JAZZ.FM91 - Canada's Premier Jazz Station

The Riviera Maya Jazz Festival

I don’t know about you, but when I think about escaping the cruelties of winter for somewhere tropical, the thought of spending a week just lying around on a beach leaves me cold. It seems most of the beach resorts that are close and affordable lack the kind of cultural experiences – particularly musical experiences - I’m looking for when I travel. So when I heard about the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival on JAZZ.FM91, I thought “aha!” the best of both worlds: A beautiful beach destination AND jazz every night for four nights.

But I wondered how good a festival could be in a location that isn’t exactly known as a hotbed for jazz. So when I saw the lineup of acts they’re bringing in, I got really psyched. The programmers have struck a nice balance between showcasing local acts and bringing in internationally-known musicians. The first two nights, November 24 and 25, feature seven Mexican bands, none of which I’m familiar with, but which seem to run the gamut of jazz styles from traditional to funk/rock/jazz fusion and some mashups of folkloric sounds that look interesting. There’s also one Canadian act: Colin Hunter, founder and full-time CEO of Sunwing Vacations and part-time crooner, accompanied by piano player extraordinaire, Joe Sealy.

Then Friday and Saturday night they pull out the big guns with Spyro Gyra (one of my faves from the 80s), Sergio Mendes, Pat Martino, Al Jarreau and Herbie Hancock! The icing on the cake (the salsa on the taco??) is that all of the concerts are free, courtesy of the Riviera Maya tourism board.

I touched base with a few of the winners of the contest that JAZZ.FM91 ran in partnership with Sunwing Vacations to see how they’re feeling about the trip and festival.

Mike Wain said, “This is our first time to Mexico, let alone the jazz fest - a far cry from the downtown Oakville festival on a hot night I would guess! It will all be a new, and I hope, exciting experience for us. We are looking on it as a surprise 46th anniversary present. The line up according to their website looks really impressive. This will be a blast.”

“I just want to thank JAZZ.FM91 and Sunwing for letting us go to this very special jazz fest and of all places Riviera Maya, Mexico! How great is that!” said Shirley Bowman. “We are quite excited to say the least. We love jazz and we should all have a wonderful time.”

I’ll be checking in with updates from the festival later in the week. Stay tuned.