Stanley Clarke performing at Riviera Maya Jazz Festival 2011. — Photo courtesy of W. Andrew Powell

This year marks the 10th anniversary for the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival and, during the past 10 years, the festival has come to be one of the area's most popular events of the year. The perfect combination of major performers putting on free concerts on the beach, under the stars, is pretty hard to beat. It's no wonder the event has become such a big hit with both locals and tourists.

Each year, the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival concerts are held at Playa Mamitas, a beach club in Playa del Carmen (a laid-back, little beach town, roughly one hour south of Cancun.) The event is always held over Thanksgiving weekend (Thanksgiving for Americans, that is), and with so many tourists in town, crowds for the concerts are large. In recent years, there were concerts on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday but, this year, the event will only be held on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  The dates for the 2012 Riviera Maya Jazz Festival are November 22, 23, and 24.

The artists that will be performing at the 10th anniversary of the jazz festival are Victor Wooten, Pete Escovedo, Big Band Joe E'tienne, Nortec, Pancho Sanchez, Djavan, John Scofield, Wayne Shorter, and Aguamala, who has performed at the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival for the past few years. 

Concerts begin at 7:00pm, each night of the festival, and admission is free. Since it is a free event, be sure to arrive early to snag a good spot because it will fill up fast. 

For more information on the event, visit the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival website at www.rivieramayajazzfestival.com.