Hi Marc,
I just finished playing the 17th annual Punta Del Este International Jazz Festival tonight [January 9]. This is
This year I played a set with Jesse Davis on alto. It was great to be with him again. It has been a while, and he's sounding better than ever. We were joined by the great David Hazeltine on piano, Nat Reeves on bass and Jason Brown on drums.
I also played a tribute to Charlie Parker led by Paquito D'Rivera on alto, me on tenor and Jesse Davis on alto, with Terell Stafford on trumpet, Gary Smulyan on baritone, David Hazeltine on piano, Nat Reeves on bass and Jason Brown on drums. Everyone played their asses off!
Magnarelli and Smulyan also did a super tribute to Pepper Adams and Gerry Mulligan, with the Mike LeDonne Trio. Paquito did a set with his quintet with trumpeter Diego Urcola, pianist Alex Brown, bassist Zach Brown and drummer Eric Doob—which was beautiful. Jazz Meets Classical" was the concept.
Francisco's farm is about 15 minutes inland from the stunning coast of Punta Del Este. It's set among rolling hills, forests, horses and free-range jazz saxophonists. It's hot here during the day—in the high 80's or low 90's. In the evening the temperature drops down to the 60's.
The fans in Uruguay are super enthusiastic about the music. There also were a lot of fans and musicians who came over from nearby Argentina, including the great drummer Pipi Piazzolla (grandson of Astor Piazzolla) and many other leading players. It's only a short flight or ferry ride to Buenos Aires from here.
This year I didn't venture into the city of Punta Del Este, but it's considered the Riviera of South America by the jet-set crowd. When you drive by the smallish airport here, you see more private jets than a Criminal Minds marathon. Maybe too obscure a reference, but put simply, there are a lot of business jets.
If anyone's looking for a winter vacation next year this is the place. Beautiful beaches, beautiful people and some really swinging music. Darn good food, too.
I've got a week back in New York and then I'm off to play with the great trumpet player John Marshall in Switzerland and Austria. It should be a blast, and I'm really looking forward to it.
Well, it's 3 a.m.—time for bed. Take care and I hope to see you soon.
Grant
Jazzwax note: Here's the site of the Punta Del Este
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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