Poa Jazz Festival brings a careful selection of contemporary jazz this weekend

Porto Alegre will breathe jazz this weekend. A highlight in the capital’s musical program, the Poa Jazz Festival takes place from Friday to Sunday, always starting at 8 pm, at the BarraShopping Sul Events Center (av. Diário de Notícias, 300), bringing together international, national and local acts, as well as debates and workshops.

The Festival reaches its seventh edition consolidated as one of the most important in the country and bringing the best of music, in addition to gastronomic options, drinks and the traditional Atelier Errante, where artists produce works live. Tickets, available at Sympla, cost R$90.00 per day or R$216.00 for three days, with half price options.

In addition to giving light to the local jazz scene, with artists from our region in national projection, the Poa Jazz Festival, since 2014, helps to promote the genre and give birth to a new generation of musicians. “The Festival became what it is and became popular in the city because it brings together high quality concerts, in a space that is different from concerts”, comments Carlos Branco, curator of the event. “Jazz is kind of a niche genre, and I think the festival manages to expand that with this combo of attractions”.

After the success of the public in the five preview shows and in the homage to Renato Borghetti, the seventh edition of the festival takes to the stage three international attractions, three from Rio Grande do Sul and three from Brazil. A mixture of origins, proposals and approaches that is the very face of jazz. “Nowadays, jazz is a fusion. It has begun to permeate every country in the world, using elements from each culture. Quality music, where a lot of virtuosity and improvisation appears: jazz goes that way.”

There is no shortage of quality at the Festival, starting with the person who opens the event: the first to take the stage is the guitarist from Rio Grande do Sul, Carlos Badia, creator of Poa Jazz and who headed the organization from 2014 to 2020. “It’s a tribute, because he created the festival and also because of the quality of his music”, explains Branco. Badia and his band perform at 8pm on Friday. Bringing his seven-string guitar, the musician walks through gaucho rhythms and MPB, taking the universal South to the stage, between milongas and chacareras.