Jazz Video Guy Asks: How Cool is the Monterey Jazz Festival

[bretprimack]

The latest installment of the Jazz Video Guy’s blog is “How Cool Is the Monterey Jazz Festival,” featuring highlights from the 51st edition of the extravaganza. Bret Primack, aka the Jazz Video Guy reports that he attended his “first Monterey Jazz Festival this past September, at the invitation of Jason Olaine, and not surprisingly, I had a ball. The quality and quantity of music, the food, the whole vibe and sense of community made it a tremendously uplifting experience. That's what Jazz is all about. At a time when the record industry is floundering, the MJF serves as an example that Jazz can be presented and enjoyed successfully.”

Included in the ten minute video are excerpts from “Cuban Lullabies,” a special project created for the festival by a remarkable Cuban named Maraca, who plays the flute, wrote the music and arrangements, and led an all-star featuring the best Latin American musicians on the planet: Orlando "Maraca" Valle (flute), David Sanchez (tenor sax), Miguel Zenon (alto sax), Edward Simon (piano), Murray Low (keyboards), John Benetiz (bass), Giovanni Hidalgo (congas), Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez (drums) accompanied by the Monterey Jazz Festival Chamber Orchestra. This unique collaboration brought together musicians from several different cultures and produced some really beautiful, captivating melodies and vibrant rhythms.

Thankfully, Maraca was able to travel from his native Cuba to the US without restriction. This time. In the past decade, it has been nearly impossible for Cuban and American musicians to collaborate because both governments have placed tremendous visa restrictions on these artists. Nearly every time Chucho Valdes has tried to play the Village Vanguard, one of the governments has stopped him, With a new President in the US, and a possible changing of the guard in Cuba, isn't it about time artists were allowed to collaborate, perform and travel freely? 

Cuban Lullabies celebrates the richness and diversity of Cuban music, both historic and contemporary and is a vivid demonstration of the joys of collaboration, as you'll see in this video.

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[randissimo]

Sure would be nice to get Organissimo in that festival.. Have yet to gig west of Chicago..