The Participants

ColchaguaJazz is held at the end of November of each year. Each new edition presents avant-garde artists from the local and international jazz scenes. ColchaguaJazz constitutes a great venue for the development and dissemination of jazz by combining the valley, music and wine into one single artistic expression.
It promotes the cultural growth of Colchagua, especially the district of Peralillo, home to Viña Los Vascos. In organizing the event, the winery brings new and classic jazz closer to people and at the same time acts as a magnet for young musicians from other parts of the country.

2013

Claudia Acuña

Considered the most influential Chilean voice in the field of jazz, Claudia Acuña leads a whole generation of vocalists that includes such great names as Rossana Saavedra, Paquita Rivera, Rachel, Verónica Espina and Francesca Ancarola. The twenty years spent in New York and her teaming up with the label Verve to record two albums ("Wind from the south" and "Rhythm of life") and then two more (one of which, "En este momento", with the Branford Marsalis label) attest to her continuity and notoriety in one of the world's most demanding musical venues. Acuña has brought the music from South America to American audiences in a number of different ways.

Valentín Trujillo

No other musician is more popular or masterful than Valentín Trujillo, a walking library of songs and tunes. This seasoned pianist began as a member of Vicente Bianchi's orchestra in the 1950s. By 1956, he had already earned a solid reputation as a musician and had formed an orchestra that performed regularly at a hotel. Since then, he has accompanied countless singers in the studios of the labels RCA Victor and Odeón, including such talents as Arturo and Lucho Gatica, stars of the Chilean New Wave movement like Cecilia and the Carr Twins, the Huasos Quincheros and some great voices of the 70s and 80s like Ginette Acevedo, Gloria Simonetti and Andrea Tessa. Valentín Trujillo has been credited with the oldest piece of Chilean jazz recorded in the Chilean "Real Book": "A lo Shearing", which he recorded for the first time in 1958.

Daniel Lencina

The Uruguayan-born trumpeter, today a Chilean citizen, appears as the benchmark par excellence to the eyes of the public who followed him Saturday after Saturday for over two decades in the popular TV show "Sábados Gigantes". Drawing his inspiration from great stars like Louis Armstrong, Roy Eldrige and Dizzy Gillespie, Lencina found a style of his own in the most profound jazz tradition, which he presented all along the country together with the various quartets he led from 1972 onwards with drummer Alejandro Espinoza as his great ally. Lencina was also the host of the first-ever jazz concert held at Santiago's Municipal Theater on August 5, 1972.

Santiago Stompers

Founded in Chile's capital city in 1965, the Santiago Stompers is the second oldest band in the classical jazz scene, after the Retaguardia Jazz Band. Its music draws from the Dixieland style of Chicago, which consists of the collective improvised performance of the members of a band. Through the years, the band has included a number of traditional jazz stars like trumpeter Luis Huaso Aránguiz, pianist Hernán Prado, drummer Lucho Córdova, clarinetist René Eyheralde and double bassist Roberto Lecaros.

Santiago DownBeat

One of the new bands of the current decade is Santiago Downbeat, a semi-orchestra that proposes an explosive mixture of jazz and ska. It consists of young musicians, some from the Projazz Institute and others from the Conchalí Big Band, and the charismatic female vocalist Natalia Ramírez.

2012

Magdalena Matthey

Just like her colleague Francesca Ancarola, the singer and songwriter Magdalena Matthey entered the jazz circles indirectly, with a contemporary musical proposal that blends folkloric roots with new pop inspiration. She became popular after her participation in the Viña del Mar Music Festival of 1995, which earned her a contract with the label EMI. In her first albums she developed the so-called root song style, but after teaming up with Sergio González, composer and leader of the band Congreso, the fusion music flourished in many different directions. So far she has released five albums, the latest of which includes covers of Congreso music from a female perspective.

Tomás Krumm

Tomás Krumm joined the jazz scene around the middle of the 2000s and soon found a place among a host of new pianists and jazz composers, especially with the repertoire recorded in his 2012 album "Folklore ajeno" with which he revisited the predominant jazz style of the Blue Note era. He has worked as a sideman with tenor horn player Jimmy Coll, high saxophonist Cristián Gallardo and Gabriel Feller (2008), and as a leader of different trios and quintets.

Los Finellis

This group was founded in 2008 by Rodrigo Hermosilla (guitar), Diego Cordero (violin), Emilio García (guitar) and Vicente Pérez (bass) to play popular French Hot Jazz pieces, particularly some of the Belgian guitar player Django Reinhardt. Among the extensive performances of this quartet are Pichilemu, San Fernando, Peralillo, Valparaíso and Santiago, Festival del Barrio Yungay 2009, a concert at the Hall of Escuela de Artes de la Academia de Humanismo Cristiano, the TV program Rockaxis at Terra TV, II Festival Gipsy Swing Chile held at Centro Cultural de España, Club de Jazz de Valparaíso, Festival Colchagua Jazz 2012, Harvest Festivals of the VI Region, Le Fournil Bistrot Patio Bellavista, and Arica-Parinacota Jazz Festival 2013.

Retaguardia Jazz Band

Retaguardia Jazz Band is the oldest New Orleans Jazz style band currently existing in Chile. The band was founded in 1958 by young university students Antonio Campusano (piano) and Roberto Millar (clarinet). After two years in the world of Jazz, the band already counted on one of the greatest musicians of its history, tuba player Domingo Santa Cruz. Other great musicians like Jorge León (banjo), Marcelo de Castro (drums), Guillermo Gabler (clarinet), Alfredo Espinoza (alto sax) and Patricio Santibáñez (trombone) have joined the band in their common effort to safeguard the repertoires and classic style of Jazz, which is today a disappearing culture.

DJ Seltzer

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2011

Mata Hari

Thanks to the talents of singer and actress Ema Pinto, Matahari is considered one of the benchmarks of Chilean pop soul, a style that saw its influence multiply during the 2000s, both among bands, soloists and connoisseurs at large. Matahari is therefore a benchmark in the transition between centuries, just like other bands such as Los Tetas and Mamma Soul. With many different configurations since its initial formation in 1996, the quintet has released three albums, the latest being "No pares!". (2007).

Federico Dannemann

A soloist, composer, arranger, leader and sideman, the Argentine guitarist Federico Dannemann quickly earned a place in the Chilean jazz scene. First as a young musician of traditional jazz, a genre almost entirely occupied by senior musicians who saw Dannemann as a new talent, and later in the realm of modern jazz, where he landed with other musicians from his generation. His only album released in 2003 as a trio represents the transition between both variants, although his most significant work as an author has been leading Ensamble Quintessence.

Nicole Bunout

Nicole Bunout is one of the voices that best represents the so-called "vocal jazz new wave", which gathered a vast array of female vocalists issued from a number of pop music schools towards the year 2005. She has been a lady crooner for the bands of Alfredo Espinoza and Giovanni Cultrera, and at the same time has led her own bands of young musicians to offer a mixture of modern jazz and pop.

2010

Cristián Cuturrufo

Born in Coquimbo, this trumpeter is not only one of the greatest representatives of jazz from the 1990s generation. Cuturrufo is a true icon of Chilean jazz during its recent history. His unmistakable style combines the classic bebop of Dizzy Gillespie with some elements of Latin jazz, shaping up a profile that translates into energetic sessions of live music. Historically, he has led dynamic quartets, always surrounded by musicians who have decisively influenced his career, like saxophonists Ignacio Gonzáles and Jimmy Call, or trombonist Héctor "Parquímetro" Briceño. He achieved one of his greatest accomplishments with the duo he formed in 2004 with the pianist Valentín Trujillo, with whom he released two albums.

Susana Sanhueza Cuarteto

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2009

Mistysa

Mistysa is the artistic name of the Chilean-Canadian singer and songwriter Tatiana Garrido, who made her debut in Chile towards 2006 as a performer of R&B music. As a child she was a soloist at the Jaireh Gospel Choir of Montreal, where she gained enough vocal material to venture and succeed in the demanding field of this African American music. In her album "Macumba" (2006), she demonstrates why she was chosen the revelation voice of neo soul in Paris.

PianoPiano Trio

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2008

Claudia Acuña

Considered the most influential Chilean voice in the field of jazz, Claudia Acuña leads a whole generation of vocalists that includes such great names as Rossana Saavedra, Paquita Rivera, Rachel, Verónica Espina and Francesca Ancarola. The twenty years spent in New York and her teaming up with the label Verve to record two albums ("Wind from the south" and "Rhythm of life") and then two more (one, "En este momento", with the Branford Marsalis label) attest to her continuity and significance in one of the world's most demanding musical venues. For American audiences, Acuña has expressed the music from South America in different ways.

Menú del Día

Menú del Día is the name of the fusion jazz quartet created by Vladimir Groppas (a member of the old band Llaima, leader of La Red and soloist of Mandrácula) at Escuela Moderna de Música, where he has pursued his career as a music teacher. The band was also one of the windows for the singer Consuelo Schuster.

Paz Court

Even though Paz Court has extensively explored the field of pop music with projects such as Jazzimodo and Tunacola, her origins can also be found in her studies of jazz and standard repertoires. This was the first platform that propelled her to the wide recognition Paz Court enjoys today in the independent music arena, always with scenic musical proposals. In 2013 she released her first solo album, where she summarizes her desire to give shape to a character that reaches beyond music itself: "Los viudos de Marylin".

Moncho Romero

Since 1970, the Concepción-born pianist Ramón Moncho Romero has taken a stance in the jazz scene, as a member of a family of renowned jazz musicians (Ramón Romero, his father; Marlon Romero, his brother; Carla Romero and Marlon Romero Jr, his niece and nephew respectively; and Moncho Romero Jr, his son). He began his career as a double bassist, but soon transitioned into a pianist to act as a sideman during the 1980s and 1990s, with musicians of the stature of Daniel Lencina and Alejandro Espinosa. He then formed his own trios, like the well-remembered band with double bassist Pablo Menares and drummer Andy Baeza back in 2003, which was a decisive platform to launch many of today's new generation of female swing singers. His first student was Claudia Acuña.

2007

Danielle Gilson

Danielle Gilson is an American singer who lives in Chile since 1994, having pursued most of her career in the Chilean jazz scene. She has become a passionate champion for classical standard repertoires, which she has extensively performed during the seasons of Mesón Nerudiano together with swing stars Giovanni Cultrera and Alfredo Espinoza. After stopping her collaboration with them, her style came closer to modern jazz. Then she led a number of quartets with young musicians with whom she earned a place among the multitude of female voices.

Contracuarteto

Formed by Andrés Pérez (tenor saxophone), Cristián Gallardo (high saxophone) and brothers Roberto Carlos Lecaros (double bass) and Félix Lecaros (drums), the Contracuarteto band is a testament of the high level the new Chilean jazz reached during the mid 2000s. Their proposal highlights the fabric that solo instruments must weave, in contrast to rhythmic instruments as a result of the lack of an instrument that generates harmonies (a model known as "pianoless quartet"). The quartet has released two albums and performed live in front of 6,000 people during the Festival Providencia Jazz 2007.

Pablo Lecaros Quinteto

Roberto and Mario Lecaros's youngest brother is recognized as one of the musicians and composers of La Marraqueta band. But this bass player is also a key figure in the consolidation of a Chilean type of jazz, as attested by musicologist Álvaro Menanteau. His presence in the fusion of folkloric music from the south of our country with American jazz is already evident in the early 1980s, when he was part of the jazz rock band Cometa and later on when he founded Macondo, a band for which he wrote the famous "Tonada para la pachamama".

2006

Nancy King & Steve Christofferson

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Ensamble Quintessence

Co-led by guitarists Federico Dannemann and Roberto Dañobeit’a as its main promoters, composers and arrangers, Quintessence summarized the work of many jazz musicians of the so-called "generación cero-cero" (which saw the light during the 2000s as a creative action with multiple names and results). It has functioned as a contemporary jazz orchestra as opposed to the more traditional vision of the big band as we know it, focusing its proposal on modern arrangements that draw from the aesthetic vision of the great composers of this genre: Gil Evans, George Russell, Lennie Tristano and Gunther Schuller. In 2009 the band performed at the Festival Providencia Jazz and at Santiago's Municipal Theater.

2005

Alfredo Espinoza

Often described as "the greatest Chilean jazz player of all time", today there is ample evidence to support such a claim. Already retired due to health problems, the saxophonist Alfredo Espinoza has been an object of study in France, where he left a deeply rooted legacy during his stay in the 1970s, and in Chile with the numerous and successive appearances in the documentary "Escape al silencio" (2009), the biography "Alfredo Espinoza Jazzman. Legendario y oscuro" (2011) and the album "Retrospectiva" (2012), which compiles his vast career. All these approaches portray Espinoza's intricate personality and his superlative capacity to improvise.

El Bueno, el Malo y el Feller

Formed towards the year 2004 by bass player Rodrigo Ríos, drummer Julio Denis and guitarist Gabriel Feller, in that order, as the characters associated to the band's fantastic name. El Bueno, el Malo y el Feller was an experiment in futuristic jazz that combined open improvisation, processed rock, electronic music and jazz. After releasing its only album in 2005, these three musicians from the 2000s generation parted to pursue their own careers.

Quinteto Colectivo

Quinteto Colectivo was the name chosen by the guitarist Roberto Dañobeit’a for this contemporary jazz band in 2004, for which purpose he recruited some of the best musicians of that decade like trumpeter Sebastián Jordán and tenor saxophonist Agustín Moya. The merger of this band with the quintet led by guitarist Federico Dannemann that operated during the same years under the name Mr. Bean gave life to Ensamble Quintessence.

2004

Francesca Ancarola

Much closer to author singing and South American-inspired music, Francesca Ancarola goes beyond the simple classifications that single her out as one of the greatest stars of contemporary pop music. Her extraordinary creativity is filled with the composition of electro acoustic pieces and songs for one guitar. Her arrival in the jazz scene is evident and proof of it is her collaboration with guitarist Federico Dannemann and double bassist Rodrigo Galarce, as well as her work with Ensamble Quintessence and her historical performance at the Municipal Theater in March 2009.

Carlos Silva

The story of Carlos Silva has oscillated between his work with pop music bands in different locations of Santiago and the academic studies pursued at Universidad de Chile, where he arrived to experiment with contemporary jazz and improvised music. Currently living in Barcelona since late 2004, Silva has released two albums as a trio, with different formations: the first in 2003 with Roberto Lindl (double bass) and Andy Baeza (drums), and the second in 2004 with Rodrigo Galarce (double bass) and Félix Lecaros (drums). In Spain, he has remained connected to classical music and free improvisation.

2003

Cristián Cuturrufo

Carlos Silva Trio

The story of Carlos Silva has oscillated between his work in pop music bands in different locations of Santiago and the academic studies pursued at Universidad de Chile, where he arrived to experiment with contemporary jazz and improvised music. Currently living in Barcelona since late 2004, Silva has released two albums as a trio, with different formations: the first in 2003 with Roberto Lindl (double bass) and Andy Baeza (drums), and the second in 2004 with Rodrigo Galarce (double bass) and Félix Lecaros (drums). In Spain, he has remained connected to classical music and free improvisation.

2002

Cristián Cuturrufo

Biographies by: Iñigo Diaz