The JazzReggae Festival will celebrate 25 years with an array of musical and visual artists
Raka Rich (left) and Raka Dun, members of Los Rakas, will be performing at JazzReggae on Monday. Their music is a fusion of Caribbean reggae and hip-hop.
courtesy of NINA PARKS
By Niran Somasundaram
May 26, 2011 12:07 a.m.
Jesse Sachs had never heard of the JazzReggae Festival until his first year at UCLA, when he went to see The Roots headline. During the performance, he was astonished to learn that the entire festival was student-run. Now, three years later, Sachs, a fourth-year ethnomusicology student, is the festival’s executive producer.
“There is a really dedicated group of students that put this on,” Sachs said. “It’s literally out of just pure passion and love for this event that students come together and make it happen.”
The Cultural Affairs Commission’s 25th annual JazzReggae Festival will feature two seven-hour days of music and art, with Sunday’s Jam Day headlined by Lupe Fiasco and Monday’s Reggae Day headlined by Steel Pulse.
JazzReggae Festival began as a one-day jazz festival in 1986, and a reggae component was added in 1986, but it expanded to a two-day jazz and reggae celebration in 1991 because of its immense popularity.
In addition to Fiasco, Jam Day will feature a performance by Lee Fields, who initially began recording in the 1970s before taking a hiatus and returning to the music world in the early ’90s. Fields, a self-described soul artist, said he embraced the festival as an opportunity to connect with the audience.
“Festivals are a time of celebration; large crowds come out to celebrate. It gives the audience a chance to get to know the artists,” Fields said. “When you record, you can use all kinds of enhancements. Festivals are important because artists get to display their true artistry.”
Fields, who will perform under the name Lee Fields and The Expressions, said he promises the audience what he described as a “real” experience.
“I am going to give them my heart and soul when I’m on that stage,” Fields said. “I am literally giving them my spirit. When someone does something to the fullness of their ability, their spirit goes with it.”
Reggae Day was initially set to feature Sean Paul, but because of a serious knee injury, Paul had to cancel his performance. Instead, veteran roots reggae band Steel Pulse will headline.
Also performing is the genre-blending Los Rakas, a relatively new duo who said they are influenced equally by the Caribbean reggae sounds of their Panamanian background and the bustling hip-hop scene of Oakland, where they currently reside.
“Our music is natural, we do whatever we feel,” said Raka Dun, one of the group’s vocalists. “We use whatever instruments we feel and play whatever sounds we feel, whether it is hip-hop or reggae.”
Los Rakas, whose name is derived from “rakataka,” a Panamanian word used to describe someone from the ghetto, said that the audience can expect a passionate and upbeat set.
“We are going to bring a lot of energy,” Dun said. “We want people to sweat, we want the people to have a good time.”
In addition to the music, the festival will also incorporate a large amount of visual art.
“Los Angeles has an amazing art scene,” Sachs said. “We are trying to do a lot of interactive art and bring that scene to the festival.”
There will be a live art piece created on a cubed canvas, allowing four painters, including acclaimed artists Man One and Teebs, to paint simultaneously. There will also be an outdoor art exhibition curated by Los Angeles gallery HVW8, with art available for purchase.
According to Sachs, the festival has also made great strides to align itself with the sustainability movement. The festival will feature eco-friendly portable restrooms, two water refilling stations and a green education tent. The company Extreme Biodiesel will deliver free barrels for food vendors to dispose of their excess cooking oil, which will later be recycled.
“The JazzReggae festival gives us an opportunity to educate not only UCLA students, but also the surrounding L.A. area,” said Michelle Horak, a fourth-year world arts and culture student and the festival’s sustainability director. “It shows that sustainability is on the mind of UCLA.”
Sachs said he hoped the festival will provide concert-goers with the same experiences it has provided him for the past three years.
“What you can expect from this show is what you can always expect at JazzReggae: a laid-back experience, … all your friends and … new people you’ve never seen before on campus,” Sachs said.
