Yagé Jazz.

Ecuadorean Band founded in 2000 by the guitar player Juan Carlos Franco with the aim of mixing ethnic and mestizo rhythms of Ecuador and other parts of the world with jazz. Often, their musical offering has gone beyond those parameters to be situated in the progressive and the experimental. The group's compositions are deeply informed by anthropological investigation and lived experiences of oral cultures in Ecuador, connecting traditional rhythmic structures to contemporary harmonies.

The band has participated on various occasions in municipal Jazz Festivals organized by the prestigious Teatro Nacional Sucre in Quito. They have also given concerts in prominent city venues across Ecuador. At the end of 2012 the Yagé Jazz Band successfully participated in the Jazz Festival of Madrid with an important recital in “Casa de América” and also had other performances in Murcia and Barcelona.

 

The Yagé Jazz Band's debut record was “Viaje Ritual” (Ritual trip), which won first place in the category “Instrumental Popular Music” at the Bi-national Ecuador-Venezuela Record Contest organized by the Ministry of Culture and Heritage. Their second record was “Taromenani”, a tribute to the uncontacted people of the Ecuadorean Amazon. Their third record, “Jaguares” (Jaguars), obtained first place in the jazz category of the Phonographic Archive Contest of the Ministry of Culture. During their career, various musicians have collaborated with the band in their compositions. Among them are the bass players Cayo Iturralde, Juan Diego Rosales, José Luis Márquez, Matías Alvear and Giovanni Bermúdez; the drummers Carlos Albán, Sebastián Marroquín, Fidel Vargas, Fidel Minda and David Millán; the saxophonists Iván Acosta, Daniel Bitrán, Francisco Lara; the flute players Luis Fernando Carrera and Jamil Erazo. The musicians Tony Speranza (trumpet) and Larri Preciado (marimba) have also been special guests on the band's performances.