Above: Bernie Williams

By the Caribbean Journal staff

New York Yankees legend and jazz guitarist Bernie Williams will headline the 2013 Dominican Republic Jazz Festival at the end of this month.

Williams will be joined by stars such as Rufus Reid, Abraham Laboriel, Marco Pignataro, Alex Acuña, and Ramon Vazquez at the festival, which runs from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3 in Puerto Plata, Sosua and Cabarete. It will be the 17th edition of the festival.

“The Dominican Republic Jazz Festival is a unique event that combines great Jazz and World Music Artists with some of the best Latin exponents, in beautiful beachfront settings in the Caribbean,” said Vazquez, who is also the artistic director for the festival.

Williams will perform on the opening night at Puerto Plata’s Independence Park, joined by Pengbian Sang & Retro Jazz.

The festival concludes on Cabarete Beach with peformances by the Marco Pignataro Trio Mas and “La Gallera,” a performance by Dominican merengue star Johnny Ventura and the “Merengue Queen,” Milly Quezada.

“The Festival has grown throughout the years to become an international cultural event of record, and we have established a Foundation (FEDUJAZZ) with an important social mission that provides music education for Dominican youth and local communities,” Vazquez said.