It’s been a little over a week since the Jazz Festival ended, but it’s not to late to offer our comments on how it went this year.

The out-of-Casco events: The music classes and clinics in Atlapa once again drew a diverse crowd of musicians and music-lovers of all ages, nationalities and abilities.  People came from as far away as Hawaii to take advantage of the influx of talent and musical knowledge that has become a trademark of this festival.  And the week began with a little San Felipe, with our young neighbors Luis Angel and Oliver, residents of La Boyacá, performing with the Danilo Pérez Foundation group at the opening ceremony.   The Thursday and Friday concerts in Anayansi Theater didn’t disappoint, with the high point being the out-of-this-world performance of the Danilo Pérez Providencia Tour on Friday. Finally, the nightly Jam Sessions at the Hotel El Panama provided a venue for Panamanian bands to perform before the floor opened up to a mix of local and international musicians.

The Casco events: The Wednesday night Gala event at the National Theater was formally spectacular, culminating in the performance of Vitin Paz’s Big Band. And then there was Catedral on Saturday, the event we all wait for each year.  Estimates have put about 6,000 people there, but walking (or rather trying to walk) through the crowd at about 8pm to get to the Varela tent it seemed like a lot more.  Other than the music, the high point had to be the 6 panamanians who were given scholarships by Berklee, 3 for a 5-week summer program in Boston, and 3 for a free online course taught by Berklee faculty.

For a more multimedia summary of the Jazz Festival, check out the photo galleries from these two photographers:

Sean Hallisey

Roy Gumpel

By way of the Panama Jazz Festival facebook page we received the following message:

At the press conference held last Monday, October 4th in the Hotel El Panama, Danilo Perez announced the artists and academic institutions that will be participating in the 8th Panama Jazz Festival, dedicated to Vitin Paz, to be held January 10-15, 2011.

ARTISTS: The Danilo Perez Trio with saxofonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, trombonist Conrad Herwig with The Latin Side of Herbie Hancock, the Claudia Acuña Quartet, Riccardo Del Fra, trumpeter Brian Lynch, the Vitin Paz Big Band, the Harlem String Quartet and “La Coma” Flamenco trio from Spain.

ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS: Berklee Global Jazz Institute, New England Conservatory, Conservatorio de Puerto Rico, Golandsky Piano Institute, Conservatorio de París, Crossroads High School and Fundación Tónica de México.

The 8th Jazz Festival is predicted to draw over 25 thousand people from Panama and around the world.

You can access the press release, photos, artists biographies and more on the PJF facebook group page and at www.panamajazzfestival.com.

Danilo © Fundación Danilo Pérez

Although Danilo Pérez has never technically lived in the Casco, it was here that he studied music as a teenager (in the Conservatorio Nacional) and here where he decided to make it possible for others to do the same (with the Panama Jazz Festival and the Fundación Danilo Pérez), so we think it’s right to claim him as one of our own,  100% Casqueño. And so it makes us even more proud, not just as people, music lovers and Panamanians, but as fellow Casqueños, to see Danilo’s newest record, Providencia, be met with nothing but critical acclaim from around the world.  Yesterday La Prensa carried the news on the front page, you can read that article here, or one of the many reviews here.

Give it a listen if you can get your hands on it (it’ll be released internationally in October) and get excited for the 2011 Panama Jazz Festival, taking place this coming January 10-15.