April 30 is International Jazz Day, established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO. While San Diego isn’t hosting official events this year, just across the border, Tijuana is keeping the spirit of jazz alive — with roots deeper than you might think.
The first International Jazz Day was held on April 30, 2012. It was celebrated at the United Nations with a star-studded concert. Jazz legend Herbie Hancock has been a champion for the worldwide event since its inception.
The now 85-year-old maestro led the charge to create International Jazz Day with UNESCO.
“It doesn’t matter where you’re born, or the color of your skin, or how you worship. Through our instruments, musicians of all ages tell stories bursting with passion about every conceivable subject,” Hancock said at the 2012 inaugural event.
Musicians and fans worldwide have celebrated jazz every April 30 for 13 years. But in our region, you’ll have to head south to Tijuana to participate — there are no official International Jazz Day events in San Diego.
But that’s OK, because Tijuana has its own rhythm and a deep connection to jazz.
Arturo Arrizón, a self-appointed Tijuana historian, showed off his tome — a book he self-published called "Tijuana, Cien Años de Música." Arrizón pointed out photos of jazz royalty in Tijuana in 1966.
“We can see here Herbie Hancock. We can see Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams and B. Plummer,” Arrizón said.
Tijuana’s connection to jazz didn't start there. For that, you have to go back more than a century, to the early days of jazz.
Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, better known as Jelly Roll Morton, worked in Tijuana from 1917 to 1922, according to Arrizón. At a bar called the Kansas City Bar, he is thought to have composed his hit "Kansas City Stomp."
Decades later, another icon found inspiration in Tijuana. Arrizón said world-famous composer and bassist Charles Mingus was going through some hard times and spent a month in the border city.
The experience inspired him.
“He spent a full month in Tijuana getting drunk,” Arrizón said. “He listened to the mariachi bands, and he listened to the bands in many houses and other places, and he recorded songs like a 'Isabel at the Table,' 'The Mariachis' and 'The Gift' in Spanish, 'Los Regalos.' And he said that was the best record he ever made.”
That album is a magnum opus called "Tijuana Moods."
Another Tijuana bassist is making waves. Marco Rentería plays bass in the world-famous rock band Caifanes. But he loves jazz too. Rentería is humbled when anyone calls him a jazz musician.
"For me to be able to call myself a jazz player, I could be — I have to be able to, like, live in New York and, you know, like play any standard in any key and any time and any off-meter, you know — that's the level there,” Rentería said.
Rentería will be playing at the Museo del Taco for International Jazz Day, organized by Natalia Velázquez, head of the Tijuana Jazz Society.
“Let this be a tribute for the people who dream,” Velázquez said.
Velázquez organized concerts, jam sessions and master classes to pay tribute to the genre and the city she loves for International Jazz Day.
“It's such a good and rewarding thing for me to be able to say I love my job,” Velázquez said.
Rentería says his Tijuana is full of brilliant musicians ready to soak up new music. “The people here are hungry to listen to different music, and they’re really respectful. I have a lot of friends here who are really talented.”
If you can't cross the border but still want to enjoy Jazz Day in Tijuana, the April 26 concert will be live-streamed on OHJazz.tv.
Whether you are in the crowd or watching from home, International Jazz Day is a chance to celebrate music that crosses borders and brings people together.
