Live Panama Jazz keeping hope alive

By Ken Grady

WEDNESDAY, last week^, was a night to remember at the Teatro Amador, but Panama needs more of them 

I’ve written before about the great live jazz atmosphere at this venue. While nothing really spectacular happened that night, it was, something we wish would become more frequent. On the night, for at least two hours, was the great Carlos Garnett Quintet, featuring Carlos Jordan on vocals, and Angie Viler on flute. Ms. Viler added something special to the group. I hadn’t seen her before. Panama needs more exposure for young musicians like her, and otherjazz artists who just want places to play. That’s their mantra.

Before relocating to Panama, several years ago, I came down for the Panama Jazz Festival three times. The atmosphere was just what I hoped it would be. In addition to the festival itself, jam sessions would go ‘till the wee hours of the morning. I, mistakenly, thought Panama had an active jazz scene. Then, upon moving here in 2011, I was disappointed to find almost no real ongoing jazz scene in Panama. None at all that is, outside of the festival itself each January. I really wanted to be able to just “drop in” to a club on any night, whenever the feeling hit me. Just to check out live jazz without the trappings of a big festival.

About 150 people were in the house Wednesday at Teatro Amador. The din of the crowd made it hard to hear when Garnett was speaking,and, some of them were too loud during the playing. All part of the atmosphere. But, when the band was playing, their sound was crystal clear. Roughly, half of the crowd showed respect for the artists and seemed to appreciate the performance as you might expect a live jazz follower to do. Audience members were bobbing their heads to the beat. All this is a good sign. Real jazz fans coming out to show support. But, musicians I’ve talked to feel that there needs to be an even more robust display of the love for live jazz, not just jazz itself. There is a difference between listening to recorded music and being there live,  being part of the creative experience. Live is different. Jazz artists, like most musicians, create something different each time they perform live. They are creating art before our eyes. And, most live music is different with each event.

Jazz clubs would love to have more live jazz. They tell me that all of the time. I support jazz club owners and managers like Jacob Larrinaga at Teatro Amador, Nick Polit at Xuvia Lounge, Danilo’s Jazz Club, and Las Bovedas Restaurante for keeping hope alive. But, they’ve got to have paying customers in the house.

As I sat with my wife, and American jazz drummer Jordan Zimmerman,listening to Garnett’s Quintet, we all agreed that, “…with enough support, it will continue to get better and better.”

Let’s hope there will be more nights like this in the future.