Archive for August, 2009

Anacaona will be the final top act of the upcoming Caribbean Sea Jazz Festival. It is the name of the popular Cuban, all-female band that is undoubtedly going to leave a lasting impression on festival goers of the event, which takes place on September 4 and 5. Anacaona is the final act of the fabulous international and local line-up of the 2009 festival.

Named after an Indian queen, the band was founded in the 1930’s in Havana by Cuchito Castro. Together with her sisters she formed a septet, playing her music, challenging this male dominated kind of music. Before long, however, all eleven sisters joined the band, and soon they started to enjoy international fame.

Earlier in the 1930’s the political situation in Cuba led to university closings, forcing Cuchito Castro to abandon her studies and plans to start a dental practice. Instead she formed a band with which she performed on the radio and at open-air cafés. The international break-through came in 1938 with concerts in New York and in Paris. Unfortunately, the Cuban Revolution caused the group to fade into obscurity until it resurfaced years later.

Anacaona was reorganized in 1988. Five Castro sisters left the band, which is now led by bassists Georgia and Doris Aguirre. Three CD’s have come out: Ay! (1992), Como un Milagro (1995) and Lo que tu Espereabas (2000). Expectations are running sky high for the performance of this most unusual band at the 2009 Caribbean Jazz Festival.

Tickets for the festival are now on sale at MooMba Beach, Café the Plaza, Cliffix, Cas di Cultura, Amazing Restaurant in San Nicolas or via the festival website www.caribbeanseajazz.com. Weekend passes are available.

Gaining Momentum and International Acclaim

Will Bernard, often called `one of the best-kept jazz guitarists on the planet,’ is coming to Aruba to perform at the Caribbean Sea Jazz Festival. Will is scheduled to play on Saturday, September 5 on the outside stage of the jazzy village at Cas di Cultura. Among festival organizer Erik Jan Eman’s personal favorites, Bernard plays groovy, smooth jazz with a sly twist. “He is superb and I am a great fan of his,” says Erik Jan, who is amazed at the hundreds of mails that he gets from performers hailing from all over the world, who are inquiring about coming to play at his festival. Bernard was one of them.

Bernard is a native of California, but he has recently moved to New York. He is not home very often, as he is a touring artist, and when you look at his schedule, you will be filled with admiration. In June, the guitarist stayed in the US, but July is jam-packed with gigs in France, the UK, Germany and Denmark. This will be the first time that Will Bernard is playing on Aruba.

Back to his music: there is no specific genre to pinpoint when listening to Will Bernard’s music, but it’s smooth and cool. He likes to stretch boundaries and cross them, as he proves in several self-produced albums. Blue Plate Special (2008) is Bernard’s latest CD.
For more information, please look up www.willbernard.com and you will realize what a top jazz performer has been added to the impressive line-up of the third Caribbean Sea Jazz Festival on September 4 and 5. The website of Aruba’s third Caribbean Jazz Festival is www.caribbeanseajazz.com. Of course, the festival’s entire sound and lighting is put up by Eman’s Entertainment Group; they recently received a commitment from Heineken for sound and lighting for the upcoming Green Village event after last week’s spectacular success.

Izaline Calister’s `Speransa’ Premiers on Aruba During Jazz Festival

Two consecutive performances by Curaçao’s Izaline Calister are among the many highlights at the upcoming Caribbean Sea Jazz Festival, which is held on September 4 and 5. The singer has been gaining a great reputation in the past few years, culminating in the CD `Speransa’. The Aruban première of this critically acclaimed CD takes place on Friday, September 4 on the stage of Cas di Cultura. “Get a seat and hold on to it,” is festival organizer Erik Jan Eman’s advice. “There are only 550 seats in the house.”

`Speransa’ means hope; it is also the name of one of the 13 songs that Isaline composed for this CD. With it, she begins a new era in her music, letting herself roam freely through the wonders of the music of the Caribbean. Before, Isaline kept to the strict confines of Antillian rhythms and songs, but not any longer. Standing ovations have been her reward.

The word `positive’ features in a top position in Isaline Callister’s look on life. “Nobody has ever gained anything by being negative,” is her down-to-earth reasoning. Her music, now rife with Afro-Caribbean influences and Brazilian rhythms, is positive: intriguing, warm and exciting.

Callister has been a revelation in Holland for quite some time already. She recently got rave reviews for her performance at the North Sea Jazz Festival, but she is also making a name abroad. She has a steady band, but adds fabulous guests like Ruud Breuls on flügelhorn and Pernell Saturnino on percussion. Expect to see Isaline perform barefoot: “I can’t sing with shoes on,” she says.

For information about the upcoming Caribbean Sea Jazz Festival and its line-up, please surf to www.caribbeanseajazz.com.

Top-notch saxophonist David Sanborn is performing live on Aruba!

“David Sanborn has been confirmed. We have paid his fee and have received confirmation that he is coming to Aruba to play on Friday, September 4,” says a jubilant Eric Jan Eman, organizer of the annual Caribbean Sea Jazz Festival on Aruba. Eman is more than a little bit happy: David Sanborn is one of the greatest alto saxophonists in the world. This 7-time Grammy Award winner is a top act, and his appearance on Plaza Cas di Cultura has been made possible through joint cooperation between jazz lover Peter Steinmetz of the AAA, the Aruba Tourism Authority (ATA) and the Aruba Hotel And Tourism Association (AHATA).

David Sanborn (1945) has been playing the sax since before he was in high school. Diagnosed with polio at a young age, his physician urged him to take up playing the saxophone to strengthen his weakened lungs and chest muscles. Throughout his distinguished career he has played genres ranging from pop to blues and everything in between. Although he is often identified with `Smooth Jazz’, this is not what David wants to be known for.

Numerous awards, among them seven Grammy Awards, have been the stamp of approval of millions of jazz lovers, but David Sanborn has done much more than performing and making CD’s. He has composed, written film scores (among others, Lethal Weapon and Scrooged) and he has acted in various movies. Well-known guest appearances have been with David Bowie, Roger Daltrey of The Who and The Allman Brothers.

Those who wish to buy tickets for David Sanborn’s performance can do this on-line via www.caribbeanseajazz.com, at MooMba Beach, at Superfood or at Cliffix. Tickets cost US 32.00; `early birds’ get them for US 25.00 for either Friday or Saturday. A weekend pass is US 52.00 at the gate or US 43.00 in advance. On Friday evening Curaçao’s darling Issaline is launching her new CD on Aruba inside Cas di Cultura as well. As there are only 550 seats, please get there early if you wish to see her live on stage. On Saturday Issaline performs outside.

Earth, Wind and Fire to headline two-day music event in Aruba.

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The 8th annual Aruba Music Festival will take place on October 9th and 10th and Aruba Marriott Resort is helping tourists get in on the act with free tickets to the headline performance Earth, Wind and Fire on Saturday, October 10th.

Guests who book a Garden View Guest Room for a minimum of four nights will receive two free tickets for Preferred Seating at the Saturday evening concert; and guests who book an Ocean/Pool View Room will receive two Golden Circle tickets to the concert – the best seats in the house at the Aruba Entertainment Center.

The package starts at $229 per night for a Garden View Room and $309 per night for Ocean/Pool View Rooms. Package is valid on four-night stays with arrival on October 7th or 8th. To book this rock-n-roll getaway, call 800.223.6388 or visit www.arubamarriott.com and request promotional code M16.

On Friday, October 9th, Latin Grammy winner Fonseca and International music icon Paulina Rubio will perform to kick off the Festival. An Aruba Music Festival desk will be set up in the lobby of the resort to assist with transportation to/from the show and to sell individual tickets. The festival is the perfect chance to enjoy a long holiday weekend at the Aruba Marriott with Columbus Day falling on Monday, October 12th. Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino boasts 411 newly renovated guestrooms — the most spacious on the island and each with large, private balconies overlooking lush landscape and the sparkling waters of the Caribbean Sea. On property, seven restaurants and cafes provide fare from light to elegant, while a 6,500 square-foot Mandara spa, freeform swimming pool with cascading waterfalls, the largest casino in Aruba and high energy health club offer entertaining diversions. To obtain more information call the Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino at 888-PARADISE or visit www.arubamarriott.com.