Jazz pianist greats Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Chucho Valdez will be performing this year in the Puerto Plata Jazz Festival (20-23 October).
The festival kicks off on Thursday, 20 October under the stars at the Parque Central in Puerto Plata city. Puerto Plata Jazz Ensemble (DR) opens followed by Latin Grammy award winner and eight-time Grammy award nominee Cuban-born Gonzalo Rubalcaba.
The program continues on Friday, 21 October at Playa Dorada Plaza with the performance of Ari Hoenig TBI (USA), also for free. On Saturday, 22 October, more of the best of jazz is to be heard at Amhsa Casa Marina’s amphitheater in Sosua with performances by Cuban jazz great Chucho Valdez, Ramon Vasquez (Puerto Rico) and an admission fee of RD$500.
The final Sunday evening is scheduled for Cabarete beach with Bellita y Jazz Tumbata (Cuba), and Tes A T (DR), with free admission.
The Festival is in its 7th year and event organizer Lisa Kirkman emphasizes that it leaves nothing to envy to other famous festivals. “Rubalcaba and Valdes are considered among the best pianists in the jazz world today and they pack audiences around the world,” she highlights.
“The organizers are pleased that this year they were able to diversify the venues so that jazz fans can attend the concerts in the different areas of the north coast,” she explains. Kirkman says that this will enable all to appreciate jazz in all environments — in a theater, in the Victorian central park in Puerto Plata, on the Cabarete Beach famous for extreme sports and partying and in the Playa Dorada Plaza.