The Jazz Voyager
Heading down to Panama City for the Panama Jazz Festival from the 12th to the 17th of January to take in its founder as well as Claudia Acuna, Ruben Blades, John Patitucci, Miguel Zenon, Omar Alfanno, Brian Blade, Uwe Kropinski, Phil Ranelin, Kevin Harris Project and Benny Golson among others.
Founded in 2003 by Panamanian Grammy-winning pianist Danilo Perez, with the mission of bettering the lives of people through shared musical experiences as listeners, on stage and in the classrooms.
The festival features master classes conducted by such renowned institutions and foundations as Berklee School of Music, New England Conservatory, Golandsky Piano Institute and the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico, Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, University of Massachusetts Amherst, the Sienna Jazz Foundation and the Paris Conservatory. The event has also become a center for auditions for admissions and scholarships for the participating institutions.
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Voices From The Community
The Jazz Voyager
Lenox Lounge: 288 Lenox Avenue, New York City, NY / Telephone: 212-427-0253 / The historic Lenox Lounge and its Zebra Room is located between 124th & 125th Streets. A renowned landmark, it has been a significant destination for jazz in the Harlem community since its opening in the late 1930’s. It has served as the backdrop for many jazz legends. Join us for an exciting evening of dining and jazz in one of the few original art-deco clubs in New York City.
Next Stop: Unknown – Stay tuned in the New Year!
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The Jazz Voyager
Cafe Claude: 7 Claude Lane, San Francisco, California 94108 / Telephone: 415.392.3505 Fax 415.392.2226 / Café Claude provides an intimate venue for local jazz musicians since its opening twelve years ago. Many of these musical performers have become familiar names in the Bay Area jazz scene. It’s an evening of entertainment whether sitting down to a complete dining experience or just dropping by for a dessert, cocktail and jazz.
Next Stop: New York City – After a spending a wonderful Christmas holiday in the Bay I head out to SFO to catch a 12:30pm Delta Flight 2305 east, an hour layover and plane change in Minneapolis to Delta Flight 1596then it’s on to LaGuardia Airport to land 6 hours and 20 minutes later to bring in the New Year in the Big Apple. No jet lag as I head into the city, drop the luggage and out in the streets to soak up Manhattan holiday revelry – a hot pretzel at Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and skating in Central Park before heading out for some dinner and jazz.
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The Jazz Voyager
Club Monk: 53-34 DaeYeon 3 Tong, Nam K u. (between Kyonseong Univ. & Pukeong Univ.), Busan, South Korea / Telephone: +82-(0)51-622-2212 Fax: +82-(0)51-312-5157 / Contact: JungRai Lee.
The 3rd oldest jazz club in Korea from 1992-2007. Jazz styles: post bop, hard bop, fusion, etc. Open 7:00pm- 02:00am with live music from 9:00pm – 11:15pm. There is no live music on Sunday and no food, but several dishes are served such as sausage, pork cutlet, fruits, etc. And more than 3,000 jazz CDs.
Next Stop: San Francisco – Heading out to Busan Airport to catch a 7:20am Asiana flight to Seoul. With a ten hour layover I’ll head into Seoul to check out the city and get some great food. Then back to Incheon International Airport for the 6:10pm United Airlines dinner flight heading home for the holidays to the States. After the 10 hour flight I’ll arrive in San Francisco at 11:30am, getting through customs and get picked up by friends, head to the wharf for some great seafood and a great hang and some jazz.
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The Jazz Voyager
Red White Lounge: Jl. Kemang Raya 16B, Kemang, South Jakarta, Indonesia / Open Wednesdays to Sundays, 7 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. / Run and owned by renowned Indonesian jazz pianist and composer Indra Lesmana. The jazz club is one of the more active live jazz venues, with performances almost every day of the week, and has the atmosphere of a conventional jazz bar (dim lighting, a floor-level stage, and a well-stocked bar.
Performances and jam sessions are usually held from Wednesdays to Sundays and usually feature lesser known and established musicians. Indra Lesmana occasionally performs with his jazz band every month. Workshops and musician master classes are also held at the venue. Entrance to the venue usually costs from Rp 60,000 (US$5.22) to Rp 100,000, depending on who is performing.
Next Stop: Busan, Korea – I leave Jakarta at 6:45am for a 7h 55m flight to Tokyo, Japan. Then a 2h 35m layover before boarding the final leg at 6:30pm for a 2h 30m flight to Busan. Then a taxi ride to the hotel to rest before hitting the night life for some jazz.
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