Under the artistic direction of Cuban pianists Chucho Valdés and Roberto Fonseca, the 2016 Internacional Jazz Plaza Cuba festival will take place from Dec. 15-18 in Havana and Santiago de Cuba, featuring the two pianists, as well as the Christian McBride Trio, Terence Blanchard featuring the E-Collective, Snarky Puppy and Fatoumata Diawara, making their Havana debuts. Other local and international acts are also scheduled to perform.
Jazz Plaza is being produced by the National Centre for Popular Music and represented by director Víctor Rodríguez García, whose policy is to “espouse freedom of artistic creation while preserving and defending the cultural wealth and heritage of the nation,” according to a press release. Partnering with García and the National Centre for Popular Music, Montuno Productions’ Daniel Florestano and International Music Network’s Scott Southard put their resources together to make the lineup for this festival, which is being sponsored for the first time by Blue Note Entertainment Group, a reality.
For more information, visit the official festival website.
