The fourteenth edition of the Festival International de Jazz de Port-au-Prince (Port-au-Prince International Jazz Festival) ended on Saturday January 25, 2020. For eight days, the organizers managed to mix colors and cultural pluralities in a good track of Jazz. Renowned jazz musicians set foot in Haiti to enhance the brilliance of this event.
It was Eddy François of the rasin group Boukan Ginen who closed the series of free shows at Quisqueya University (Uniq) in a most festive atmosphere on Friday January 24, 2020. Transported by the sound of the rara band Follow Jah, the audience without any doubt had a great evening at the Uniq that day.
The two legends of Haitian music, the musicians Fabrice Rouzier, Kéké Bélizaire with Jean Belony Murat aka Bélo, the internationally renowned Haitian artist, winner of the “Prix Découverte” de Radio France Internationale (RFI) in 2007, were also on one of the various stages for this 14th edition of PapJazz. The performance offered by these very respectable Haitian musicians was very successful.
Inspired by her passage at PapJazz 2017 and by her meetings with Haitian musicians, Yilian Canizares, Cuban and Swiss musician, who has been living in Switzerland since 2000, returns in 2020 with her new album “Erzulie”. The artist invited Paul Beaubrun to join her onstage for a magical moment at the opening of this 14th edition of PapJazz.
Canada, guest of honour
Ranee Lee, representative of Canada, Guest Country at this 14th edition of the Festival de Jazz de Port-au-Prince, was on the Heineken stage, at the Karibe hotel in Port-au-Prince, on the evening of January 18 for the launch of the festival.
Dee Dee Bridgewater already released 20 albums and won 3 Grammy Awards. American singer, who is an icon of jazz, was also on the Heineken scene that same evening.
The artists Ranee Lee, Yilian Cañizares, Paul Beaubrun and Dee Dee Bridgewater succeeded each other on this stage for the pleasure of the music lovers who came in large numbers.
The representatives of Canada, guest of honor, ended this great annual gathering in an after hours at Café 36, on January 25.
A Gospel Jazz parenthesis, several training workshop sequences and shows on several sites were on the agenda of this festival which became very popular in Haiti.
