Band from Mozambique Wins Cotai Jazz & Blues Festival 2014 in Macau

The Cotai Jazz & Blues Festival 2014 came to an energetic close on Sunday night with four talented bands winning a share of the competition’s HK$550,000 cash prize pool.

From Thursday through Saturday, judges Xu Kui, Antonio Cabrita, Michael Cloeren and Tomos Griffiths watched the competition’s 12 finalists each perform 30-minute sets in front of appreciative festival audiences, assessing them on style, improvisation, technique, musicality, performance and audience response.

Six bands were then shortlisted to perform a half-hour set each in Sunday’s final round of competition: Trio Ricardo Special (Hungary), AfroJazz (Brazil), The Monreira Project (Mozambique), The Northern Governors (Finland), Soulmate (India) and Old Style Sextet (USA).

The four winners of the Cotai Jazz & Blues Festival 2014 competition are:

First Place: HK$250,000 - The Monreira Project (Mozambique)

Second Place: HK$150,000 - Old Style Sextet (USA)

Third Place: HK$100,000 - The Northern Governors (Finland)

Special Recognition Award: HK$50,000 - AfroJazz (Brazil)

“These incredibly talented musicians played their hearts out during this competition, helping deliver a superb weekend of entertainment for our festival visitors,” said Ciaran Carruthers, Senior Vice President and Director of Venetian and Plaza Operations, Sands China Ltd. “The response from visitors has been amazing, and bringing the popular Mardi Gras theme back to The Venetian Macao this year was a big hit. As they do in New Orleans, we really let the good times roll at this festival, and we hope everyone enjoyed the outstanding musical performances and exciting live entertainment throughout the weekend. This is what an unforgettable integrated resort experience is all about.”