Scenes from the 2010 Panama Jazz Festival
A photo essay by Roy Gumpel documenting jazz outreach
by Danilo Perez in his native Panama City
By Roy Gumpel
Early in 2009 I was hired to go down to Panama for a photo assignment. I was shooting for K.C. Hardin who, it turns out, is one of the people responsible for the success of the Panama Jazz Festival and the Danilo Perez Music Foundation there.
I did some shooting in the music school and got the feeling that some great things were happening there for the kids in the area. Kids who mostly live in some of the poorest neighborhoods in Panama.
So when it was getting close to January of 2010, I decided to try to get back down to Panama City for the Jazz Festival. I spoke to Danilo's people organizing the week and they gave me a press pass to shoot as I pleased and I set up my own photo-workshop for the week following the festival to subsidize my trip. It worked out, and I am planning a second photo-workshop there in March, 2010.(psst, pass it on)
I had heard that many jazz greats play this festival and looked forward to seeing some inspiring shows. What I didn't know was how moved I was going to be by the music workshops that are held all during the festival week. Every day scores of youngsters pour into the classrooms and theatres carrying their prized instruments to play with other kids and be inspired by so many great musicans from all over the world who are there to give their time to them. I wandered around the buildings following my ears into various classes and practice rooms, hallways and staircases where all kinds, ages and colors of kids sat and played music together. I was blown away. I never saw anything like this before. I took alot of pictures, but they really don't convey the full sense of what all these music lovers, teachers and students bring to Panama City every January.
I have been telling everyone I know that they should clear their calendar for next year's festival, take vacation time, quit their job...whatever, to get down there and experience the rare beauty of this event. One could sit in the corner of any one of the workshops for these kids and come away with enough inspiration to get you through the year. And when I sat one evening and had a drink with Danilo and KC Hardin, I realized how this festival came to be and grows more each year. These are some people-loving, passionate individuals who really care about the community there.
There's hope after all for the next generation!
Roy Gumpel
www.roygumpel.com
jazztimes.com
3 Comments
Reader Comments (3)
I attended the 3rd Annual festival and have been back every year since.
A few years later I brought 22 Canadians down and we had a blast.
5 of us have purchased apartments in PC and all agree the scene is great.
The job Danilo and his team has done is truly fantastic; especially with the youth of Panama.
The venues, prices, volunteers, and most of all ,the artists, are all first class and affordable.
The one comment I would make is about the Jams.
The EL PANAMA was a great room but suffered in the following respects.
Jazz needs to be viewed in subdued lighting, this makes a huge difference to the ambiance in such a large room.
The air conditioning was too cold, anyone sitting near a vent or the outer perimeter was freezing.
Tables were too large; forcing people to sit with their backs to the performance; smaller intimate tables would allow more people into the venue with corresponding better lines of sight.
And finally placing the bar adjacent to the band was a disaster; people were constantly walking across everyones line of site to access the bar. It should have been located at the rear of the room.
Really, this is a small complaint, to my mind Panama has some of the best music of any city in the world.
On any given night you can be exposed to Reggae, Calypso, Salsa, Meringue, Rock, did I mention Jazz
Keep up the good work Danilo
As for 2012 - BE THERE OR BE SQUARE
TOM T
says "late summer, 2011" - so I'm guessing that means August/September-new Anna Sui it bags
-Nur Majan watches in ukTune, Warp, Grand Central, Hospital and almost everyone else I want to listen to, meaning that it’s mostly mainstream fare — all the way from Eric Clapton to Jamie Cullum. I don’t know what your uncle is like, but I can’t see mine using iTunes.