From May 16 to 18, the Pego Cultural Center will become the epicenter of jazz in the region with the first Pego Jazz Festival, a musical event promoted by the Pego City Council's Department of Culture that seeks to bring this genre closer to the public and commemorate International Museum Day.
"We want jazz to stop being unknown to many people. We have an exceptional lineup, top-level musicians who will surely transport the audience to New Orleans itself," declared Culture Councilor Josep Mengual.
The festival will feature three consecutive concerts over three days, highlighting the participation of a local artist. Opening the festival on May 16 will be the SA For Dixieland Band, an ensemble made up of performers from the La Safor region who revive the Dixieland style, a subgenre of hot jazz popularized in the 1910s and 1920s in cities like Chicago and New York. Their music, heavy on brass and improvised, will transport the audience to the origins of the most festive jazz.
The second concert, on May 17, will feature the Joan Vicens Quartet, led by Pegola-born musician Joan Vicens. The saxophonist has shared the stage with jazz icons such as Greg Hopkins, Chris Kase, Kirk McDonald, and Ramón Cardo, among many others. His performance promises an evening filled with virtuosity and elegance.
The finale will come on May 18th with Atemporal, a group that reinterprets pop and rock classics from a jazz perspective. With vocals, trumpet, guitar, double bass, and drums, the group offers a sonic journey that blends swing, bossa nova, and other immersive styles.
"We hope the festival will be the first step in a project that will continue over time and contribute to expanding the cultural, and more specifically musical, offerings in our municipality," Mengual added.
