Loreto Pelayo Quartet to Debut in Tonight’s Jazz Concert

For those who enjoy the symphonies of jazz music, here’s something you can look forward to tonight. The Loreto Pelayo Quartet is making their debut performance tonight at 7:30 PM at the Bliss Centre for Performing Arts in Belize City.

The band leader, Loreto Pelayo, announced that the concert will feature a special guest performance by renowned YouTuber and saxophonist Naythan Graybeal.

Graybeal is from North Carolina, USA, and the CEO of a New York-based jazz education company, gained global recognition after a viral YouTube video at 17. He now uses his platform to promote jazz and its cultural heritage.

“I’m really happy to share this music with people who are willing to come out,” Pelayo said about the concert. “In this concert, we’re really bringing out jazz standards and video game music, which I feel they aren’t that different from each other.”

Pelayo also shared the inspiration behind the name of his band. “When it comes to the name in jazz, it’s not like in rock music or any other music where you come up with a really cool name. Oftentimes, it’s just the name of the band leader and the number of people who play in it,” he said.

Pelayo, who has led his band through several transitions, said his primary focus has always been to play the type of music he loves—jazz. Despite the challenges of performing jazz, he remains passionate about his craft.

Graybeal, whose expertise in jazz education has inspired many, spoke about the historical significance of the genre. “Jazz is really, technically, America’s only true art form. It’s really a folk music. It originated in the Black American culture during their times of extreme poverty and really escaping slavery. So this was the music that was born out of them expressing their sort of sorrows, and it really evolved into music that spread across the world,” he said.

Pelayo and Graybeal invite all jazz lovers to come and enjoy the band’s debut performance tonight at the Bliss Centre.

The doors open at 7:00 PM, and the concert will run for two hours, wrapping up at 10:00 PM.

Tickets are available for $30 and can be purchased in advance at CY’s Music Store, Premium Wine and Spirits, The Bliss, or reserved directly from Pelayo by calling 630-4537. Tickets will also be available at the door.