From August 14 to 17, the colonial streets of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, will echo with jazz, soukous, salsa, zouk, and Afro-fusion. The 12th edition of the Voces del Jazz y del Caribe Festival returns with over 100 artists from Colombia, Africa, the Caribbean, and beyond, transforming the city into a crossroads of rhythm and memory.
The festival’s heartbeat is the Voces del Jazz Contest, where 19 youth bands, selected from over 70 applicants, offer spirited, genre-bending visions of jazz. These include:
- Mama Shanty (Barranquilla): reggae-infused jazz with coastal flavor
- Interplay, Sur Wave, Camilo Ibarra Trio, James Holguín Cuarteto, and Calentanos Brass Band (Bogotá): each exploring swing, bebop, and urban jazz
- Microtónicos (Bucaramanga): experimental sounds and microtonal harmonies
- Caribbean Jazz and Albert Stone (Cartagena): rooted in local grooves
- OC Proyecto (Envigado) and Geografía (La Ceja): a mix of jazz with Antioquian folk
- Chaivers (Lima, Perú): Latin jazz with Andean undertones
- Compinches, Leah Ah, Malva, Berps, and Mikael Hyla Cuarteto (Medellín): a constellation of emerging voices
- Jorge Rivera Jazz (Montreal, Canada): cosmopolitan phrasing and lyrical depth
- Andrés Guerrero Quinteto (Pasto): jazz meets southern Colombian soul
These ensembles will compete from August 14–16, honoring Sofronín Martínez, the Pasacaballos-born pioneer of bolero filin and Caribbean jazz.
The final night, August 17, is a musical kaleidoscope. The Soukous Stars from Congo with Dally Kimoko and Shimita El Diego, will bring electrifying guitar lines and rumba-rooted vocals. Lorraine Klaasen (South Africa) and Claudia Masika (Kenya/Switzerland) offer township jazz and Afrobeat with a social message. Luis “Perico” Ortiz (Puerto Rico) returns with his signature Latin jazz sound.
From Martinique, ELji and KOEZYON fuse hip hop, dancehall, zouk, and biguine. Ballou Canta, the Congolese maestro, adds spiritual depth with his prophetic musical roots.
Colombian artists shine throughout: Simón Olano, Conrado Marrugo, Eduardo Jasbón, Juan Álvarez, Pacho Madariaga, and Rey Llamas. The Orquesta Revista Zetta, led by John Zamora, combines music and journalism in a uniquely Cartagenero voice. Mr. Jazz Big Band (Tunja) and the Big Band de Tunja will prsent swing, funk, and Latin jazz.
Workshops in improvisation, harmony, composition, and Afro-Latin percussion round out the experience, nurturing Colombia’s jazz future.
Four days. One city. Nineteen bands. A hundred voices. Cartagena listens, and the world responds.
More at vocesdeljazz.com
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central