Music bands from all over the U.S. and Latin America will unite Oct.13 and 14 at the first annual Mission Latin Jazz Festival in San Francisco, to celebrate a wide array of eclectic music.
Camilo Landau, Acción Latina’s cultural programmer, discusses the cultural importance of Latin jazz to the Latino community.
“Latin jazz is considered a high art form and cultural expression,” Landau said. “As Latinos and musicians in the U.S., we are interested in preserving this aspect of our culture.”
The Latin Jazz festival will feature the ‘70s Mission All-Stars on Saturday night, paying homage to the amazing musical scene that sprouted in San Francisco’s Mission district in the 1970s.
The all-star band of veteran players will pay tribute to the music that they themselves pioneered. Members of the band include Karl Perazzo from the Calos Santana band; Dr. John Calloway, recipient of the 2012 “Jazz Hero” award; master bassist David Belove; renowned producer Dr. Greg Landau; legendary singer Linda Tillery; violin virtuoso Anthony Blea; and more.
The next generation of exceptional Latin jazz musicians will be represented by the Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble of San Francisco, under the musical direction of Calloway. Composed of young musicians aged 10 to 18, the LJYE has gained a reputation of excellence based on their high standards of musicianship.
On Sunday, Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble will make an appearance along with the 20-piece big-band Pacific Mambo Orchestra, who will be paired with VL Trio.
Landau expects to open dialogue within the Latin Jazz community regarding its relationship to the Grammys, as well as the origins of the music, the way it has evolved and how it has become integrated into native, traditional music from countries within Latin America.
With the inclusion of Laura Rebolloso and Ensemble Marinero from Mexico playing a version of Mexican-Jazz, Landau invites people to discuss whether Latin Jazz includes Cuban and Puerto Rican mixtures of Jazz only or influences from all over Latin America.
Rebolloso one of the founders of legendary Son Jarocho group Son de Madera, will be performing with Ensemble Marinero, often described as an excursion into Mexican-Jazz, as it explores the boundaries of the very meaning of Latin jazz. The poetic decima’s of Rebolloso’s music will be accompanied by piano, contrabass and violin.
Landau asserts that piano and acoustic bass were never traditional instruments in Son Jarocho music but that they are now being integrated into it.
“What can globalization sound like?” Landau said. “We are seeing the globalization of music and the influence of jazz music from the U.S. on traditional music such as Son Jarocho.”
The festival also strives to open discussion on the reinstatement of the Latin Jazz category within the annual Grammy awards ceremony.
Trustees of the Grammy Academy rattled the music industry when they reduced the categories from 109 to 78 in 2011. Among these categories were zydeco, Hawaiian music, American Indian music and Latin jazz.
The decision drew fierce protest from Latin jazz musicians and others, and many contended that the cuts appeared to discriminate against ethnic minorities. Big-name artists, including Paul Simon, Herbie Hancock and Carlos Santana, joined a petition drive to reverse the decisions. This year, they have voted to reinstate the award for best Latin jazz album.
Mexican-American Steven San Juan anticipates that the festival will be very enjoyable for the Latino community and beyond.
“Son Jarocho music is very popular in the city that my family is from, Veracruz,” San Juan said. “I am excited to hear all the different types of music in the festival and the new sound they can create together.”
The first annual Mission Latin Jazz Festival will take place on Oct. 13 and 14 at the Brava Theater, 2781 24th Street, San Francisco. For more information visit: www.accionlatina.org/missionlatinjazz.