The group of musicians will hold a concert to collect funds for the air tickets to Germany.
18 of the 25 musicians that are part of the New Jazz Project will represent Costa Rica in Germany.
The band was created 9 years ago and although they have already been abroad, this is actually the first time they will give a concert overseas.
Oscar Valverde, the band director, explained that the group was one of his friends’ ideas, who also suggested him to study jazz. Months later, Valverde met Rafael Rodriguez who helped him start the project afterward.
“Rodriguez’s been a teacher for us because he’s always helped us and taught us new things about jazz. As a matter of fact, we managed to contact more than 29 people with his assistance. We’ve had the opportunity to study English since we received scholarships from the Costa Rica Cultural Center. Now, we’re taking English and other courses in university classrooms and auditoriums with the aid of such organization” – Valverde said.
He also said that the oldest members of the band are not older than 30 years old.
According to Valverde, in the last 9 years, the musical group has become stronger and more united, and it’s currently considered one of the best bands in the Big Band genre, which at the same time has opened many doors in other countries, including Germany. “We have a contact in Germany, and thankfully, we ended up being invited by the University of Leipzig for the Jazz Festival that will start next July 3rd in Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig and Dormund”.
The musicians will perform a wide repertoire of pieces that includes Latin Music classics, folk music, and jazz. Valverde added that the rehearsals have been intense because he’s very desirous of lifting the name of the country high.
Last week, they gave a concert in Amon Solar in order to collect funds to go to Germany. The event’s ticket cost 3 thousand colones.
Valverde emphasized that the band is actually more than a group of young people, it´s more like a little jazz school.
“We have several bands and musical groups in the National Music Institute, at the Symphony Music School in Perez Zeledon. We have also cooperated with the Costa Rica University Big Band and the Music School in Barva. The idea is to generate an educational net to produce more jazz musicians because the country doesn’t have enough educational centers for that musical genre.”
