Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
In Memoriam: John Hammond Jr., 1942–2026
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
The fourth annual Panama Jazz Festival will be held in Panama City, Jan. 18–20, 2007. Along with festival organizer Danilo Perez, other featured acts include Nneena Feelon, Edmar Castaneda and Billy Cobham. Victor Paz will lead the Panamerican Big Band, which will bring together students from the New England Conservatory, Berklee College of Music and the University of Panama.
Next year’s festival honoree will be Panamanian vocalist Barbara Wilson, who died in June 2005. Perez called her, “the Billie Holiday of Panama.”
“Barbara’s life is the perfect example of the struggle that many great musicians live in Latin America,” Perez said. “She was able to bridge styles and genres with tremendous ease without losing her jazz sensibility. We hope that her tribute will serve as an inspiration for future generations.”
For more information go to: panamajazzfestival.com
Hammond came to the blues through the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, which he experienced firsthand in New York’s Greenwich Village.
Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
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