The three day Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival 2006: The Art of Music, transforms the picturesque Rose Hall Resort and Country Club in Montego Bay from Thursday, January 26 through to Saturday, January 28 next year. Well known for world class production values, a selection of leading yet diverse acts and an unparalleled comfort atmosphere, the ninth staging of the Festival is expected to supersede previous expectations.
Born in Puerto Rico, Nestor Torres started to play the flute at the age of 12. Torres' father, a talented musician, bought him a drum set when he was five. Now, his playing incorporates a smorgasbord of Latin jazz, pop, straight-ahead jazz, and classical styles. He moved to New York after graduating from high school, with dreams of finding work with a profusion of Latin jazz bands but realized that his skills as a flutist needed more honing. He then, enrolled in Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory or Music.
Torres moved back to New York and sat in with his mentors like Puente and Eddie Palmieri but also worked with a variety of lesser-known charanga (traditional Cuban) groups. In New York, Torres recorded three solo albums that were praised in the underground but not commercially successful. Later, he hooked up with a Latin act called Hansel and Raul, and moved to Miami, where he's been based ever since. Torres was immediately accepted into the city's vibrant salsa scene, and he's spent much of his time since then lecturing and performing on the college circuit in south Florida, as well as performing regularly at festivals and clubs in and around Miami.
Torres' brilliant debut is an exotic mix of styles that takes the listener through American, Brazilian, and Afro-Cuban jazz. In 1994, Torres recorded Burning Whispers for Sony Latin Jazz, a newly formed label; albums like 1996's Talk to Me and 1999's Treasures of the Heart followed, with the latter recorded for Shanachie. This Side of Paradise appeared in early 2001.
Already confirmed for the festival are Shaggy, Al Green, KEM, Maxi Priest, Morgan Heritage, James Ingram, John Legend, Air Supply, Lyfe Jennings and many more!
