Jazz in Puerto Vallarta

Choices Old and New

A number of professional jazz musicians have found their way to our destination, some as tourists, others to work for a season or two, and then there are those who have chosen Puerto Vallarta as their permanent residence.

They tend to share their talent and good vibe jamming with one another at several local restaurants, such as Café des Artistes, La Palapa, Vista Grill, Le Bistro and River Café, among others. Additionally, they can frequently be found performing at other popular spots, including Garbo, the stylish Pulpito St. martini bar, and Cuates y Cuetes, a Los Muertos Beach favorite. Each season seems to bring new players who, along with seasoned favorites, continuously raise interest among residents and visitors alike for this popular type of music.

New to Puerto Vallarta this season is the PV Jazz Project, an association founded by Marcos Petrina to help promote a roster of talented local musicians available to perform at public and private functions. A versatile saxophone player originally from Argentina, Petrina settled in Puerto Vallarta over a decade ago and has become an integral part of the local music scene, having performed live in many of the aforementioned spots and with several recordings available locally. To date, musicians who have partnered with him in this venture include Eddie Gomez and Eduardo Rubio, two multifaceted Guadalajara keyboardists; Marcos Milagres, an accomplished bass player from Rio; vocalists Catia Machado and Edu Lopez; and three percussionists: Jesus Estrada from Mexico City, Danny Lopez, and Hector Quintana, who currently is touring with multiple Grammy Award-winning Guadalajara group Maná.

The organization has been received favorably and expects to be instrumental in bringing a steadily increasing number of visiting artists to Puerto Vallarta to perform here, as well as offering educational jazz clinics for local musicians. You can learn more about PV Jazz Project’s activities by visiting www.pvjazzproject.com. And for information about its members’ performing schedules, along with a broad variety of activities taking place around the bay throughout the year, VirtualVallarta’s Events Calendar (www.virtualvallarta.com/events) offers a complete selection of exciting things to do while you discover Puerto Vallarta.