Image Jazz orchestras make Madrid vibrate again in February with the III Latina Big Band Festival

Jazz orchestras make Madrid vibrate again in February with the III Latina Big Band Festival
2024/02/02

The Paco de Lucía Auditorium hosts five of the six proposals on the bill, all of them with free admission starting at 7:00 p.m.

  • Bob Sands Big Band, with the voice of Marina Ferrer, performs on February 10, while on the 18th it will be the turn of the WSA Big Band, directed by saxophonist Walter Geromet
  • Creativa Junior Big Band, with 25 members between 9 and 18 years old, will perform on February 23 and Bruna Sonora Big Band will take the stage on the 24th
  • The dance show The American Dream will close, with live music from the big band of the Teresa Berganza Conservatory, on February 25
  • As a novelty, the festival comes to the Sara Montiel Cultural Center, where the Aranjuez Jazz Band performs this Friday, February 2

The Latina Big Band Festival celebrates its third edition during the month of February with six free-entry proposals that will begin at 7:00 p.m. In the Paco de Lucía Auditorium, Bob Sands Big Band & Marina Ferrer will open on the 10th. Two jazz orchestras born in schools will follow, WSA Big Band and Creativa Junior Big Band, on February 18 and 23, and Bruna Sonora Big Band , on the 24th. To close the festival, on February 25, CTB Big Band will bring live American music to a flamenco dance show by the Teresa Berganza Conservatory. This year, as a novelty, there is a sixth proposal on the bill by the Aranjuez Jazz Band, on February 2, at the Sara Montiel Cultural Center.

The Latina Big Band Festival, the first of its kind in the city of Madrid, opens the doors to big band music formations while bringing to the public these jazz orchestras par excellence, born in the 1920s of the last century. , which reached their peak in the decades from the 1930s to the 1950s and continue to evolve after a hundred years. Organized by the Municipal Board of Latina, it has its main headquarters in the Paco de Lucía Auditorium, a consolidated stage in the jazz and flamenco circuits of the capital, in the Las Águilas neighborhood.

Bob Sands Big Band, with the voice of Marina Ferrer

Bob Sands Big Band will open the bill at the Paco de Lucía Auditorium on February 10, accompanied by jazz singer Marina Ferrer. Founded by New York saxophonist Bob Sands, the big band maintains its spirit and continues to be one of the most versatile and united groups on the national jazz scene. His repertoire looks at music for this type of orchestras by great masters such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Terry Gibbs or Bob Mintze. With a lineup of 16 members, five saxophones, four trombones and four trumpets will play, in addition to the rhythm section with drums, double bass and guitar.

Saxophones and tap dancing with the Walter Sax Academy big band

On February 18, it will be the turn of the 23 members of WSA Big Band, a group that was born in 2013 within the Walter Sax Academy school, founded by the Italian saxophonist Walter Geromet based in Madrid. Their repertoire, predominantly dance, ranges from jazz to funk , soul and rock 'n' roll and brings together classics by artists such as Etta James, Marilyn Monroe, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Nina Simone, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder and arrangements by greats. musicians and conductors such as Glenn Miller . WSA Big Band brings together 15 saxophones plus a rhythm section with bass, drums, electric guitar and piano. The direction is carried out by Geromet himself, who will have the main voices of Cris de la Osa, Yaiza López and John O'Brien, the latter, also a tap dancer.

Creative Junior Big Band

Creativa Junior Big Band, a formation made up of up to 25 members between 9 and 18 years old, will arrive at the Paco de Lucía Auditorium on February 23. This young big band , which began its journey at the School of Creative Music, combines instrumental skill with the voices of Dora Postigo and Lara de la Fuente and a range of styles that move through bossa nova , jazz , Latin music or soul . The big band , directed by Patxi Pascual, will have two trombones, five saxophones, five trumpets, two clarinets, four flutes and oboe, and a rhythm section with piano, bass and drums.

Bruna Sonora Big Band with Javier Bruna

On February 24, Bruna Sonora Big Band will perform under the direction of saxophonist, composer and arranger Javier Bruna, creator of other musical projects such as Bruna Sonora, Sambay or Javier Bruna Jazz Trío. This 13-member big band is made up of three saxophones, two trombones, two trumpets, flute, clarinet and a rhythm section with double bass, drums, percussion and piano and voice. Their repertoire, full of rhythm and sensations, starts from jazz and mixes elements of Latin music, flamenco, swing or ethnic music.

The Teresa Berganza big band with dance

The III Big Band Festival of Latina will close with the show The American Dream , on February 25, with CTB Big Band, the young formation of the prestigious Teresa Berganza Conservatory that is based in the district of Latina and was recognized in 2013 with the National Education Award. Its unique proposal adds to the American big band music, under the direction of Felipe Zaragozí, a Spanish dance and flamenco dance group. CTB Big Band will feature three trombones, six saxophones, five trumpets, as well as clarinet, piano, double bass, drums, keyboard and conga. The musical montage is carried out by Miguel Ángel Pérez and Pedro García Casarrubios while behind the choreographic montage are José Galán, Patricia Guerrero, Maribel Gallardo and Santi Galguera.

Aranjuez Jazz Band, at the Sara Montiel

This year, as a novelty, the festival comes to the Sara Montiel Cultural Center, in the Colonia Jardín area of the Campamento neighborhood, where this Friday, February 2, the Aranjuez Jazz Band performs. This sextet, made up of artists from different musical backgrounds ranging from Dixieland and big band music or modern jazz to the classical world and flamenco, recalls in its repertoire the first years of jazz on the banks of the Mississippi with a proposal open to fusing classic jazz with different styles. The band has jazz vocals, trombone, sax, guitar, tuba and washbord and is directed by Alejandro Martínez.

The doors of the cultural spaces open at 6:30 p.m. for all performances.