INTERNATIONAL CONCERTS

The BAJ 12 maintains its commitment to inviting top-notch international artists who have never performed in the City.Tom Harrell, one of the key composers in modern jazz, brings his quintet this year to open the BAJ.12. The closing concert, on the other hand, will be by the legendary Banda Mantiqueira, which is by now an icon of the Sao Paulo scene. But there’s more. Two eminent pianists such as Alain Jean-Marie and Kirk Lightsey; three stylistically different and equally talented guitarists: Ralph Towner, for a promising top-notch concert with local musician Javier Girotto at the Usina del Arte, avant-gardist Marc Ducret and David Gilmore, a cult figure on the New York scene; just like drummer and composer John Hollenbeck or double bass player Mark Helias. Composer Pierre Bertrand brings his quintet Caja Negra, with its colorful blend of jazz, flamenco and French music; trombonist Ramón Fossati arrives from Barcelona, backed by a stellar rhythm section with David Xirgu and Horacio Fumero; and Chilean jazz is represented by the explosive, original saxophonist Agustín Moya. Like every year, the BAJ presents a group of artists who had never visited Buenos Aires.