Jazz fest returns with the blues
By B. K. Lake, Nov 3, 2006

International Jazz & Blues Festival November 23–26, Teatro Angela Peralta

The traditional Thanksgiving treat of turkey with a beat will return after a one-year absence in an expanded version when the first Festival Internacional de Jazz & Blues takes the stage November 23 through 26.

Blues performers are being added because “music that doesn’t have elements of the blues isn’t jazz,” said Antonio Lozoya, festival director. Lozoya was music director of the former international jazz festival that ended its 11-year-run in 2004. 

This year’s festival will feature musicians from Mexico, Cuba, Chile, Venezuela, England and the United States, including a public concert the final day, and will feature daily workshops that explore the history and language of jazz and the blues, Lozoya added. 

Among the 25 performers will be two popular Mexican singers and their musicians, the Magos Herrera Jazz Group and the Betsy Pecanins Blues Group. Also appearing will be a trio of faculty members from three US university jazz programs, the Bob and Joe’s Blues Show from the US and Mexico, the Gabriel Hernández Band and Roberto Vizcaino from Cuba, jazz drummer Cody Moffett and Jambalaya from New York. The shows on November 23 through 25 will be at 7pm in the Teatro Angela Peralta, preceded by workshops at noon at Bellas Artes. 

Doug Robinson, pianist and composer, and the San Miguel Jazz Cats will give a public concert at 5pm on November 26 in the Jardín. The highly regarded Jazz Cats include Lozoya, bass; Ken Basman, guitar; and Victor Monterrubio, drums.

Lozoya said he decided to continue the tradition of the jazz festival to make sure it didn’t disappear from San Miguel and to add blues, a style closely linked to the origins of jazz.

“In its basic structure, blues expresses feelings shared by most people, something festive or sad or melancholic. Jazz resulted from the connection of two cultures in the US, being rooted in music from Africa and Europe, with the addition of folk music traditions from Latin America,” Lozoya said.

Co-founder and director of the Festival Internacional de Jazz Elena Shoemaker said she is delighted that there will be a festival of jazz and blues. After 11 years, Shoemaker said, she was ready for a change, but she is proud of all that the festival offered to San Miguel, the nearly 100 musicians who played for free, the cooperation of San Miguel hotels and restaurants and the music lovers of San Miguel. “I hope San Miguel continues to support this music, this art form, with all the enthusiasm that musicians from around the world have come to expect here.”

Lozoya said the new festival will need the same local support and will reduce travel costs by featuring more international performers based in Mexico. Both Magos Herrera and Betsy Pecanins have performed widely in the US and Europe as well as in Mexico, he said. 

Jazz and blues fans who would like to help with promotion and ticket sales or work during the concerts are welcome to call Lozoya at 152-7599. For more information, consult the festival web site at www.jazzybluessma.com