.” Larry Katz, Boston Herald
The Pérez Foundation is organizing the Festival along with the
sponsorship of Ricardo Pérez, SA (Toyota Distributor of Panama)
and the continuous support of Panama City’s Mayor Juan Carlos Navarro.
In addition to ticketed concerts held at the Anayansi Theater of the
Atlantic Pacific Convention Center, there will be a free concert at the
Cathedral Plaza, in el Casco Antiguo and jam sessions led by local jazz
players and international musicians. The Pérez Foundation and
the PJF will also join forces with the New England Conservatory of
Music, (Boston, MA) to provide music workshops for students at the
Belle Arts Department of the University of Panama. “One of the main
reasons for doing this festival is to develop the musical education of
our country and the Perez Foundation will provide different ways to do
so,” says Pérez.
 David Sanchex
If the response to the second annual Panama Jazz Festival is any
indication, Danilo Pérez is beginning to see his dream realized.
For years, Danilo has focused on broadening the country's horizons by
introducing the world to the rich cultural and musical legacy of his
homeland. “(Danilo Pérez) presented his homeland with a
spectacular gift,” noted Larry Blumenfeld, in Jazziz. “Pérez is
determined to bring the world’s greatest jazz musicians to Panama, as
much as he is advocating for talented Panamanian musicians to be heard
on a global basis,” said Aaron Cohen in Downbeat. Writing in the
Chicago Tribune, Howard Reich noted, “a great deal of what
(Pérez plays) has been dedicated to extolling Panamanian culture
to the United States and to the rest of the the world, through the
international currency of jazz.”
Each year the Festival is dedicated to one of Panama’s musical giants,
a musician who exemplifies Panama’s rich musical landscape. For the
2006 Festival, the honoree is Mauricio Smith, who died in 2002.
Flautist, reeds player, musical director, composer, arranger,
guitarist, keyboardist, percussionist and chorus singer; Smith was
equally at home in various genres, including. Classical, Latin,
calypso, jazz, R&B, pop, show music, movie scores, zouk and compas.
Pérez’s first met Smith when he was 14. At the time,
Pérez didn’t have any genuine ambition to become a professional
musician. But Smith saw something special in Pérez’s playing.
“He came to me and said, ‘You gotta practice. You’re going to be a
musician.’ I was like, ‘Man, this is just a hobby.’ He said, ‘No man,
you have talent.’ So, I owe him a big part of my decision to be serious
about music,” Danilo noted in a JazzTimes interview.
 Randy Weston, photo credit © 2005 Oumar Fall
Top International and Panamanian ArtistsSet To Perform:
- Randy Weston African Group (see
www.randyweston.info
for more info).
- David Sanchez Group
- Kurt Rosenwinkel Group featuring Mark Turner
- College of Fine Arts Big Band of University of Panama Led by
Vitin Paz with Maurico Smith Jr and Panamanian guest vocalist Patricia
Vlieg , Carlos Garnett Quartet
- Santi Debriano and the Sounds of Ashé
- New England Conservatory Ensemble
- Mauricio Smith’s Tribute Band
- Folk Panamanian Musicians
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 Monday, 13 October 2008
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