Saint Lucia Jazz Festival Announces First-Ever Collaboration With Jazz At Lincoln Center

The Saint Lucia Jazz Festival has announced a first-time, one-of-a-kind collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center, and also the organisations’ plans for this year’s Festival.

“This collaboration, between Saint Lucia and (the) renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center, reflects Saint Lucia’s exceptional reputation for consistently producing a world-class festival,” remarked St. Lucia’s Minister of Tourism, Dominic Fedee.

The 2019 Saint Lucia Jazz Festival “marks another monumental chapter in our small island’s history”, the Tourism Minister added, noting “We are excited to begin this partnership, which will bring together some of the world’s best jazz artists, in the world’s most beautiful destination.”

Renowned as the premier jazz festival in the Caribbean, the 2019 Saint Lucia Jazz Festival, produced in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center, will feature the finest names in modern jazz, performing in intimate venues and public settings, throughout Saint Lucia, from Sunday, May 5 through Sunday, May 12, a media release from the organisations said.

The week-long festival will feature world-renowned artists, who have performed on Jazz at Lincoln Center’s season concerts, touring initiatives, and global outposts, as well as throughout Saint Lucia Jazz Festival’s 27-year history.

“We are proud to support the re-establishment of the Saint Lucia Jazz Festival as the premier jazz festival in the Caribbean,” said nine-time Grammy Award winning Wynton Marsalis, Managing and Artistic Director at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

“This collaboration reflects our shared commitment to presenting music, at the highest level of artistic integrity and quality, while also offering festival-goers a profoundly good time. Jazz has a unique power to bring people, of all ages, together, and lift up communities.”

For this inaugural year of collaboration, Jazz at Lincoln Center has programmed a stellar lineup.

Christian McBride, Ledisi, Etienne Charles, Russell Hall, and Patrick Bartley will serve as artists-in-residence in Saint Lucia, during the week-long festival. Artists, Gregory Porter, Dianne Reeves, Catherine Russell, Somi, The Baylor Project, Veronica Swift and members of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra; and a host of musicians and collaborators from the Caribbean, will perform throughout the week.

In addition to world-class performances, the 2019 Saint Lucia Jazz Festival will feature “Artists In Education” initiatives, including master classes, professional development, and live performance collaborations, with Saint Lucia School of Music students and local jazz artists.

Saint Lucia has been hosting this vibrant jazz festival, annually, since 1992. For more than 27 years, the festival has attracted visitors, from around the world, for events and concerts, celebrating multiple forms of international, Saint Lucian and Caribbean jazz music.

One of the Windward Islands of the West Indies’ Lesser Antilles, Saint Lucia is nestled halfway down the Eastern Caribbean archipelago, and is known for its natural beauty and diverse attractions, including the signature Piton Mountains – a UNESCO World Heritage.

The mission of Jazz at Lincoln Center is to entertain, enrich and expand a global community for Jazz, through performance, education and advocacy. With the world-renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and guest artists, spanning genres and generations, the Center produces thousands of performances, education, and broadcast events each season, in its home in New York City at the Frederick P. Rose Hall, “The House of Swing”.

For details about the 2019 St. Lucia Jazz Festival performances visit: www.stlucia.org.