Off the beaten path, Haiti's jazz festival comes of age

• January 27 2019
• http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sunday-finance/off-the-beaten-path-haiti-s-jazz-festival-comes-of-age_155400

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) -- At a time when most of the world's jazz capitals are buried under snow or suffering through sub-zero temperatures, Haiti is offering fans a week of outdoor concerts showcasing the best talents in the business in a balmy Caribbean clime.

Now in its thirteenth year, PaPJazz, as the Festival International de Jazz de Port-au-Prince styles itself, is aiming high.

“Our ambition is to be the Caribbean jazz festival, the benchmark in terms of both organization and programming,” explains Milena Sandler, director of the Haiti Jazz Foundation, which organizes the festival.

Proving that 13 isn't always an unlucky number, the festival this year has secured for the first time the talents of Cecile McLorin Salvant, currently one of the biggest singers in the world of jazz.

They had been trying to lure the 29-year-old American to the Haitian capital for the past five years without success.

But if PaPJazz can now secure the biggest global stars, its survival still hangs by a thread.

“Putting on a festival anywhere is complicated. In Haiti, especially so,” says Sandler. “But it's a challenge we take on every year because we love what we do,” she adds.