Medejazz: What Is It and What to Know?

TLDR? Medejazz is an annual jazz festival held in Medellín, and this year, it will be from the 14th to the 24th of September!

Medellín has a very wide range of cultural and artistic spaces where you can regularly find concerts and shows. 

Now, while most people associate Medellin with Karol G and J Balvin (El Poblado, anyone?), there’s a whole lot more to it than just that. 

In fact, Medellin actually has a pretty big jazz scene! Each year they hold an annual jazz festival, known as Medejazz, and this year, it looks to be a big event. Here’s what to know about Medejazz 2022.

What is Medejazz?

Before we dive into talking about what’s going to go down at the festival, let’s take a quick look at what it actually is. 

Medejazz is an International Festival that invites jazz groups to perform and potentially launch a new career. This festival lasts ten days and is celebrated in September each year.

During this festival, events and concerts are held, and masterclasses are given by professionals, hand in hand with the Ministry of Culture and the Mayor’s Office of Medellin. The whole thing is led and organized by the “Medearte” Corporation.

The purpose of this initiative is the promotion and dissemination of art in all its forms in order to make Medellin a cultural capital internationally recognized for its efforts. 

You can definitely get the sense that this is an international festival if you look at the track record in years gone by. In 2019 alone, more than 130 musicians with different styles of jazz, salsa, and Cuban music performed!

While the festival was on hold during Covid-19, it’s set to come back with a vengeance this year. 

Medellin is often characterized as a city of reggaeton rockers. However, over the years, professional musicians in and from the city have begun turning to jazz. 

With this festival, great opportunities are opened for the genre at an international level and for local and foreign artists who are interested in what Medellin can offer in terms of music.

A Bit About Last Year’s Medejazz Festival

Last year marked the festival’s 25th anniversary. However, as mentioned earlier, that’s not to say the festival took place in the traditional sense. 

A semi-face-to-face celebration was resumed, given the circumstances of COVID-19. This meant that the majority of the events were held virtually and live-streamed. 

Other concerts were held with free admission and limited space, and people over 40 years of age had to present their vaccination cards for COVID-19 (these were actually required to enter any place at that time).

These were also broadcast through Medejazz’s social media, such as Facebook and YouTube, and the website.

However, the event was still high quality, which is why the organizers decided to bring it back this year.

The Artists

Five groups performed at the 2021 concerts:

• Madera Jazz
• Modern Jazz Trio
• Guateque Project
• Juan Charry Jazz Project
• Marcos Cañola Quartet

The artists performed at five major theaters around the city:

• La Pascasia
• Matacandelas Theater
• Pequeño Teatro
• Teatro Águila Descalza
• Ateneo Porfirio Barba Jacob

Besides these main concerts, to commemorate 25 years of Medejazz, two great special performances were put on. These were collaborations with salsa artists and had the support of the Latina Stereo radio station. Artists such as Tito Allen, Frankie Vasquez, Luigi Texidor, and Moncho Rivera were all featured. 

Master Classes

Aside from the shows, there were also several master classes held. These were online and broadcast on social networks and websites.

The event saw a total of four master classes with four special guests and professionals to dictate them:

• Anthony Carrillo, from the United States: Fundamentals of Bongo
• Reynaldo Jorge, from Puerto Rico: About the trombone
• Edward Ramirez, from Venezuela: About the cuatro
• Diego Barrera, from Colombia: Brushstrokes of jazz in the requinto

As you can tell, there were international artists as well as local artists. The result was master classes that really got into detail about the world of jazz in the city.

A Quick Look at Medejazz in 2022

Now that you know what happened last year let’s take a look at what’s going to be happening in 2022. 

The 26th year of the Medejazz Festival will take place from September 14 to 24. The Medearte Corporation, the organizing entity of the MedeJazz 2022 International Festival, announced that the festival will host seven face-to-face concerts. Five of these seven concerts are free admission.

In addition to the concerts, like last year, the Festival will offer four free master classes as a contribution to academic-musical training.

Let’s take a closer look at both the artists and the masterclasses. 

Artists

There’s going to be a healthy mix of both international and national performers. In terms of national performers, we’ll see:

• Chucho Valdés y Paquito D’Rivera Reunión Sexteto – Cuba. 
• La Sonora Ponceña – Puerto Rico. 
• Conjunto Clásico – Puerto Rico. 
• EMY Trío – France. 
• Dig Dug Dug – Switzerland. 
• Entre Nos Quinteto – Austria. 

For local groups, you can expect to see:

• Mario Kaona y The Killer Mambo. 
• Medellín Charanga. 
• Aguaelulo Trío. 
• Oscaryvan Garzón Trío. 
• Viajeros, Música y Camino. 
• Miranda.  
• Jah Lous.
• Andrés Pinzón Sultana Club. 

Master Classes

The master classes will allow interaction between experienced musicians and beginners. All of them have world-class musicians as the teachers, making them an awesome opportunity to really experience 

They will be dictated by teachers who are world-class musicians and will share all their skills, knowledge, and experience with the attendees. 

The EYM Trio from France will participate, as will the Cuban drummer Dafnis Prieto. Another class is hosted by the pianist Chucho Valdés and the saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera. Finally, we will be joined by the Swiss trio Dig Dug Dug.

They’re all going to be great opportunities to learn a bit more about music and jazz in general!

The Medejazz 2022 Schedule

Now that you know what to expect let’s check out the full schedule of events! Here’s a look at both the concerts and the master classes with all the details you need to attend.

Concerts

Date	Time	Place	Group	Tickets
Wednesday, September 14	6:30 pm	Carabobo Norte – Fiesta del Libro y la Cultura	EYM – Trio	Free entry
Wednesday, September 14	8:00 pm	Carabobo Norte – Fiesta del Libro y la Cultura	Entre Nos Quinteto	Free entry
Thursday, September 15	6:30 pm	Carabobo Norte – Fiesta del Libro y la Cultura	Oscaryvan Garzón Trio	Free entry
Thursday, September 15	8:00 pm	Carabobo Norte – Fiesta del Libro y la Cultura	Chucho Valdés y Paquito D’Rivera Reunión Sexteto	Check Prices
Friday, September 16	6:30 pm	Carabobo Norte – Fiesta del Libro y la Cultura	Medellín Charanga	Free entry
Friday, September 16	6:30 pm	Carabobo Norte – Fiesta del Libro y la Cultura	Viajeros, Música y Camino	Free entry
Friday, September 16	8:00 pm	Carabobo Norte – Fiesta del Libro y la Cultura	Miranda	Free entry
Saturday, September 17	6:30 pm	Carabobo Norte – Fiesta del Libro y la Cultura	Jah Lous	Free entry
Saturday, September 17	8:00 pm	Jardín Latino – Carrera 43D # 10-77 Poblado	Aguaelulo Trio	Free entry
Sunday, September 18	5:00 pm	Carabobo Norte – Fiesta del Libro y la Cultura	Dig Dug Dug Trio	Free entry
Sunday, September 18	6:30 pm	Carabobo Norte – Fiesta del Libro y la Cultura	Andrés Pinzón Sultana Club	Free entry
Saturday, September 24	8:00 pm	Gran Salón de Plaza Mayor	Mario Kaona y The Killer Mambo, Conjunto Clásico, Sonora Ponceña	Check Prices

Master Classes

Date	Time	Location	Topic	Taught By
Wednesday, September 14	2:00 pm	Second floor of the Casa de la Música — Fundación EPM — Parque de Los Deseos	Asymmetric measures and improvisation in jazz with EYM Trio – Piano, bass, and drums.	EYM Trio  (French)
Thursday, September 15	2:00 pm	Second floor of the Casa de la Música — Fundación EPM — Parque de Los Deseos	The style of Dafnis Prieto – Drums	Dafnis Prieto (Cuban)
Thursday, September 15	6:00 pm	Teatro Metropolitano	Seminar and open conversation about jazz	Chucho Valdés & Paquito D’Rivera (Cuban)
Monday, September 19	10:00 am	Second floor of the Casa de la Música — Fundación EPM — Parque de Los Deseos	TBD	Dig Dug Dug (Swiss)

How to Get to Medejazz

If you’re not so familiar with the city of Medellin, that schedule might look a little daunting. However, it’s actually pretty easy to get around. 

Here’s how to get to each of the locations around the city: 

By Public Transportation

Public transportation is by far the easiest way to get just about anywhere in Medellin. Whether you’re coming from Laureles or Poblado, here’s how to get to each of the venues. 

Carabo Norte

The easiest way to get to Carabo Norte will be to take the metro. Get off at the Prado stop and then walk a few minutes to the south along Avenida Oriental. Turn right at Carrerra 50 and the venue will be in front of you.

Plaza Mayor

There’s actually a metro stop called Plaza Mayor. Head there and once you’re out of the station, you’ll be right at the plaza. 

Teatro Metropolitano

The Teatro Metropolitano is across the street from Plaza Mayor. Get off at the Plaza Mayor station and take the exit pointing toward the theater. You’ll come out of the station right by the event!

By Car, Taxi, or Private Driver

If you don’t want to deal with buses and metros, you can always take a car. Here’s how to get to each location whether you go by private car or take a taxi. 

Carabo Norte

To get to Carabobo Norte by rental car, you have two options: you can take Avenida Regional(the fastest route) or Avenida Guayabal. 

If you prefer to avoid dealing with the GPS, you can take a taxi or an Uber. The price can vary from $5 to $8 USD (subject to change).

Plaza Mayor

By private car, taxi, or Uber, you’ll pay between $3 to $5 USD (subject to change). Follow Avenida Regional and then merge onto Carrera 62 to get off and wind up at the Plaza.

Teatro Metropolitano

It’ll cost you between $4 and $7 USD (subject to change) to get to the metropolitan theater. If you’re driving on your own, follow the same route you used to get to Plaza Mayor.

The Jazz Festival Is Waiting for You

Don’t forget that, if you want more information about the concerts and master classes, you should keep up with the event’s social media accounts. 

That way, you know exactly what’s happening and you’re keyed into any changes.

Without further ado, I’ll see you at Medejazz 2022!

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