2ND ANNUAL PORT-AU-PRINCE INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL

Port-au-Prince, Haiti, has just kicked off the Port-au-Prince International Jazz Music Festival. It’s the 2nd Edition of this eight-day jazz festival celebrating Haitian and world jazz music. The festival started on March 2 and runs through March 9. The performances are being held at the historic "Canne a Sucre", Kiosque Occide Jeanty (Champ de Mars), and l'Institut Francais d'Haiti (French institute).

The Port-au-Prince International Jazz Festival is a form of cultural exchange and it features nine international jazz bands coming from Brazil, United States, Mexico, Canada, Chile, Spain, Switzerland, France, as well as Haitian jazz musicians - Mushy Widmaier, Les Freres Courtois, Mark Richard, Jowee Omicil, Thurgot Theodat, among others.

The founder of the Jazz Festival is Joel Widmaier, who is himself a well-known Haitian drummer from the group Zekle (one of the bands at the heart of the 1980s Nouvel Jenerayson movement). Widmaier’s hopes that the Festival will help promote Haitian Jazz across the country and perhaps the world. "We have some excellent Haitian musicians playing jazz, and its a great movement to promote in Haiti. Joel and the festival organizing committee, which includes the embassies of the United States, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Switzerland, and the Haiti Cultural Ministry, seek to build on the success of the Jazz Festival from last year. Due to the current political landscape in Haiti, the Festival is not expected to draw foreign visitors. However, for the Haitians of Port-au-Prince, the opportunity to listen to these styles of jazz is more food for the soul of a music loving nation.

Jazz music is not new to Haiti, the island has a long history of a rich musical culture. Following several decades after World War I and the two American occupations ( 1915 & 1934), jazz was being played everywhere in Haitian high society, dance halls, and in the military. Jazz Des Jeunes, the premiere Haitian orchestra of the 30's and 40's, adapted some form of American jazz and fused it with folklore to conjure up the term ' Haitian jazz". Before Konpa came along the mid 50's, Jazz Des Jeune inspired a whole new generation of Haitian musians, including some of Haiti's great's folklore/ jazz singers Gerald Dupervil, Edner Guinard (Jazz Guinard), Raoul Guillaume, Issa El Saieh, Toto Bissainthe, David Mettelus ( Ti-Coca), Dodolphe Legros, Guy Durosier, Joe Trovillog, Raoul Guillaume, Saxophonist Nemours Jean Baptiste and Weber Sicot.