The 2020 edition of the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival made music lovers vibrate in a different way than the past 17 editions. The pandemic presented us with the challenge of finding another way to bring the joy of jazz to people’s homes and so we decided to hold our first-ever digital edition which was broadcast through our official YouTube channel and on the website.
The 17th edition of the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival started with the presentation of the band Sr. Mandril, who immediately ignited the public with their mix of funk, electronic music, groove and jazz. The crowd was so energized that the sax player of the band came down the stage to walk among the people who were enjoying the concert and dancing in the sand rubbing off on this energy.
The 16th edition of the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival was attended by great local and international artists. The person in charge to open the festival was Kike Pat, “Un maya en el Jazz”, coming from a Mayan community in Quintana Roo, who was member of the band Aguamala, composed by Fernando Toussaint.
Not even the heavy rains from that weekend managed to prevent another edition of the festival from taking place, which tribute to our beloved friend and artistic director of the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival (2004-2017), Fernando Toussaint.
Accompanied by several of his friends, Paco Rosas was the performer incharge of opening the 14th edition, which according to the musician was “A big responsibility”. Then, Armando Montiel delighted us to the beat of uplifting Latin jazz rhythms. Fusing funk, jazz and blues, Steve Gadd Band performed with their “Way Back Home” tour, along with Kevin Hays, Jimmy Johnson, Michael Landau and Walt Fawler.