The programme of the 28th Festival Internacional Canarias Jazz & Más Heineken was presented at Auditorio de Tenerife, revealing Maceo Parker as its top of the bill plus 28 other artists who will give more than 50 concerts (from 5th to 21st July) on five of the eight Canary Islands -Tenerife, Gran Canaria, La Palma, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. The event was attended by Carlos Alonso, president of the Cabildo de Tenerife; Patricia Hernández Gutiérrez, mayor of Santa Cruz de Tenerife; Matilde Zambudio, deputy mayor and councillor for Economic Promotion, Tourism and Trade, Culture and Cultural Geritage of Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council; Yaiza López, councillor for Culture of La Laguna Town Council; Armando Santana, councillor for Tourism, Trade and Animal Welfare of Arrecife Town Council; Laura Docampo, head of communication of the main sponsor of the festival, Heineken; José Luis Rivero, Island Director for Culture and Education of Cabildo de Tenerife; and Miguel Ramírez, director of the festival / Colorado Producciones.

Excellent male and female voices, the best instrumentalists, emerging ensembles, established musicians, local groups, projects blending styles through fusion, rhythms related to jazz, the African outlook… all these elements make up the bill of the 28th Festival Internacional Canarias Jazz & Más Heineken, featuring Maceo Parker as its main attraction, an icon of modern music whose name immediately brings to mind terms like funk or groove. He is giving three concerts, in Gran Canaria (18 July, Plaza de Santa Ana), Lanzarote (19 de July, Arrecife) and Tenerife (20 de July, Puerto de la Cruz). Parker is one of the 30 artists who are included in the festival, which is held from 5 to 21 July and is taking place on the islands of La Palma, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Tenerife.

The President of the Cabildo, Carlos Alonso, praised the effort made year after year by “the organisers of a festival that now reaches its 28th year thanks to their effort and excellent work, which is not always easy, in addition to the support of a private brand,”. The President highlighted that the festival is part of “a cultural strategy which includes other types of activities that add value to Tenerife as a cultural destination”.

For his part, the Island Director for Culture of the Cabildo, José Luis Rivero, stressed the participation, “like every year, of nine Canarian musical projects, which have always been high quality” and which have been included every year in the festival programme.

The Festival director, Miguel Ramírez, thanked all the festival sponsors, -“I feel particularly supported today”, he said- in a year which includes “a wide range of styles representing the purest jazz and all those styles which are the result of its own evolution” in an attempt to provide for all kinds of audiences who throughout these years “have become part of our proposal”.

Confirmed musicians this year include a good number of female artists and voices such as Karrin Allyson, Sinne Eeg & Peter Sprague, Judith Hill, Bette Smith, Miryam Latrece Cuarteto, Carita Boronska Quartet or the local ST Fusion, a fact Ramírez pointed out as “something we’ve opted for in the past few years as there are more and more women with increasingly better projects”. He also thanked the support of all the sponsors and invited the audience to “find out all the good things this year’s programme has in store for them”.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife mayor, Patricia Hernández, pointed out “the decision to include a large number of women in the programme, famous women who, besides Maceo Parker, have forged their careers and will be a model for Santa Cruz women and girls. We will continue to support this type of festivals, we’re involved in encouraging this type of cultural activities and this is what our councillor, Matilde Zambudio, is working on with the support of all the municipal government.

Yaiza López, councillor for Culture of La Laguna, highlighted that “our municipality and our Teatro Leal are still some of the chosen venues for this festival, which has a loyal audience as its nearly 30 years of existence confirm”.

Armando Santana, councillor for Culture of Arrecife, valued very positively the inclusion of a concert by Maceo Parker in Lanzarote’s capital “in the same year we’re celebrating the birth of César Manrique, right in Plaza del Almacén, very much a Manrique are in the heart of town”.

Laura Docampo, on behalf of the main private sponsor of the festival -Heineken- recalled that “this is Heineken’s longest sponsorship in Spain as it’s been kept for 26 years in a row; a very positive sign for a festival that has brought us out of our comfort zone”.

Other musicians present include Avishai Cohen Trio, Tony DeSare, Marquis Hill Blacktet, FNF Trio led by Ferenc Nemeth featuring Lionel Loueke and Chris Cheek, Kennedy Administration, Munir Hossn Quartet, Yuri Honing Acoustic Quartet, Joel Ross, Mamas Gun… and many local bands, like ST Fusion or Barreiro Project.