Haiti’s popular international jazz festival is back. But it’s not in Port-au-Prince

Courtesy of Port-au-Prince International Jazz Festival

For 15 years, Milena Sandler and Joel Widmaier welcomed some of the biggest international names in jazz and R&B to Haiti amid political turmoil, fuel shortages and protests, musicians like Branford Marsalis, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Joss Stone.

Then came the wave of deadly turf battles, ransom kidnappings and last fall’s two-month-long gang blockade of the country’s key fuel terminal. For the first time since the deadly Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake forced cancellation of the Port-au-Prince International Jazz Festival, just days before showtime, the show was once again on hiatus as the couple finally pulled the plug after postponing the event several times last year in hopes that Haiti’s crisis would finally ease.

“All of those other years, there were riots, elections, political upheavals and … we did it,” said Sandler, noting that the festival even took place amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “But in 2022, we couldn’t have it because of the kidnappings, and the gangs.”

This year the festival is back. But instead of taking place in Port-au-Prince, the city from which it derives its popular nickname, PapJazz, the Port-au-Prince International Jazz Festival is headed north to the city of Cap-Haïtien, which is increasingly becoming the venue of choice for those seeking to stage events in Haiti.

“You know, with the protests, the people are not happy, and it’s something that you can deal with,” Sandler said, explaining the reasons for this year’s relocation out of the capital. “But the kidnappings, no way.”

Haiti’s second largest and most historic city, Cap-Haitien is where former slaves launched a revolution and defeated French colonizers to birth a new Black nation, and where Sandler and Widmaier, a jazz percussionist, are hoping for a rebirth of their own. They are staging this year’s festival, the 16th edition, inside the city Jan. 20-22 with musicians representing Canada, Chile, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, France, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the European Union, the United States and, of course, Haiti.

“At some point I was deciding, ‘We’re not going to have PapJazz in this situation, because you know, how can you enjoy yourself when things are like that?” Sandler said as she acknowledged the dilemma she and Widmaier faced after canceling the event last year. “But at the same time, people also need to breathe and people need to have hope. And they need to be proud of themselves. This is a good image of Haiti for everyone.”

And Haiti can certainly use it.

The country’s capital has been taken hostage by violent gangs, who now control about two-thirds of Port-au-Prince, including major roadways in and out of the city.

As of midnight Monday, democracy had, for all intents, collapsed as the last of the elected officials, 10 senators, saw their terms expire, leaving just Interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who was never ratified by Parliament. Henry was named to the job by President Jovenel Moïse before he was assassinated on July 7, 2021. Moïse was laid to rest after a funeral in Cap-Haïtien.

Amid all of the turmoil, tourism, the one thing many had been banking on to help lead the country’s recovery after the 2010 quake, also took a hit. The United States and others have issued “Do not travel” warnings to Haiti, citing kidnappings, crime and civil unrest; major commercial carriers have reduced international service; and hotels have shuttered.

Tourism in Cap-Haïtien has also been affected. While Royal Caribbean continues to operate its private destination cruises off shore, the area saw the loss of American Airlines, the first major commercial airline to fly there after more than a decade, because of damage to its runway. Today, Spirit Airlines is the only major carrier from the U.S. that flies there, leaving those who want to visit the historic city either having to travel by plane or by road along a circuitous route through the country’s Central Plateau from Port-au-Prince or by road from the neighboring Dominican Republic.

Despite the ongoing challenges locals are eagerly awaiting the influx of visitors and infusion of cash from the jazz festival.

After all, this is the city where the oldest, biggest band rivalry in Haitian music — Tropicana d’Haiti vs. Orchestre Septentrional — was born and still exists among the gingerbread houses lining the narrow streets.

“Cap is the city of hope, a welcoming place,” said Steve Mathieu, the new head of the local Chamber of Commerce. “We’re coming out of last year’s unfortunate series of events with determination to plan better and give hope for a better future to any one who comes in contact with this region.”

Last year, the city hosted Dîner en Blanc in Haiti, the popular all-white outdoor dinner party. The event attracted nearly a thousand people in August, some from as far away as Europe. But weeks later, violent anti-government protests rocked the city after the government announced a hike in fuel prices.

Things have quieted down lately in Cap-Haïtien, and Sandler and Widmaier, who live in Port-au-Prince, are hoping it remains so. Both have musical pedigrees. Sandler is the daughter of Toto Bissainthe, a legendary singer, composer and actress who was born in Cap-Haïtien and died in 1994. Widmaier’s brother is pianist Mushy Widmaier, and their father was Herbert “Herby Widmaier,” the late jazz icon and singer who founded Radio Métropole and died in 2017.

Sandler and Joel Widmaier founded the Haiti Jazz Foundation in 2007 to promote the music in the country, through the festival and teaching by the artists who perform there. Through that time, they’ve also seen the music evolve as Haitian artists include their own Haitian Creole rhythms into the American art form that was founded in New Orleans.

This year’s event is in some ways a test. It’s a much more scaled-down version of previous festivals, with the United States, for instance, declining to fly in a jazz artist like they’ve done in years past. The French and Canadian embassies, among others, are providing support.

But there will be American representation: Haitian-American artists like Phyllisia Ross and American jazz pianist Aaron Goldberg. A longtime supporter and performer at the festival, Goldberg will perform with his trio on Saturday night, where his passion for swing, and groove will be on full display.

“I’m just amazed and happy it’s happening,” Goldberg told the Miami Herald from New York. “I think it was a brilliant move to move it to Cap-Haïtien. It’s such a magical place to begin with.”

Goldberg said he first discovered the festival by accident during a trip to Haiti in 2007, when he heard a trumpet playing. It was the musician Jean Caze, who was rehearsing for the jazz festival. Goldberg went on to play his first festival in 2008 and others over the years, and also hold workshops for Haitian musicians.

“I just admire Milena and Joel’s efforts to make this important cultural event happen against the odds,” he said, adding that he will be bringing with him fellow musicians Reuben Rogers and Eric Harland as part of his trio.

Also performing on Jan. 21 will be Grammy-nominated Cuban jazz pianist Alfredo Rodriguez. Discovered by Quincy Jones at the 2006 Montreux Jazz Festival, Rodriguez has performed at a number of festivals around the world and is known for his improvisational style that draws on his Cuban roots and classical training. He will be joined by two other musicians in Cap-Haïtien.

Instead of taking place over the traditional eight days, the Cap-Haïtien edition of the festival will take place over just two and a half days, with nine musical acts instead of 40. There will be a live stream hosted by Bibi Netalkole, who will record from Lakay Restaurant while the after-party jam session will take place at Gwog, another restaurant.

Sandler said that while the city is expensive, she and Widmaier have tried to help the economy by using local equipment and workers to produce the event. Aside from financing, their biggest challenge has been finding enough hotel rooms — there are less than 500 in the city— to accommodate the growing demand in the last few days.

The festival’s main stage will be set up along the city’s famous waterfront Boulevard in Carenage, with the after-party taking place at a local restaurant. Keeping with the spirit of the festival, which is to cater to all spheres of Haitian economic life, all the shows will be free with the exception of Sunday’s $40-a-ticket closing party at a renovated Fort Saint Joseph. It will feature Haitian musician Paul Beaubrun, who also hails from Haitian musical royalty, along with DJs playing racine and rara tech, which fuses Haiti’s rara rhythms and house music.

Just as in previous festivals, musicians are being moved around by tour operators with Tour Haiti, and will spend their days conducting workshops for local musicians at the Alliance Française. Organizers will also show documentaries, including a 52-minute film on PapJazz.

This year’s festival also will pay homage to one of the founders of the Haitian nation, Toussaint Louverture. This year marks the 280th anniversary of his birth. Louverture, who helped launch the Haitian revolution, died in a French prison on April 7, 1803, before the final independence battle began just outside the city.