HAVANA JAZZ FEST
Paul's Festival Pass 
Jim and Paul in front of a mural in the lobby of the Karl Marx Theatre in Miramar, Havana, where the Opening and Closing Gala Concerts took place. Happy guys! 
'Decidedly Jazz' from Toronto opened the festival on December 16th, 2004. 
The Hugh Fraser Quintet from Vancouver, with a sax player from Irakere sitting in for someone who didn't make it there. 
Chucho Valdes with Hugh Fraser 
Chucho Valdes with Hugh Fraser 
Some impressionistic camera work! 
The big finale jam on Opening Night - Habana Ensemble y sus invitados - the young up-and-comers. 
A blurry shot of a couple of the old guys who sat in on percussion for a very memorable number. 
Nick 'Brownman' Ali [trumpet] and his brother Marcus [sax] from Toronto. They were one of many highlights of a 'Conceirto de Trumpetas en el Jazz' on December 17th. 
Another trumpet night moment. Ruth Kozak raved about this guy - Yasek Manzano. She said she hadn't been so moved by a jazz trumpet player since she saw Chet Baker in Vancouver in 1953. That concert was the start of Ruth's passion for jazz. 
December 18th found us at the outdoor Casa de Cultura de Plaza. Jim and Ruth are in a special area for pass holders. [Me too.] 
First up was the Point Loma University Jazz Ensemble from California - the only USA band in attendance. Perhaps because they were students they got to go. Who knows? The playing was pretty good, but the vocalists just weren't up to it. Young white gals just don't have the life experience to tackle songs made famous by the likes of Billie Holiday and Etta James. 
Leo Gandleman from Brazil. Great player - bad jacket! 
This young Cuban pianist with Leo was quite amazing. Never heard who he was. 
The big finale of the show was Jose Luis Cortez y NG la Banda who really rocked the plaza. 
Jose Luis Cortez y NG la Banda 
Lots of extra singers and dancers and players throughout the set. No encore though - didn't see a single encore in the whole festival. 
What jazz festival would be complete without a guy in a Jesus T shirt? 
Maraca y Otra Vision at the Teatro Nacional on December 19th, with all sorts of guest stars, traditional singers and percussionists, and 12 dancers. Another standout show. 
Maraca y Otra Vision 
Maraca y Otra Vision 
Maraca y Otra Vision 
Maraca y Otra Vision 
For the finale, Otra Vision invited the entire audience up on stage to go nuts with the band. 
Chucho Valdes [Festival Artistic Director] introduces the Gala de Clausura at the Teatro Karl Marx on December 19th, 2004 
Chucho with Duo Angelisa 
Chucho Valdes, Hugh Fraser and Orlando 'Maraca' Valle 
Dueling trumpets 
Dueling trumpets 
Mayra Caridad Valdes 
Mayra Caridad Valdes 
l´ensemble vocal Sexto Sentido and Mayra Caridad Valdes 
Chucho dancing with Mayra Caridad Valdes [his daughter] 
l´ensemble vocal Sexto Sentido with Irakere New Conception 
Chucho 
l´ensemble vocal Sexto Sentido with Irakere New Conception 
l´ensemble vocal Sexto Sentido 
Chucho 
Chucho Valdes, l´ensemble vocal Sexto Sentido, Irakere New Conception and a string section from the Havana Symphony. 
Of all the wonderful things about Cuba, the state of their public washrooms was not numbered among them. They were deplorable. One could not imagine that something could smell that bad. We agreed that the washroom at the Teatro Karl Marx was the best in all of Cuba. Not the main one, but the little one adjacent to the bar. Sweet smelling! Clean floor and walls! Toilet paper! Soap! Toilet seats! Running water! HOT water! Lovely artwork on the walls! If you are ever in Habana, check it out.
The following musicians were billed to appear at the Festival, but the USA managed to stop them from coming at the last minute. Just another reason to REALLY hate George W. Bush. But we didn't mind. It gave us more time to see all the great Cuban, Brazilian, Columbian, Argentinian, English and Canadian musicians.
Joe Lovano |
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