WILLEMSTAD — Carlos Santana, the guitar legend who needs no further introduction, and his band will perform at the third edition of the Curaçao North Sea Jazz Festival (CNSFJ). It will be the leading act of the festival on Friday, August 31^st. The Mexican-American superstar earned his fame in the sixties and seventies when his band Santana pioneered with rock, salsa and jazz fusion.Ruben Blades will also be performing during the festival again, on Friday. Last year, the popular singer had performed on the Sir Duke stage at the WTC; unfortunately all of the visitors had not been to enjoy his concert due to the enormous rush.

The third name revealed by the organization is the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band. The band – consisting of many Gillespie alumni, such as Paquito D’Rivera, who will lead the band – will also perform on Friday. Born in Havana, Paquito is considered the most creative Cuban jazz musician and one of the best clarinetists in the world. He is also plural Grammy-winner and works closely with the Curaçao percussionist Pernell Saturnino.

The first act for Saturday, September 1^st, is also known, namely James Farm. This new band consists of saxophonist Joshua Redman, pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Matt Penman and drummer Eric Harland.

This year, there will be two free concerts at Brionplein, prior to the festival. The organization is not revealing the names of the artists just yet. The first free concert will be held on Sunday, August 26^th and the second on the following day. The names of the other artists will be announced the coming months. The programmers of the festival and Gregory Elias are currently speaking with various artists to present a most varied and attractive program. CNSFJ is made possible through Institute Bon Intenshon.

The ticket sales for the Curaçao North Sea Jazz Festival will begin on Monday, April 2^nd. The tickets are available at Mensing Caminada’s, Mobile Planet, Tik-Tak (only credit card and maestro), and 24 Uur Uit de Muur. Tickets can also be ordered starting tomorrow, via 522-JAZZ. The admission charge per day is 354.90 guilders. Tickets can also be bought by installments, but the organization will charge 15 guilders extra for administration costs. The international online ticket sales will begin tomorrow. There are travel arrangements including air travel, transfers and festival tickets for visitors from The Netherlands and Surinam. For more information and reservations, visit www.curacaonorthseajazz.com