Marc Anthony has been on the Curaçao North Sea Jazz wish-list for quite some time. Last year, he participated in the Sergio George All Star Friends band that was composed especially for that occasion, this year he will have his own swinging performance. He is the biggest-selling salsa artist in the world. Singer/producer/actor Marc Anthony started at a young age as background-singer, but his talents as a performer and composer stood out quickly. In 1991, his first album When The Night Is Over appeared. At the end of the 1990s he made the crossover to the worldwide mainstream-public, when his English-language albums Marc Anthony and Mended, and singles such as I Need To Know and You Sang To Me, became great successes.

Rosanna, Africa, Pamela, Stop Lovin You are all classics. In the 35 years Toto has existed, IT has sold over 35 million albums and been awarded with multiple Grammy’s. The musical world-map cannot be imagined without this band. Not only Toto’s own productions are enormously successful, but also its cooperation with giants such as Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Pink, Paul McCartney, Santana and Lionel Richie.

Few artists can beat this: singer Paul Anka (1941) is already celebrating his sixth (!) decade as an artist. He became world famous with hits such as Diana, Put Your Head On My Shoulder and Puppy Love. Also as a composer Anka has many great hits to his name; he made the English version of Sinatra’s My Way and wrote for and with, among others, Buddy Holly, Tom Jones and Michael Jackson. Anka will bring his Big Band especially for his concert in Curaçao.

Grammy-award winner percussionist Pernell Saturnino will perform in his home country Curaçao together with Miguel Zenón. Zénon is a fabulous alto saxofonist. Pernell Saturnino plays internationally with various renowned artists such as Danilo Perez, Paquito D'Rivera and the David Sanchez Quintet.
Everyone will be able to enjoy a unique gospel concert of Israel & New Breed at Brionplein on Sunday 25 August. The charismatic singer Israel Houghton combines elements of gospel, jazz, latin and rock. Mainly in North America, Israel is very well-known for his cross-genre and vibrating music.  A show not to be missed.

CURAÇAO NORTH SEA JAZZ FESTIVAL 2013
Artists confirmed to date for the following locations and dates:

Brionplein on Sunday 25 August – FREE CONCERT of: Israel & New Breed

Brionplein on Monday 26 August – FREE CONCERT of:El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico

Brakkeput Mei Mei on Thursday 29 August: José James

CNSJ 2013 / World Trade Center Piscadera Bay on Friday 30 August:
Sam Cooke stage: Toto - Marc Anthony
Celia stage: Gladys Knight – Sonny Rollins – Oumou Sangaré
Sir Duke stage: New Cool Collective - Raphael Saadiq –Erykah Badu
Etta James stage: Kris Berry - Mud Morganfield  - Sabrina Starke

There will be one other name to be confirmed for the Sam Cooke stage

CNSJ 2013 / World Trade Center Piscadera Bay on Saturday 31 August:
Sam Cooke stage: Luis Miguel – and other big names to be confirmed!!
Celia stage: Paul Anka – Edmar Castaneda – Christian McBride Big Band
Sir Duke stage: Esperanza Spalding Radio Music Society – Los Lobos – The Roots
Etta James stage: Pernell Saturnino and Friends featuring Miguel Zenón– Sherry Dyanna – Kizzy McHugh

And both days: the Hot 8 Brass Band

We have already announced a whole bunch of names for Curaçao North Sea Jazz and today we are going to announce even more. None other than jazz icon Sonny Rollins will come to Curaçao. He is the greatest tenor saxophonist of the Bop era and still performs worldwide. From Africa, Oumou Sangaré has been confirmed. The Grammy-Award winning singer from Mali brings socially critical music. She plays worldwide, selling hundreds of thousands of albums and can be seen on the CNSJ stage end of August.

The Curaçao singer Kris Berry discovered music at a young age, Patsy Cline and Nina Simone were her great examples. With her sparkling mix of Caribbean sounds, smooth country and swinging rhythm & blues, she is a rising star. Mud Morganfield will also come to the festival.  It is not for nothing that Larry ‘Mud’ Morgenfield is called ‘Muddy Waters Jr.’: he is the eldest son of the legendary Father of Chicago Blues. He even resembles him, both in appearance and in voice.

Singer-songwriter Sabrina Starke was born in Suriname and grew up in Rotterdam. Her album Yellow Brick Road came out in 2008 and was picked up by Blue Note/EMI. Her album went platinum after leading the charts for 52 consecutive weeks. On top of that, Sabrina received an Edison Pop Award. With her voice, jazz- and soul singer Sherry Dyanne recalls memories to singers such as Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington.

Kizzy McHugh is a Dutch singer, actress and television presenter. However, she grew up in Curaçao. Her breakthrough came in 1996 when she won the national Song Festival and represented Curaçao in the Caribbean Song Festival, where she placed third. She graduated from Berklee College of Music and performed for Bill Clinton.

José James has been confirmed for Brakkeput Mei Mei. The versatiel singer broke through with his album The Dreamer in 2008. The reviews were jubilant and after a number of club performances he was already booked for North Sea Jazz Rotterdam. In 2010, the CD For All We Know was just as sensational. Downbeat magazine called him ‘Rising Star Best Male Vocalist’ in 2011. 

Soon we will announce the final acts for the Friday and Saturday and two more other big acts. We are also on the verge of confirming a big name from the Gospel world for Brionplein on Sunday. 

In addition to all these confirmed artists, there is also news about the set-up of the festival. This year there will be four stages at Curaçao North Sea Jazz. In addition to the familiar Sam Cooke, Sir Duke and Celia stages, there will be a smaller stage called Etta James. The American Rhythm & Blue singer Etta James, who passed away last year, is considered to be one of the greatest singers of her generation. She has been an inspiration for many other R&B singers but also, for example, for artists like Janis Joplin and Adele. The extra stage will be built on the location of the Sir Duke stage during the first two editions.

Last year, the festival area was expanded by adding the beach and placing the Sir Duke stage there. This expansion proved to be a huge success, but it also became clear that enough space remained and which will now be filled with the smaller Etta James stage.

Tickets for the festival may already be reserved via 522-JAZZ. The official ticket sales will start on Monday April 8th at the official sales locations.

CURAÇAO NORTH SEA JAZZ FESTIVAL
Met oa. Sonny Rollins, Oumou Sangaré, Erykah Badu, Gladys Knight, Luis Miguel, The Roots, Raphael Saadiq, Los Lobos, Christian McBride Big Band, Esperanza Spalding Radio Music Society, Mud Morganfield, Edmar Casteneda,  New Cool Collective, Sabrina Stark, Sherry Dyanne, Kizzy McHugh,  Kris Berry, and the Hot 8 Brass Band.

Monday August 26th - El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico
Thursday August 29th José James – Brakkeput Mei Mei
Friday August 30th and Saturday August 31st - World Trade Center Piscadera Bay

The Curaçao North Sea Jazz Festival is made possible by Fundashon Bon Intenshon.

Erykah Badu and Gladys Knight, the two grand ladies of soul will come to Curacao North Sea Jazz! Earlier we could confirm that Luis Miguel, The Roots, Raphael Saadiq, Los Lobos, Christian McBride Big Band, New Cool Collective and Esperanza Spalding Radio Music Society will be on the lineup for the fourth edition of the festival.

Gladys Knight, also known as the "Empress of Soul", earned worldwide fame with her group Gladys Knight & The Pips. Think of the hits I Heard It Through the Grapevine, If I Were Your Woman, Neither One of Us and Midnight Train to Georgia. Also solo Knight scored several hits such as the soundtrack of the eponymous James Bond film Licence to Kill. Several of her solo albums were at the top of the album charts. She has worked with various artists such as Babyface, Dionne Warwick and Patti Labelle.

Erykah Badu brings a whole different kind of soul. From her debut ‘Baduizm’ which was released in 1997, the American soul singer Erykah Badu had the music world in her grip. Her style - often been described as "neo soul" - is sometimes eclectic and always politically and socially charged. From a jazz perspective, the voice of Badu reminds of Billie Holiday. Badu has recorded duets with The Roots, Macy Gray, Angie Stone, Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, D'Angelo and Marie Daulne of Zap Mama.

Besides the soul ladies, Edmar Castaneda will play at the festival. The New York-based Colombian plays his harp in a very different way than traditional harp players. He mixes Latin jazz with traditional Colombian music. Ten years ago Castaneda moved to the U.S. and since then he has been a household name in the jazz world. He already played with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, guitarist John Scofield and saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera.

Not all artists need a stage to make it a party. On both days the Hot 8 brass band will play. The brass band from New Orleans mixes hip-hop, jazz and funk with the New Orleans brass sound.

Currently the organisation is speaking with the management of various artists to complete the line up of Curacao North Sea Jazz. Also, the organization is working on the concerts that are spread across the island which will take place in the week prior to CNSJ. Of this program we already confirmed salsa orchestra El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico on Monday, August 26 at Brionplein.

CURAÇAO NORTH SEA JAZZ FESTIVAL
Friday 30 and Saturday, August 31, 2013 - World Trade Center Piscadera Bay
Book tickets for the festival through 522-JAZZ, the official ticketsales will start in April. More information will follow soon.
The Curacao North Sea Jazz Festival is made possible by: Fundashon Bon Intenshon

Nothing less than Luis Miguel, The Roots, Raphael Saadiq, Los Lobos, Christian McBride Big Band, New Cool Collective and Esperanza Spalding Radio Music Society are the first confirmed names for the fourth edition of the Curacao North Sea Jazz festival. These first names will splendidly continue the Curaçao North Sea Jazz tradition.  The organization is still busy with various other artists who will be announced in the course of the coming months. El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico is confirmed for the free concert on the Brionplein on Monday 26 August.

The Mexican singer Luis Miguel, also known as “El Sol” (the sun), is an icon in the Spanish-speaking countries. He has won five Grammy’s and four Latin Grammy’s among other numerous awards. He is the only Latin American artist to have two Spanish-language albums (Romance and Segundo Romance) go platinum in the US. More importantly even, he is known for his fantastic live performances as we will experience at the end of August.   The Roots is one of the first live hip-hop acts with musicians instead of turntables and indeed much talked about in r&b, soul and funk circles.  Live performances by The Roots are a true adventure, full of original ideas and they often work with new surprising talents. The Roots keep hip-hop exciting and alive, not only on North Sea Jazz, but worldwide!

The old-school soul that Raphael Saadiq loves to play has been in the spotlights for quite a number of years already. Saadiq first made himself heard in the soul trio Tony! Toni! Tone! in the eighties. After that success, he worked behind the scenes with everything that sounded catchy: The Roots, D'Angelo, Joss Stone, Stevie Wonder, you name it. But after the success of The Way I See It from 2008, he fortunately also lets his own voice be heard again.

Los Lobos is much more than the gigantic hit La Bamba with which they broke through worldwide in the late eighties. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the band and they have numerous albums and hits to their name. Last summer, the band came with a new release of the album Kiki to celebrate the 20th anniversary of this legendary album by Los Lobos.  

Christian McBride will come to Curaçao with his Big Band. This influential bass player and composer has played an important role in jazz music for almost twenty years. He has performed and recorded with jazz luminaries such as Sonnie Rollins, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and Pat Metheny.  

It will definitely be party-time as the Dutch band New Cool Collective takes the stage. New Cool Collective consists of Benjamin Herman (sax), Anton Goudsmit (guitar), Joost Kroon (drums), Frank van Dok and Jos de Haas (percussion), Willem Friede (piano), Leslie Lopez (bass) and David Rockefeller (trumpet).
 
Two years ago, Esperanza Spalding won a Grammy award for “Best New Artist” and was named “Jazz Artist of the Year” at the Boston Music Awards. A wonderful recognition for the American who with Chamber Music Society (2010) in addition to the real jazz aficionados also won the hearts of the mainstream public. Radio Music Society, that was released last March, succeeds Spalding’s acclaimed album and has a host of renowned guest artists. Saxophonist Joe Lovano, rapper Q-Tip and legendary drummers Billy Hart and Jack DeJohnette have all contributed to the record.  

Prior to the festival there will again be various performances on the island of which the first is now known: El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico. El Gran Combo, also referred to as the most popular salsa orchestra, recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. This will guaranteed be a party on the Brionplein on Monday 26 August.

Also our local talents will shine during the two nights of the third edition of the Curaçao North Sea Jazz Festival. In addition to the already announced international stars, local bass player Hershell Rosario will perform on Friday, August 31. He is already busy preparing for his performance.

Bass-player Hershell Rosario, born on Curaçao and an active local and international performer, is considered one of the best known jazz musicians of the island. He has already played with other local artists on the two earlier editions of the jazz festival. As no other, he is capable of incorporating the characteristic rhythms of his island, and those of the region, in his jazz.

For his performance, Hershell has requested several well-known local artists like singer Ced Ride, who will perform one of his songs in a bolero-jazz version, and keyboard-player Rònchi Matthew, with whom Hershell regularly performs, to join him on stage.

To showcase his international side, Hershell has also invited special guest star and well-known Argentinian guitarist Luis Salinas, who Hershell and a group of local musicians has accompanied both in Venezuela and Costa Rica in recent years, to share the stage with him. A set-up that promises a memorable musical mélange of local and international tastes that the visitors to the third edition of the Curaçao North Sea Jazz festival will be sure to appreciate and enjoy to the fullest.