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Also in this section:
Scenes from Bruce Quinn's production of Cabaret
Vitín Paz and friends
Panama City's jazz scene
Carol Skinner's digital photo paintings at the Mery Palma Gallery
Gallery & Museum Guide

The Panama jazz scene

by Clyde Jenkins

For those of you who have no interest in jazz, please feel free to hit the “Back” button so as not to waste your time. For those who do have an affinity for this music, I have decided to find out everything I can about the jazz scene in Panama and will report on it as I discover new venues and artists. I would hope that those of you who know of venues and artists in Panama would share that knowledge with us.

As far as jazz is concerned, Panama City is a first world city.

There is probably more jazz played in PC than any comparable sized city in the US, with the exception of New Orleans which makes a living from jazz. Jazz cuts across all cultural, ethnic and political barriers, but seems to appeal mainly to those who are positive, like to think, enjoy complexity and get “jazzed” (pun intended) about great music.

My best friend in Panama is Reggie Boyce, who has a group “The Panama Jazz Effects“, which plays each Thursday and Friday at 7:30 to 9:30 and Sundays from 8:00 to midnight in the casino lounge at the Caesar Park Hotel. Reggie plays trumpet and coronet, with Tony on bass, Alberto on keyboard and Smiling Danny on drums. They are accompanied by Idania who sings both in English and Spanish. Until recently they were also accompanied by Marta Estela Paredes, known to all Panamenos as “La Dama del Bolero.”

Marta recently suffered a stroke and is slowly recovering. At 79 it is doubtful if she will be able to recover enough to continue singing. That beautiful voice will be sorely missed. As an aside, about a month ago she introduced me as her “novio” to Roberto Duran and Roberto told me to take good care of his “mama”, she’s known him since he was a kid.

Reggie plays an eclectic blend of music, straight ahead jazz, latin jazz, boleros, you name it he plays it. I want to invite all of you who would like to spend a couple of hours listening to some great jazz to join me on most any Thursday there.

Many people say that jazz is a dead or dying art form, that all the performers and fans are either dead or dying. That may very well be true, but there are still some young blood coming on the scene who would argue otherwise. One of these is a young sax player I’ve had the pleasure of listening to the last three weeks, Carlos Ubarte. Carlos and his group play at the Casa Gorgona in Casco Viejo on Calle 4 at Avenida Central on Wednesday nights from 8:00 until about 9:30 and will continue through the end of October. September will be devoted to Latin Jazz. This is a free concert sponsored by the Alcalde of PC, seating is limited so come early if you want a seat. The term “fantastic” doesn’t quite do justice in describing Carlos’s playing so I’ll use the term “phenomenal, which it surely is. I don’t care for everything that Carlos plays, but that’s just a matter of personal preference, it’s still phenomenal.

Surprisingly very few gringos attend this event, possibly because they don’t know about it. Accompanying Carlos Ubarte who plays tenor sax are: Faustino Sánchez on trumpet, Nando López on piano, Juan Cedeño on Bass, and Ricky Sánchez on percussions (which includes congos, bongos, drums, cymbals, and his favorite, a box). The group is real tight, well rehearsed, but still has plenty of individual improvisation. This is must hear for those of you really appreciate the sound of a sax being played to its utmost. If you’d like to say hello, I’m the old gray-headed, bearded gringo, probably on the balcony.

Between Reggie and Carlos, their performances equal or exceed anything which was presented at the last Panama Jazz Festival. Panama has so many hidden jewels that I think that I just might go on a treasure hunt, anyone care to tag along, it could be fun.

There is also Afro-Cubano jazz every Friday night at the Hotel Granada which starts about 9:00. Now that place really jumps, and it gets packed, so wear your dancing shoes.

There’s also an Afro-Cubano group that plays in the lounge of the Majestic Casino on Avenida Balboa. This place has a huge dance floor, but no one to listen or dance. I’ll cover these two places next time. In the meantime, if you know of any jazz venues in, or near, PC please let me know and I’ll check it out.

Scenes from Bruce Quinn's production of Cabaret
Vitín Paz and friends
Panama City's jazz scene
Carol Skinner's digital photo paintings at the Mery Palma Gallery
Gallery & Museum Guide