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Ecuador-U.S. Jazz Envoy Ensemble Comes to Washington

Young Ecuadorians fuse indigenous sounds with American jazz

Early in 2007, the U.S. Embassy in Quito conducted a search to bring together four of the most talented and promising young jazz musicians in Ecuador. Now, these four young Ecuadorians have come to the United States to work with world-renowned jazz musicians and share their unique blend of jazz fusion in a visit that culminated with a performance at the Kennedy Center.

Jazz, born in New Orleans around the start of the 20th century, is now a worldwide phenomenon, but only recently has it crept into a new wave of fusion music in Ecuador. Jazz resources still are difficult to come by in Ecuador, but the U.S. Embassy is changing that by forming the Ecuador-U.S. Jazz Envoy Program to exchange talent and ideas between the United States and Latin America.

"This interest in jazz is something that is relatively new in Ecuador," Fidel Vargas, a drum player for the group, told USINFO. "And we have just recently begun to investigate our own culture - something that had been lost in Ecuador, but now we are turning to it, to find our identity."

The U.S. Embassy arranged for the ensemble to participate in a master class presented by a quartet of U.S. musicians led by Marcus Printup, trumpeter with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, in Quito during April. "Previously, Ecuadorian musicians who had jazz experience had studied abroad. We are the first generation of Ecuadorian musicians to have formal jazz training," said Carlos Chong, guitar player and native of Manta on the northwest coast of Ecuador.

In July, the ensemble put on their first performance at the residence of the U.S. ambassador to Ecuador during the U.S. Embassy's Independence Day reception. Currently, the group is spending the summer in Washington for a series of workshops, including the Jamey Aebersold summer jazz workshop.

Paul Caraguay, a native of Loja in the south of Ecuador and the pianist for the group, said, "It's a great honor to come to the United States and work with such talented musicians."

Bass player Esteban Portugal added that, given the group's jazz training and its opportunity to play in the United States, he feels "a responsibility to bring attention to the rich culture of Ecuador. We mix our own rhythms and melodic patterns that are typical of the Andes. Jazz was born as an American genre of music, but now it transcends borders and has become its own language."

"We didn't come to the United States just to play jazz standards, we came to play jazz and incorporate our own influences," said Chong.

"We try to fuse what we know of jazz and what we know about ourselves, being Ecuadorians," added Caraguay.

A highlight of their Washington visit was a performance at the Kennedy Center on July 19 - the same place where many of their jazz idols have taken the stage over the years. The group played on the outdoor Millennium Stage as part of the Kennedy Center's free concert series.

"Playing at the Kennedy Center is a great honor for us and responsibility for us to represent our nation - it's a great opportunity for people to hear our style of music," explained Chong.

Group members will return to Ecuador to continue formal education. They plan to continue working as a group. Members also plan to return to the United States in the future for graduate studies in music.

More information about the ensemble is available at the Kennedy Center Web site.

For more stories about the influence of musicians and other artists in society, see The Arts.

Source: U.S. Department of State