Description: Panamanian Suite narrates the complex relationship between Panama and the United States by following the development of music in each nation. As an important port of Caribbean migration in the twentieth century, Panama played an essential role in the emergence and shaping of c...
Brief description: Patricia Zarate de Perez teaches at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute and is professor in the Music Therapy Department at Berklee College of Music.
Review Quotes:
"A fascinating tour through the presence of Panama in international musical compositions in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries--and then the presence and impact of Panamanian musicians in the making of global jazz itself. If your mental map of the origins of jazz does not include the isthmus of Panama and its emigrants, it turns out, you've been missing a central part of the plot." --Lara Putnam, University of Pittsburgh
"Patricia Zarate de Perez has written a much-needed treatise, capturing today's artists in the pursuit of unlimited inspirational paths of discovery. She describes in almost cinematic fashion the roadblocks and resistances which arise during artistic endeavors. She presents to the reader a plethora of instances where an artist might fall apart when confronted with unknown factors or unrehearsed material or a path never trodden. It is at these moments that the artist can discover the meaning of faith which is to fear nothing." --Wayne Shorter, Musician "There are few reports and very poor information about the artistic-musical background of Panama and Latin America. That is why it was a true joy to receive this extraordinary work by Patricia Zarate de Perez, Reimagining Panama's Musical and Cultural Narratives of Jazz: Panamanian Suite, describing in detail the background and the complex relationship between Panama, the United States and Jazz. Instructive, objective and rich in information, this is a necessary and truly exceptional book." --Rubén Blades, Musician "Patricia Zarate de Perez has given us a unique, powerful, historically thorough, and artistically delivered document. This book will be required reading for any serious student of the history of the Americas, Panama's rich contributions to jazz history, and much more!" --John Patitucci, Berklee College of Music