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Mexican Jazz Meets Orchestra in New OFUNAM Album
🇲🇽 Mexico /Culture & Society

Mexican Jazz Meets Orchestra in New OFUNAM Album

From El Universal · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • The Orquesta Filarmónica de la UNAM (OFUNAM) has released "Jazz Sinfónico Mexicano," an album featuring works by various Mexican composers and conducted by Grammy winner Vince Mendoza.
  • The project, born from OFUNAM's concerts last year, showcases a range of styles and generations of Mexican composers, including Antonio Sánchez, known for the "Birdman" soundtrack.
  • Despite challenges like the perceived decline of jazz audiences against commercial music, the album aims to highlight the richness of Mexican jazz and provide hope for its future.

The Orquesta Filarmónica de la UNAM (OFUNAM), a leading Mexican orchestra, has released "Jazz Sinfónico Mexicano," an album that bridges classical and jazz traditions. The project features collaborations with eight-time Grammy winner Vince Mendoza as guest conductor and showcases a diverse array of Mexican composers and musical styles.

Born from OFUNAM's performances during the past year's International Jazz Day celebrations, the album presents works by composers such as Vince Mendoza himself, José Luis Esquivel, Jhoely Garay, Mario Santos, Joselyn Vargas, Héctor Infanzón, Enrique Nery, Eugenio Toussaint, José Gurría-Cárdenas, Rosino Serrano, and Antonio Sánchez. Sánchez is notably recognized for his Oscar-winning score for Alejandro González Iñárritu's film "Birdman."

It is an unusual occasion for Mexican music and jazz.

— Rosino SerranoDescribing the significance of the 'Jazz Sinfónico Mexicano' album.

Rosino Serrano, a composer, arranger, and director of the Orquesta Moderna, who also produced the album, described the release as a special occasion for Mexican music and jazz. He emphasized the rarity of major national orchestras like OFUNAM dedicating their platforms to such repertoire, highlighting the project's significance.

I love that the community of musicians is the most important thing in jazz, and that to have this record today... and to listen to it through streaming platforms, it took many years of preparation.

— Vince MendozaReflecting on the collaborative effort and dedication behind the album.

Vince Mendoza acknowledged the orchestra's willingness to explore new musical languages and embrace improvisation, which made the project feasible. He expressed his deep appreciation for the musician community's central role in jazz and noted that the album's creation, distributed by Urtext and available on streaming platforms, represented years of dedicated preparation.

Drummer Antonio Sánchez shared a hopeful perspective, acknowledging the challenges jazz faces from overwhelming commercial music trends. He stated that initiatives like "Jazz Sinfónico Mexicano" offer encouragement and a sense of optimism for the genre's future, suggesting that such collaborations can sustain and invigorate the jazz scene.

The jazz audience seems to be diminishing in the face of overwhelming commercial music, but this type of event gives me hope.

— Antonio SánchezExpressing optimism about the future of jazz despite challenges.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Universal in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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