Annual Jazz

It's shades of Havana in the 1950s, of New York's Harlem in the 1920s, with bearded jazz musicians in berets playing among cubanos with white Panama hats and guayabera shirts. It's a fusion of African percussion and drums -- bongos and congos, backed up by marimbas and maracas, sexy songbirds and their piano men. It's rotund tuba players and sweat-stained black shirts as trumpet and sax players blow it out.

Every October, the towns of Sosúa, Cabarete, Puerto Plata, and Santiago are transformed into music venues when the biggest names in Latin jazz hit the north coast, including such legends as Chuck Mangione, Sade, Carlos Santana, Mongo Santa Maria, Chu Cho Valdés, and Arturo Sandoval.

As hot as salsa, the pulsating tropical sounds draw thousands of aficionados, from poor students to black-tie patrons of the arts, who come for the music, the energy, the art exhibits, the educational workshops, the sun and the sea. This is one five-star event that is democratic -- most tickets cost about $15.

Sizzling hot nights inevitably climax in impromptu jam sessions at such venues as Miro's Restaurant in Cabarete and Hemingway's Café in Playa Dorada Plaza. In short, the D.R. Jazz Fest is one of the best parties of the year.

Resorts book up early, especially those that are hotbeds of jazz activity, like Sosúa Bay Hotel-Victorian House and Sea Horse Ranch. Check out the festival's Web site for more information: www.drjazzfestival.com.