Bio

Reimagining Panama's Musical and Cultural Narratives of Jazz: Panamanian Suite narrates the complex relationship between Panama and the United States by tracing the paths of their music, tracking the development of jazz in Panama from the mid-nineteenth century to the modern day through three movements: pre-jazz, jazz, and global jazz. As a vital port of Caribbean migration in the twentieth century, Panama played an essential role in the emergence and shaping of jazz and other cultural forms, many of which influenced culture on the mainland United States. Patricia Zarate de Perez explores new narratives of jazz from a Pan-Afro-Latin American perspective, beginning with an examination of music that contributed to a Panamanian imaginary which justified the expansion of imperial territories beginning in the mid-nineteenth century. This Panamanian imaginary and the white supremacy embedded within it also served as a basis for the erasure of the contributions of Panamanians throughout jazz history, but not without resistance—modern Panamanian artists and cultural leaders continue to enact redressing actions even now. The book documents a history of jazz in Panama, naming its principal characters and culminating with the development of Global Jazz, a twenty-first-century imaginary centered on the next generation of musicians and their place in jazz history. For more info visit www.panamaniansuite.com

Invisible Silence, Loud Music: The Transmusical Journey of a Jazz Musician. 

Co-writer: Wenjun Wu

This collaborative research aims to understand the role of music in the gender transition of Wenjun, a trans male Chinese jazz musician and bass player. It will describe how Wenjun experienced music, focusing on the precise elements used to translate his gender transition. The mirrored changes that occurred for Wenjun created a clarity of musicking that became a true representation of his musical self. Wenjun’s personal reflections on his gender transition and compositions reveal a multidimensional struggle that was mirrored in the music he composed and performed during this period of radical change. Alongside these contemplations, Patricia, a music therapist and jazz musician, considers the transformations facilitated for Wenjun through the lens of a qualitative research project. Translating the intense discomfort of gender dysphoria through often shocking harmonic and melodic statements, Wenjun was able to find new expressive pathways through which to explore his life and gender transition. This chapter is presented through music and words, a call-and-response between Wenjun as a jazz musician and Patricia as a music therapist, jazz musician, and researcher. For more information visit the Oxford Handbook for Queer and Trans Music Therapy HERE

Latin American Cultural and Musical Contexts in Music Therapy  soon to be published!

Culturally-conscious music therapy has the power to create meaningful therapeutic connections between practitioners and clients from different backgrounds, and to support healing by honoring clients' heritages and experiences.

This essential handbook dives into the wide range of linguistic, historical, and cultural influences that shape different Latin American clients, and suggests ways to apply these contexts in music therapy settings. Stories, case studies, and research provide a comprehensive overview of both theory and its practical applications, allowing better client-centred practice. Examples shown through the perspective of therapists and clients demonstrate ways to develop culturally-competent practice, as well as highlighting its importance in supporting clients from different backgrounds and helping Latinx therapists to weave their own heritage into their work.

A key resource for therapists and care professionals working with Latinx and Hispanic clients, this guide broadens the horizons of music therapy and reinforces the diversity at its heart. HERE