The Jazzfest International, Seminar & Encounter, since its start in 1997 has been supported by the Universidad Veracruzana, the Culture Institute of the Veracruz’sGovernment and since this year by the Jazzfest International Foundation as well as sponsored by the valuable contributions of educational institutions, cultural and non profit organizations and the music industry.

The Seminar’s mission is to offer an alternative educational program, in collaboration with different jazz institutions specialized in jazz education, creating an educational and performance network between students and jazz programs.

The Encounter’s mission is to support new jazz projects coming from all over the world and contributing to the attraction of new audiences to promote and preserve one of the most important artistic forms of contemporary music: Jazz.

Unique in its type, the Jazzfest, has in just eight editions, earned a place as one of the most important educational and cultural events in Mexico and Latin America is considered a highly innovative academic option for students, teachers and professional musicians alike. Every year the Jazzfest support new talents offering over 40 tuition scholarships for the jazz Seminar. 

Over the curse of the last eight Seminars, more than 1500 students from all over Mexico have benefited from the expert teaching, clinics and workshops of renowned artists and teachers, names of whom include: James Newton, Víctor Mendoza, Antonio Sánchez, Fernando Huergo, Jim Odgren, Alon Yavnai, Mark Levine, Bruce Saunders, Taumbu, Yoron Israel, Ron McCurdy, Rafael Alcalá, Óscar Stagnaro, Matt Marvuglio, Rosa Ávila, Mia Olson, Bernardo Hernández, Cristóbal López, Bobby Sanabria, Jerry Seeco, Bill Pierce, Eddie Gómez, Marco Pignataro, Dino Govoni, Vince Cherico and Roberto Vizcaino, among many others.

The Seminar’s program is guaranteed by the Continuing Education Department of the University of Veracruz as well by the participation and collaboration of specialized institutions in jazz education such as the Berklee College of Music, the Jazz Department of Jazz and Caribbean Music of the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico, The Collective School of Music of New York, the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE), among others.

As a result of this effort, last year Seminar’s was one of the seats, which together with other institutions and programs of the member countries of the IAJE, selected through auditions young musicians to integrate the Latin American Jazz Ensemble, a nine pieces jazz band that will represent for the first time our Latin American region with a concert during this 35th Conference in Toronto, Canada.

During the last eight Encounters more than 70 concerts of national and international jazz bands, had been performing for an audients of more than 25,000 peoples in cities like Xalapa, Veracruz, Puebla and Mexico.

This year, the nine edition of the Jazzfest International, Seminar & Encounter will be held again in its headquarter, Xalapa, Veracruz Mexico, a ten days program of uninterrupted activities –workshops, concerts, jams, etc.- at the music school of the University of Veracruz and several stages in one of the most beautiful cities next to the Gulf of Mexico.