Saturday night was a night dedicated to the trumpet, starting with the sound of Edwin Gutierrez & Jazz Project that included another jazz legend from Puerto Rico, drummer Jimmy Rivera. The two Grammy nominee and internationally recognized jazz trumpeter Charlie Sepúlveda was the second act of the night. Sepúlveda is one of those rare musicians that can play any jazz style, straight ahead or Latin jazz, with conviction and feeling.
Ponce local jazz hero, trumpeter Julito Alvarado, to whom this first edition of the Ponce International Jazz Festival was dedicated, closed the night with his contagious Latin jazz sound. Alvarado is a musician with vast experience playing in Latin jazz bands and salsa orchestras.
The good musical offering continued on Sunday night with the music of Eugenio Torres and Sol Creciente, followed by Carlos Juan Colon & Manus, and the Ponce Municipal Band. Closing the festival, the always interesting and eclectic sound of master trombonist and international musician, William Cepeda. Cepeda, who played with the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band, is an excellent composer and arranger who fuses jazz with traditional Puerto Rican rhythms like Bomba and Plena.
Review and Photos by Wilbert Sostre
