Curaçao’s North Sea Jazz Festival 2012 takes place from August 31 until September 2, 2012, at the World Trade Center in Piscadera Bay, Curaçao. During the two days, the festival will cover a wide range of international artists performing at the festival grounds. In the week preceding the festival, “the island will submerge itself in jazz, soul, latin, hip hop and rhythm and blues, all with a Caribbean touch.”
The latest confirmation by Festival organizers announces that on Saturday September 1, famed Mexican band Maná will be playing (yes, I am a fan). Other confirmed artists include Mexican superstar guitarist Carlos Santana, Panamanian singer Rubén Blades, Spain’s Concha Buika, U.S. pianist and producer Sergio George, and Cuban artist Paquito D’Rivera.
Maná: Mexican rockband Maná’s roots go way back, to 1975, when an earlier formation was playing under the name Sombrero Verde. As Maná, they had their first hit in 1991 with Rayando El Sol, off their second album ‘Falta Amor’. The band toured extensively and found even bigger success with their third album, 1994’s ¿Dónde Jugaran Los Niños?, which turned them into Latin rockstars. From 1997 onwards, their fame spread into the US and the rest of the world, partly due to an MTV Unplugged session and a collaboration with Carlos Santana on his album Supernatural. Meanwhile, the band has put four Grammy’s, seven Latin Grammy’s and five MTV Awards Latin America to their name, among others, and sold over 25 million records so far. They released their latest, the long-awaited ‘Drama Y Luz’, in 2011.
For more information, see http://www.curacaonorthseajazz.com/en/
could someone explain why this festival is called a “jazz festival”?!