The St. Lucia Jazz Festival is now in its11th year and has become an important event on the Caribbean musical calendar. Visitors from Europe, North America and the rest of the Caribbean make their way to St. Lucia to what has now become a week-long event. Many famous Jazz artists from around the globe have performed at the festival and BET (Black Entertainment Television) Jazz's televised recordings have attracted wider attention across the hemisphere.

The venues make the festival particularly special. One of the best venues is on the small peninsula of Pigeon Island National Landmark where the audience is seated on the lawns surrounding the stages. The atmosphere, with the backdrop of the Caribbean Sea and its warm orange sunsets, is hard to top. Similarly, the intimate and truly beautiful setting of the Great House Theatre brings audiences closer in many ways to the artists than many, more modern but sterile venues ever could. The festival always kicks off with a warm up jam at a casual local venue, where the atmosphere is always informal and jovial. There are numerous other venues, mainly at hotels around the island, and they add pleasing changes of scenery to the performances.

All in all, the St. Lucia Jazz festival is always inspiring - whether it be talk about the finest performances, the venues, the personalities, the musical debates or just the plain silent admiration for the many stellar performances and it is often argued that the festival alone is reason enough for visiting St. Lucia.

Check the St. Lucia Jazz Festival website for details.