Each November, the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival provides us with 4 nights of excellent jazz, by world-famous artists. This year the jazz fest begins next Thursday, November 25th and runs through Sunday, November 28th.
The shows are free and open to the public. The event will be held at Mamita’s Beach Club, in Playa del Carmen.
For some great, free, fun under the stars, head over to Mamita’s Beach Club and enjoy the outdoor concerts. Each year, the jazz festival gets more popular, and more crowded. A sample of the cast for this year:
November, 25th. |
| Mike Stern |
Mike Stern. In a career that spans three de-cades and a discography that includes more than a dozen eclectic and innovative re-cordings, six-time GRAMMY nominee Mike Stern has established himself as one of the premier jazz and jazz-fusion guitarists and composers of his generation.
Dave Weckl. Considered “one of the 25 best drummers of all time” by Modern Drummer’s Hall of Fame, Dave Weckl, an internationally renowned musician, began as a teenage pro-digy, escalating him into a celebrated 25 year career. Weckl’s cutting edge technique and innovative use of electric and acoustic drums caught the attention of Diana Ross, Robert Plant and Simon and Garfunkel for collabora-tive projects, leading him to launch a solo career and form the David Weckl Band, which released 5 albums and toured worldwide.
Ivan Lins. The smooth, romantic Brazilian beat that underlies much of contemporary jazz-pop in the United States has often originated with the music of Brazilian singer-songwriter Ivan Lins. A superstar in Brazil with a career stretching back to the classic era of bossa nova music, Lins gained fans in the United States and Europe as he collaborated with urban contemporary greats George Benson and Quincy Jones in the 1980s and launched an independent American career.
November, 26th.Troker. Very Mexican smelling Jazz, in the land of mariachi music, Troker presents itself as a band of progres-sive jazz, making always a crazy and original jazz-fusion on stage, there-fore to see them in concert is a unique experience.
Eldar Djangirov. Eldar came to the US from Kyrgyzstan in the former Soviet Union when he was nine. His first performance appearance in the US was at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. He has performed at venues ranging from the Holly-wood Bowl to Carnegie Hall and has played at the most notable jazz venues in the world including Blue Note (NY, Japan, Italy), the Vanguard, Dizzy's, Yoshi's, Jazz Alley, etc.
Al Di Meola. Member of Chick Corea's group, Return to Forever, 1974-76; launched solo career; began touring and recording with Paco De Lucia and John McLaughlin, 1980; founded Al Di Meola Pro-ject, 1985; toured with Larry Coryell and Be-relli Lagrene as Super Guitar Trio, 1987; main-tained dual career as electric guitarist and acoustic guitarist, 1991; formed group World Sinfonia, featuring bandoneon player Dino Saluzzi, percussionist Arto Tuncboyaci, and guitarist Christopher Carrington, 1991.
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| Incognito |
Incognito. An acid jazz project with sur-prisingly deep roots in the 1970s jazz/funk/fusion world, Incognito was originally formed by Jean-Paul Maunick (aka Bluey) and Paul "Tubbs" Williams. Both were lead-ers of the late-'70s disco-funk group Light of the World, who scored several moderate British hits, including a cover of "I Shot the Sheriff."
November, 27th.George Duke. He has worked as a musician, composer and producer with Dizzy Gillespie, Kenny Dorham, French violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, Frank Zappa, Cannonball Adderley, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, fusion power-drummer Billy Cobham, virtuoso bass player Stanley Clarke, singer Al Jarreau, Brazilian instru-mentalist Raoul de Souza, Deniece Wi-lliams, Smokey Robinson, saxophonist George Howard, Miles Jaye, vocalist Diane Reeves, The Pointer Sisters, 101 North, Najee, Jeffrey Osborne, Take 6, Howard Hewett, Chante Moore, Everette Harp, Rachelle Ferrell and, most recently, Gladys Knight, Keith Washington, Filipino star Gary Valenciano, Johnny Gill and Anita Baker. Predictably, the energetic, unstoppable George Duke keeps moving from strength to strength, bringing inven-tion, dimension and texture to music that is alive with person-ality and rich with artistry.
John McLaughlin. The "4th Dimension" is a group that is the culmination of many years of collaboration with
different musicians from different cultures and musical traditions both eastern and western. The music of this group successfully integrates these and other cultural influences, while keeping the spontaneous tradi-tions found in Jazz music.
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| The Manhattan Transfer |
The Manhattan Transfer. A four-piece band with Tim Hauser, Janis Siegel (alto), Cheryl Bentyne (soprano) and Alan Paul (tenor), who found each other in a series of happy accidents What now, after so many years of suc-cess? Only time will tell of course, but the four singers continue to be partners and certainly an inspiration to all who hear them. Whatever it is, it'll be done as only the Manhattan Transfer can do it!
November, 28thYekina Pavon. Celebrating a career of nearly 35 years, Yekina Pavón has been recognized by the media as one of the best voices in Mexico.
Eugenia Leon. With a career of more than 30 years, she has recorded 24 albums. Her capacity to work, her imagination and per-formance quality have given memorable concerts at the most important venues in Mexico. She is appreciated nationally and interna-tionally for the strength, versatility and quality of her voice, as well as the elabo-rate cultural offerings to her proposal. She is therefore identified as one of the most recognized and representative Mexican singers.
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| Armando Manzanero |
Armando Manzanero. Manzanero was born in the city of Merida, capital of Yucatan, Mexico, the birthplace of many songwriters and troubadours. Long way from there to the living legend, the songwriter, record producer from Grammy Award winners, he is well con-sidered as one of the leading exponents of Latin music and modern bolero. Manzanero is the essence, the same com-poser and author at the piano, his voice, gently whispers the lyrics of his songs, so intimate that anyone who hears them can sometimes imagine that they were written specially for them. "The best languages for love are songs" said Armando Man-zanero. Not surprisingly, to date he has written over 400 songs, 50 of which have gained international fame. In addition, his songs translated or not, have been performed by voices like those of Eddie Gorme, Johnny Mathis, Paul Muriat, Tony Bennet, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Ellis Regina, Andrea Bochelli, Il Divo and Placido Domingo.
No doubt this year the festival will be something to remember.
