Jazz Fest, Panama Style

It's not every day I have the chance to write about two of my favorite topics in a single blog post. In honor of the 6th Annual Panama Jazz Festival held January 12-17, 2009 in Panama City, I can not pass up this opportunity. This year's fiesta promises to be the "largest ever", with legendary saxophonist, Wayne Shorter topping the bill with his quartet which includes Panamanian jazz piano virtuoso, Danilo Perez. Perez, the founder of the Panama Jazz Festival, is the most prominent Panamanian musician on the scene. He has single handedly brought the jazz world's attention to his home turf for the past six years. This year's impressive lineup, includes top names in contemporary and Latin Jazz, and is expected to draw 16,000 jazz fans from around the world. It thrills me to see jazz music taking root in Panama with such a high profile venue.

At first glance, it seems there is little correlation between jazz music and the Republic of Panama. However, upon further examination of these two seemingly unrelated subjects, I've discovered an interesting relationship. Jazz music and the Republic of Panama came into existence at roughly the same time in history. Both were born among the emergence of the 2oth century as a direct result of the industrialization of the West. Jazz emerged as a cross-cultural phenomena in New Orleans, where recently freed slaves sought to retain their West African heritage through weekly congregations in Congo Square. The rhythmic dance and musical gatherings, over time, incorporated distincly American and European influences in musical form and instrumentation.

By the early 1900's, a new musical art form, primarily based on individual expression through improvisation and group support, was born. Although considered primarily African American music, jazz was formed out of eclectic elements of the world's various cultures, perfectly capturing the energy of the maturing industrial democracy, from which it had sprung. The new music was a reflection of the innovation, collaboration and optimism of a new era. As African-Americans migrated from the South to find work in factories, jazz quickly spread to Northern cities and gained widespread acceptance.

Around the same time jazz was emerging as cultural zeitgeist, Theodore Roosevelt, America's young, brash President also embodied the "Can do" spirit of the age. Roosevelt, putting America's industrial ingenuity to the test, vowed to complete an engineering feet since abondoned by the French, a canal project across the narrow Ithsmus of Panama. It would shorten trans-oceanic shipping travel by six months. The ambitious project, massive in scale (even by today's standards), would first require the formation of an independant state. The Republic of Panama was formed in 1903, and the canal opened eleven years later. The strategic importance of the Panama Canal was instrumental in the rise of American prosperity through the 20th century. It remains today of fundamental importance to global trade. The canal has become the crossroads of the world economy, as trillions of dollars worth of trade goods pass through en route to markets around the globe.

Throughout the 20th Century the popularity of jazz ebbed and flowed, but the art form continually evolved, mutated and grew as new generations of artists explored the idiom. Dixieland, Big Band, Be-bop, Modal, West Coast Cool, Avant Garde, Fusion and Acid Jazz, all significant movements in their own right, pushed the art form into new directions. The most enduring and arguably the most popular direction of jazz has been Latin Jazz. The poly-rhythms of the Caribbean, combined with the suave sensuality of Brazilian influence, expanded jazz from a distinctly American musical form to one that encompasses all of "The Americas", or todas Las Americanas.
The popularity of Latin Jazz is not confined to Latin America, but is celebrated around the world, particularly in Asian and European countries. Through an artistic version of manifest destiny, Latin Jazz has inherited the legacy of a truly global musical form. What better location to celebrate this legacy than at the cultural and economic crossroads of the world...Viva Panama!

Reflections on jazz and Panama continues in Part II....

Improvisation

In my previous post, I mentioned my love for jazz music and how I find great pleasure in combining the concept of jazz with my experience in Panama. Continuing with this theme, I'd like to focus on the idea of jazz as metaphor for life. One of my literary heroes is Jack Kerouac, the somewhat obsessive Beat writer who spilled his mind's content onto a spool of teletype paper in one long, continuous stream of consciousness. Kerouac's writing style attempted to match tempo, chord progression and energy level of Bebop era jazz, measure for measure. Maniacally typing away at his manual keys, Kerouac resourcefully prevented the disruption of his thoughts by eliminating the need to change typing paper. While writing On the Road, there simply was no page end, only a massive rolling stream of consciousness fueled in part by crazy life observations, Benzedrine, and jazz music. I often wonder what Jack would have done with an ergonomic keyboard and word processing software. Somehow the romance is completely lost with Microsoft Word involved. My point is; Kerouac nailed it. He understood that jazz music, as art form, so accurately mirrors life.

The most distinguishing aspect of jazz is improvisation... "in the moment"..."making it up as you go along"...."without a net"...all cliche'...yet true. Legend has it, Miles Davis once fired a member of his band because he overheard the poor guy practicing solos in his hotel room. Miles Davis deeply valued the purity of spontaneity in his music. He must have understood; life allows no time for rehearsal. It's happening right now...you're either in the show, in the audience or outside in the alley. There's a certain dare-devil quality in every jazz performer. To some degree, it's about taking risk, betting on your own skill and making decisions on the fly. A jazz performer needs to be self-assured on the stand, as a matter of survival. It must be why they refer to one another as "cats". Reflex, balance and heightened intuition are required to take what's thrown at you and make it work. The group is there for support, but when it's solo time, it's all you, baby. If you can't hang with the cats, you'll be pushed back in the rhythm section or possibly thrown out of the jam session altogether...at least, according to some legendary stories from jazz historians. If jazz is a metaphor for life and the competitive and risky aspect is a metaphor for entrepreneurship, then I must be mid-solo, in the middle of an intense jam session.

Finding, buying and developing real estate in Latin America is kind of like the hardcore machismo of the early jazz era. The comparison is simple on a number of levels. First of all, if you want to be down by law, you better have some chops and get booted to the scene, otherwise don't bother showing up to jam. You'll swing like a rusty gate and won't get the gig. Therefore, no bread. If this is the dealio, don't play the refrain. Refrain from playing and go to the 'shed instead. Second, be sure you're jake with the cats in your combo. Your cats need to be tight and know where the changes are, because you'll need them in the pocket for your heat...Also, you'll be expected to lock during the out head, or lay out for a stroll. Third, always expect the unexpected. You'll need to have your bag, 'cause you'll never know when you'll need licks of your own. Finally, improvise, improvise, improvise...nothing will ever go exactly as you plan. You'll find clams that could cause a train wreck and you could lose your scratch...You'll need to adapt to double time tempos, as well as other cat's cornball chops. It's good to be poly-tonal and have more than one key in your noodle at any given time. If one number ends, don't snap your cap. You can quickly switch to another groove...One more thing, watch out for squatters! Now, get your ax out there and blow, amigo!

Translation available upon request.