Festival Internacional de Jazz y Blues en San Miguel de Allende

[Jazzooo]

Hola, compadres--

This Thanksgiving weekend marks the 13th year of an intimate jazz festival in my new home town, San Miguel de Allende Mexico. It is the first year, however, that my wife and I are co-producing the festival, along with my musical colleague and festival director Antonio Lozoya and his wife Tere.

The lineup includes saxophonist Bob Sheppard, drummer Francisco Mela, gypsy jazz string quintet The Hot Club of San Francisco, singer Daline Jones, guitarists Peter Sprague and Randy Bernsen and bassist Gene Perla with his Fine Wine Trio. We'll also have free jazz clinics hosted by five maestros from the Jazz Academy in Mexico City, and I'll be closing the festival along with 12 musicians as we reprise last year's sold out Tributo en Jazz a Ray Charles.

sanmigueljazz.com

San Miguel de Allende is right in the center of Mexico--a three hour flight from most anywhere in CA and nly a three hour drive from Mexico City. Most of the concerts will take place in the historic Teatro Angela Peralta, a 400 seat beauty getting ready for her 150th birthday.

The town itself, for those who have never heard me talk about it, is historic--it played a key role in the revolution of 1810, along with nearby Delores Hidalgo and Queretero. The tiny cobblestone streets and colonial architecture are only part of the charm. It's been considered an artists' colony for decades for both Mexicans and gringos, and the overall vibe wherever you go--while too laid back to be considered 'bursting' with creativity--is definitely bubbling with it.

We will never be a huge festival--the worst seat in our largest indoor venue gets you closer to the music than you'd get with standard admission at other festivals. Thus our goal is to create a world class event that features an up-close musical experience with talented artists in a lovely and even exotic setting. Two groups every night, long sets with ticket prices ranging from around $9 USD to $23 USD for each night.

If you feel the need to escape the chill of November in the states; if you've always wanted to explore beautiful central Mexico; if you want your travel and jazz dollars to go further than they would in Canada right now, eh? ...then come to San Miguel and let Glenda and I get you situated in one of the hip little B & Bs around town, and then dig the sounds.

Hasta Luego,

Doug

[Gerardo A]

Nice Doug, congrats and break a leg. I'd love to see Mela live. Are you playing this year?

[Jazzooo]

Gerardo! I was just about to email you and point you to this thread. Mela's playing Thursday night with his own trio (Gabriel Hernandez on piano and Augustin Bernal on bass) and then again on Sat night backing Bob Sheppard. It should be rockin!

I am definitely playing twice during the festival--a free concert in the Jardin on Wed to kick things off, and Sunday's Ray Charles tribute concert (which features all my arrangements as well). But I just got off the phone with a couple of other players who have asked me to sit in with them on Fri and Sat night, so I might have a few guest shots as well. I'm playing pretty well the last couple of weeks--hope I can sustain it till November!

Are you coming?

[Gerardo A]

Man, I'd love to come but I don't think it will be possible since I won't have vacations from work until December. The music sounds like it will be great plus San Miguel de Allende is one of the hippest towns in Mexico. And it'd be great to hang with you. Maybe I'll catch my boss in a good mood one of these days and ask him if I can take a couple of days off so I can hopefully make it!

And you should forward all of this info to the Mexican critics/journalists like Antonio Malacara (who writes for La Jornada) and Xavier Quirarte (writing for Milenio). If you need me to send you again their addresses let me know.

(edit): I'm already forwarding the info to the Gmail Mexican Jazz newsletter/group I told you about.

[Jazzooo]

I blush to admit that I do need those email addresses again, Gerardo--I'm not sure what happened, but my already crappy organization skills take a hit every time I cross the border!

Can't you just tell your boss that it's Thanksgiving, and because you feel such sympathy for gringos you want to share their holiday with them? By all means, if you can come, let me know. Thanks for spreading the word.

[Valerie]

mucho congrats, doug!! it sounds wonderful! i would definitely consider coming down but i'm already scheduled for costa rica. maybe next time! good luck with all of it. xoxo to you and glenda and the pooches.

[Gerardo A]

No problem, Doug. I was going to PM you the info but I might as well publish it here so that any other interested parties can use it. I'll do my best to come down and will definitely let you know if I do. Cheers!

"Okay, there are basically three major jazz writers who publish frequently in Mexico:

For La Jornada, Antonio Malacara (he's written notes about most of the things I've organized):
amalacara@prodigy.net.mx

For Milenio, Xavier Quirarte (he's also a bass player who plays in a great free jazz band called Sociedad Acustica):
xavierquirarte@yahoo.com

And Alain Derbez (poet and saxophone player who's written the only book so far about Mexican jazz history):
aderbez@hotmail.com

If you have a Gmail account there's a very good Mexican Jazz Google Group that mostly everyone jazz-related in Mexico reads (journalists, musicians, promoters). My guess is that in a few years it will be like the Mexican Jazzcorner. The creator is a very nice guy from Texas called Luis Moreno (Jazz Buffalo). You need a Gmail account to post or read the messages, though.

http://groups.google.es/group/JAZZ-EN-MEXICO?hl=es

All of these guys can talk/read in English, but let me know if you need help with the Spanish.

Un abrazo,

G"

[Pete C]

I'm glad it's back on track. I actually had tickets to go several years ago and they canceled it that year. I ended up going to Italy instead. Poor me.

Nice town. I only spent a few hours there, I believe I was traveling between Mexico City & Guanajuato (sp?) by bus.

[Lois Gilbert]

Much look and congrats Doug. I've made this is a sticky - hopefully a little sticky might get one invited next year (hint hint or is that blatant use of sticky power)

[Jazzooo]

Lois, you are already SO invited. Let's look forward to 2008. I'd love to get a couple of JC artists on the bill if I can.

[Jazzooo]

Nothing to bump, since it's a sticky, but I just felt like an update. The website is better-written today than it was when I first posted the url: sanmigueljazz.com. Still a few typos, but you've got to pick your shots in terms of where you focus your energy.

My band Mo' Ritmo just got the nod on Sat 11/25, opening for Bob Sheppard/Francisco Mela/Peter Sprague and Hamilton Price. We'll bring out Tripp Sprague and Randy Singer as guests and have a little party onstage--I love this band. Here's a track I wrote called Aldama Mama': http://download.yousendit.com/EC5323FE0E03F0F2

Publicity is going well, fundraising ok but we're still hammering away. Getting excited, not sleeping all that much!

Gerardo, I wrote to everyone you suggested and Xavier said he was going to do an article. Gracias.

[Gerardo A]

Cool!

[Jazzooo]

Well, things couldn't be off a better start!

Wed afternoon, the 13th Festival Internacional de Jazz y Blues kicked off with a free outdoor concert in front of San Miguel's oldest church, featuring vocalist Daline Jones and The San Miguel Jazz Cats (that's me blowing my melodica):




It was a great success--about 400 people in the crowd (about75% Mexican which is rare for a jazz event here), and some truly good music.

Oh, what the hell--one more photo from the closing tune, on which I played drums:


But if the free concert was a home run, then last night was a grand slam.

After a few remarks from Festival Director Antonio Lozoya and me...


We got things rolling Thursday night at the Teatro Angela Peralta with a subtle and swinging set by bassist Gene Perla and his Fine Wine Trio. That's Cuban pianist Gabriel Hernandez and Bobby Kaplan on drums and vocals. Their groove was perfect, spacious and creative.


The theater was about 3/4 full, which I considered a huge victory given that it was Thanksgiving and many of my gringo friends were at home eating pavo. But man, did they miss some killer music by the second act, drummer Francisco Mela!

Mela took the stage with such enthusiasm for the event. His 5 piece band included pianist Hernandez again, who wrote about half of the charts, plus bassist Augustin Bernal, Jorge (?) on tenor sax and Alejandro (?) on trumpet. I knew Mela had been playing with Joe Lovano and John Scofield lately, but now I know why they hired him. What a great musician and as it rutns out, bandleader. I'm pretty confident saying that this was the deepest jazz that has even been performed in San Miguel de Allende.




I wish the photos were better, but the important thing was that *I* got to see it.

Tonight is guitar night: Floridian Randy Bernsen and harmonica player Randy Singer will open with a bluesy, folky, fusiony set, and then Peter Sprague will lay down some Brazilian bop with Hamilton Price on bass, brother Tripp Sprague on sax and flute, and Dylan Savage on drums. I'll be sitting in on a number or two myself.

More later...

[Gerardo A]

Thanks for the pics and report! Would love to have seen Gabriel Hernandez with Mela.

[Valerie]

mucho congrats, doug!! sounds and looks like a well-deserved success!!

hugs and kisses to you and glenda (and your babies!) from me in costa rica!

xoxo

valerie

[Jazzooo]

Oooh, Costa Rica! I bet you don't have a lot of worries right now, you know, like trying to find a trumpet player to replace mine who got to the airport this morning only to be turned away by Aeromexico who told him they had no ticket for him.

Last night was another excellent concert--Peter Sprague is such a charismatic player, he just sucks you into his world. I'm supposed to be resting up for Mo' Ritmo, who opens up for Bob Sheppard tonight, but I'm too stressed about the trumpet situation at the moment.

[Dennis Gonzalez]

I'm supposed to be resting up for Mo' Ritmo, who opens up for Bob Sheppard tonight, but I'm too stressed about the trumpet situation at the moment.

I woulda flown in if I'd had more lead time.

[Jazzooo]

Man, I wish I'd thought of that Dennis! As it turns out, I found a rather neat solution...but first:

Holy crap! Tonight was one killer night at the festival. My group, Mo' Ritmo, opened up with an hour long set and it was our best performaance ever. I had my Motif and my Roland VR760 organ going through a Bose tower with a line out to the PA for the organ only. Plenty of sound for a 400 seat theater, which was nearly sold out once again. It was recorded and I can't wait to hear it--we went from balls out fusion to the most elegant and playful version of "Mean to Me," in 7/4. Sax player Tripp Sprague joined us for a few, and then singer/harmonica player Randy Singer came out and we rocked the house with a Chicago blues shuffle--people were standing up and clapping through most of it.

And then...Bob Sheppard caqme out with his quartet--or actually, the quartet I put together for him, with Peter Sprague, Hamilton Price and the incredible force of nature on drums, Francisco Mela. No rehearsal, as Bob had arrived just minutes before we started playing. They just talked over the tunes in the green room, came out and knocked everyone out. To me, he's just the tastiest and most interesting sax player out there right now.

San Miguel has *never* seen so much good music as we've presented in the last four days. The town is rocking--we all went to the club across the street to hear Ken Basman from Mo' Ritmo doing his nightly gig, and Bob and Tripp got up and played dueling tenors.

Tomorrow night's finale is sold out--The Hot Club of San Francisco and then our jazz tribute to Ray Charles. Totally stoked because Bob Sheppard is going to play the trumpet parts of my arrangements on soprano tomorrow.

Photos later.

It occurs to me that we are now, after four days, where I thought it would take us 2-3 years to get. This is not only a decent festival, it's a damn good one. OUr biggest performance space is only 400 seats, so it feels pretty intimate. There are jam sessions popping up all over town each night--we do seed them with great players but they take on lives of their own. If you're interested in Mexico, I'd keep an eye on this Festival.

[Ron Thorne]

Congratulations, Doug and everyone!

[Valerie]

WAY TO GO, Doug!!! absolutely incredible! i know you are one happy guy as you well should be! dreams do come true! so happy for you. you've actually had many fabulous experiences since moving down there. very happy for you guys! continue on.

[Jazzooo]

Thanks, you guys--

I am being totally honest when I tell you that it's hard to imagine last night's finale being much better than it was.

FIrst off, we were totally sold out first thing in the morning. There was a large crowd waiting in the street to see if they could get in, and a couple of people actually got pretty testy about getting turned away (the theater only has 400 seats, and the final 50 should actually come with a free chiropractic treatment).

The show opened with Hot Club of San Francisco, a total class act and San Miguel favorites. Three guitars, Evan Price from Turtle Island String Quartet on violin, and acoustic bass. Gypsy jazz, a la Django. What a sweet and totally pro sound, and great stage presence. I had them set up in front of the curtain--more intimate that way, but I had an ulterior motive that benefited the second act, which was my jazz tribute to Ray Charles.

They finished their encore and the crowd poured into the lobby to buy CDs. When they came back, the theater went dark and two spots came up on either side of the front of the curtain, revealing me behind my organ and Ken on guitar. We went into a spacious give and take version of You Don't Know Me. You could hear a pin drop. When we finished, the crowd went pretty crazy as I counted off Unchain My Heart as the curtains opened to reveal the full band, including a latin percussionist, four background singers, two horns, bass and drums.

From there we ran through some cool versions of Ray tunes, featuring a different singer every other song, or instrumentals featuring Tripp Sprague and Bob Sheppard. I want to put an exclamation point on that last line, that's how much fun it was.

Lots of clams and flubs--it's a complex show and we never had a full rehearsal, so it was inevitable. But the audience was undeterred and we got a standing O. The town is alive about this jazz festival at the moment, and I predict that next year we'll be adding extra shows to accomodate the increased interest. We had a cool wrap party across the street and I jammed with the Hot Club guys--awesome.

I was talking to Bob S after the show, kind of brooding a little about my clams and I asked him how he dealt with it. He's probably been asked this a million times at clinics, but his answer felt good. He said "You want to know why that's so great? It proves that you still care." Good line, made me feel better.

And as I reflect on how incredibly fun with was for the best guys in town to be up there trading riffs with Bob and Tripp and our other guest artists, it occured to me that I am running a Mexican branch of the Make a Wish Foundation.



Photos later.

[Jazzooo]

Check these photos out!

http://www.humblepress.com/SMAJAZZ

[Valerie]

Check these photos out!

http://www.humblepress.com/SMAJAZZ

couldn't open on my home computer. will try tomorrow at work. looking forward to seeing them!

[Ron Thorne]

And as I reflect on how incredibly fun with was for the best guys in town to be up there trading riffs with Bob and Tripp and our other guest artists, it occured to me that I am running a Mexican branch of the Make a Wish Foundation.

Indeed you are!

I just watched the entire slide show of 86 images. Wonderful stuff, Doug!

I have some serious ideas for next year which I'll send to you in a PM.

[Valerie]

oh, i'm so glad i was finally able to see all the pictures! man, they came alive on my screen! i think my very favorite is the one where Glenda is alone at the mike and Doug is smiling his ass off at the piano!!!

[Jazzooo]

Lol--that was us singing Baby It's Cold Outside, during the Ray Charles tribute. I['m sure you've heard the splendid version he did with betty Carter, right?

[Ron Thorne]

I just sent you a PM relative to post #24, Doug.

[Valerie]

Lol--that was us singing Baby It's Cold Outside, during the Ray Charles tribute. I['m sure you've heard the splendid version he did with betty Carter, right?

sure, i've heard it, but i'm certain it doesn't hold a candle to yours and glenda's!! boy, do i wish i could have heard that!! what fun!