St. Lucia is a small island in the Lesser Antilles, northwest of Barbados. Its jazz festival has been called one of the world's top five jazz festivals by the E! Entertainment network. The festival takes place in May and draws jazz artists as well as R&B performers. Some past guests include Smokey Robinson, Herbie Hancock, Branford Marsalis, Santana and Courtney Pine. The festival launched in 1991. As of 2010 it was held in several outdoor and indoor venues including Derek Walcott Square, named after the St. Lucia born Nobel Prize winning author.
The Barbados Jazz Festival is held over a week each January in the capital town of Bridgetown. The roster is always diverse and past performers include the British singer-songwriter James Blunt, jazz drummer Harvey Mason, Barbadian singer Dwayne Husbands and the R&B singer Angie Stone. Venues include the Sir Garfield Sobers Gymnasium (named after the Barbadian cricketer), Sunbury Plantation House and the open air Farley Hill National Park where the audience can bring picnics.
The Jamaica Ocho Rios Jazz Festival, held in June, began in 1991 as a one-day event. By 2010 it ran for eight days. The 2010 festival was dedicated to its founder, the late musician and bandleader Sonny Bradshaw. The organizers have always been keen to promote local musicians along with the international acts and more than 100 Jamaican performers appear each year. Events around the festival include free concerts, a Youth Program and a photo exhibition. The festival launched a Jazz Hall of Fame for Caribbean musicians in 1997.
The Anguilla Tranquility Jazz Festival takes place in November on the small British territory of Anguilla, which forms part of the Leeward Islands. First held in 2002, it's a four-day festival that includes special "dinner and show" events and promotes itself as "Jazz on the Beach."
