Alfredo Rodriguez - Piano (Cuba)
The first time Quincy Jones heard Alfredo Rodriguez play, he claimed "it knocked me on my booty, man." Since then the legendary jazz and pop producer (from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson) took the young Cubano under his wing. Born in Havana in 1985, Alfredo began to attend the city’s prestigious Music Conservatory when he turned 10, wanting to play the drums. At the end of the first year of conservatory and in front of the entire classroom his instructor told his parents that they should remove Alfredo from the conservatory because he'd never be good enough to be a musician. Undaunted, Alfredo stuck with it. And soon piano was his life. At 14, he was the school's prize pianist and the student chosen to play at graduation. He also wound up graduating first in his class, with the highest marks the conservatory had ever seen. In 2006, Alfredo was accepted at Montreux Jazz Festival. That same year, after hearing Alfredo play at Montreux, Quincy Jones asked his staff to figure out a way to work with this gifted, young, jazz pianist. After two and a half years of work, Alfredo has become an international sensation producing what in our opinion is one of the best Jazz albums of the 21st century.
Miguel Zenón – Sax (Puerto Rico)
Multiple Grammy nominee and Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow, Miguel Zenón is widely considered to be one of the most groundbreaking and influential saxophonists of his generation. He has also developed a unique voice as a composer and a conceptualist, concentrating his efforts on perfecting a fine mix between the folk of his homeland and jazz. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 2008 Migel was selected as one of 25 distinguished individuals to receive the prestigious and coveted MacArthur Fellowship, more commonly known as the “Genius Grant”. Since then Zenón has built a distinguished career as a leader, releasing twelve albums under his own name and aldo playing with the likes of Charlie Haden, Fred Hersch, Kenny Werner, David Sánchez, Danilo Pérez, The Village Vanguard Orchestra, Kurt Elling, Guillermo Klein & Los Guachos, The Mingus Big Band, Bobby Hutcherson and Steve Coleman to name a few. He is also an educator, having formed Caravana Cultural which, among other things, presents free-of-charge jazz concerts in rural areas of Puerto Rico.
Antonio Sanchez – Drumkit (Mexico)
Born in Mexico City, 5-time Grammy award winner Antonio Sanchez began playing the drums at age five and performed professionally in his early teens in Mexico’s rock, jazz and Latin scenes. He pursued a degree in classical piano at the National Conservatory in Mexico and in 1993 enrolled in Berklee College of Music and New England Conservatory, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in Jazz Studies. Since moving to New York City in 1999, Antonio has become one of the most sought-after drummers in the international jazz scene. Following 18 years and 9 albums as one of the most revered collaborators with guitarist/composer Pat Metheny, he also has recorded and performed with prominent artists such as Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Michael Brecker, Charlie Haden and Toots Thielmans. In 2014 Sanchez scored Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) which ended up fetching 4 Academy awards (including best picture) and for which Antonio won a Grammy award. Sanchez currently has close to a dozen recordings as a leader and solo artist.
Juan García-Herreros – electric bass (Colombia)
‘The Best Bass Player In The World’? Unbelievably, that's what the readers of Bass Player and Bass Guitar magazines voted this Colombian in 2019. Juan García-Herreros also goes by the name of Snow Owl, his heavy metal alter-ego. How many artists have played the world’s biggest arenas while, as composer, are honoured with prestigious awards; 3 x Gold Medals of the Global Music Awards for World Jazz, Best Album and Best New Release. Born in Bogotá, Juan began with the flute at the age of nine, before his family moved to New York City then Florida, where discovered the electric bass and began to teach himself. Recognising the young Colombian’s ambition, Juan’s high school teacher gave him the key to the instrument store room and he would would sneak into the school at night, through a window that the teacher left open for him. At just 17 years of age, Juan was accepted as part of the Tampa Bay Symphony and, after competing in New Orleans during the Berklee College of Music Scholarship Tour, received one of Berklee’s coveted music scholarships. As a professional, Juan performed with artists as diverse as Elton John and Christina Aguilera before relocating to Vienna, Austria, to begin his career as a soloist and musical director. His 2014 Latin Grammy nomination in the category of Best Latin Jazz Album had never been previously achieved either by an electric bass player or a Colombian world/jazz musician. Now, talk about an artist you can’t fit in a box!
Luis Perdomo – Piano (Venezuela)
Ever since he came to New York in 1993 from Venezuela, Pianist/composer/bandleader Perdomo has emerged as one of the most in-demand jazz pianists – as evidenced by his celebrated work with a wide array of jazz and Latin stars – from Ravi Coltrane to Ray Barretto, and by his six critically- acclaimed recordings as a leader. Born in 1971 in Caracas, Perdomo, from the age of 12, was playing on Venezuelan TV and radio stations. In 1993, he got a full scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music. Perdomo has appeared on over two hundred records, and was a member of Ravi Coltrane’s Quartet for ten years, and is a founding member of the Miguel Zenon Quartet. Perdomo recorded on three Grammy-nominated CD’s: Coltrane’s Influx, and Zenon’s Esta Plena, and Alma Adentro: The Puerto Rican Songbook. As a band leader he has recorded Focus Point (2005), Awareness (2006), Pathways (2008), the critically-acclaimed Universal Mind (2012), with Jack DeJohnnette and Drew Gress, The Infancia Project (2012) and Links (2013). Which brings us to 22: an amazing recording that shows how far Luis Perdomo has come and forecasts where he is going.
Yilian Cañizares – Violin (Cuba)
Yilian Cañizares is considered one of the most exciting and innovative jazz musicians of her generation. Cañizares grew up in Vedado, the neighbourhood next to Havana's Plaza de la Revolution. Aged seven, she won a place at the prestigious Manuel Saumell music academy to study piano and violin. This was the austerity-hit 1990s, Cuba's so-called 'Special Period', and so when she was offered a scholarship to study in the then relatively wealthy Caracas, Venezuela, when she was just 14, Canizares took it. Two years later, a masterclass with a visiting Swiss-based teacher changed her life, and Yilian soon found herself in western Switzerland, where big name orchestras beckoned. In Lausanne this young talented violinist spent six years with symphonies, concertos and operas. And then she quite to dedicate herself to Jazz, the quartet she created called “Ochumare” won the Montreux Jazz Festival Competition. Since then, her career has continued to crescendo. Sharing the stage withIbrahim Maalouf, Omar Sosa, Diego El Cigala, Youn Sun Nah, Richard Bona, Chucho Valdés, Roberto Fonseca, Dhafer Youssef, The Lausanne Chamber Orchestra and El Comité . In 2018, she released “Aguas” with Omar Sosa and in 2019 she released Erzulie, dedicated to the Haitian divinity of love and freedom who bears the same name.
Edmar Castaneda - Harp, Colombia
Colombian-born harp virtuoso Edmar Castaneda brings not only an unfamiliar instrument but a wholly original voice to jazz. He has discovered a brilliant role for the harp in jazz and has innovated and sparked creativity from a wealth of formidable collaborations with the likes of guitarist John Scofield, pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, bassists Marcus Miller, John Patitucci and saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera. Born in 1978 in Bogotá, Castaneda took up the harp as a teenager to play the folkloric music of his homeland. He discovered jazz shortly after moving to New York City to join his father in 1994. He was ushered into the jazz community by Paquito D’Rivera, who recognized Castaneda’s passion and took the young harpist under his wing. Castaneda made his debut as a leader in 2007 with Cuartos de Colores, and has recorded various albums since; Double Portion (2012), Live at the Jazz Standard (2015) and his most recent ‘Live in Montreal’
Henry Cole – Drumkit, Puerto Rico
A Grammy award winner, Multi-time Grammy nominee, master drummer and skilled arranger, Henry Cole became the first Puerto Rican resident on the island - and the second nationwide - to receive the prestigious "New Jazz Works" Grant from the Chamber Music of America for his work as a composer with his group Villa Locura. A native of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, Cole started playing the piano at the age of four and fell in love with the drums at the age of nine. The musical romance led to La Escuela Libre de Música de Mayaguez and the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico before attending Berklee College of Music in Boston. After moving back to Puerto Rico, Cole cultivated a reputation in Old San Juan's diverse music scene, working with poets, rappers, Bomba musicians, Pleneros, Rockers, and Salsa ringleaders. Considred to be an innovative, explosive drummer in 2018 Henry released "Simple" with his new group Villa Locura, where he combines a wide variety of musical influences such as Puerto Rican folklore, funk, R&B, jazz, and Afro-Caribbean rhythms and creates a unique genre that bridges the traditional and contemporary. He’s played with Miguel Zenón Quartet, Grammy Award winner David Sánchez, The Gary Burton Quartet, Quincy Jones Global Gumbo, aswell as with Chambao, Calle13, Residente , Siete Nueve Balún , Velcro, Draco Rosa and Tego Calderon.
Carlos Henriquez – Bass, Puerto Rico
Carlos Henriquez was born in 1979 in the Bronx, New York. He studied music at a young age, played guitar through junior high school and took up the bass while enrolled in The Juilliard School’s Music Advancement Program. He entered LaGuardia High School of Music & Arts and Performing Arts and was involved with the LaGuardia Concert Jazz Ensemble which went on to win first place in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival in 1996. In 1998, swiftly after high school, Henriquez joined the Wynton Marsalis Septet and the Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra, touring the world and featured on more than 25 albums. Henriquez has performed with artists including Chucho Valdes, Paco De Lucia, Tito Puente, the Marsalis Family, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Lenny Kravitz, Marc Anthony, and many others. He was music director of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra’s cultural exchange with the Cuban Institute of Music with Chucho Valdes in 2010.
Roberto Fonseca – Piano (Cuba)
Roberto Fonseca was an instant hit when he appeared on the tour circuit, straddling serious Jazz and crowd-pleasing performance. Born into musical heritage, his father was drum player, his mother, a professional singer (she sings on her son's solo album, Zamazu), and his two older half-brothers from his mother's previous marriage to the pianist and musician Jesús "Chucho" Valdés are Emilio Valdés (drums) and Jesús "Chuchito" Valdés Jr. (piano). Roberto has toured the world’s most prestigious venues with Buena Vista Social Club, he branched out on his solo career fusing jazz, son, funk, reggaeton and electronica and ripping up the rule book. Whilst celebrating the rich musical traditions of Cuba’s past, he was seen as the Jazz of the future, fronting a new generation of Cuban artists leading this cultural renaissance. He released his ninth solo album, Yesun, in Fall 2019 on Mack Avenue Records.
Harold López-Nussa - Pianist and composer (Cuba)
Signed with Blue Note Records, Harold started on piano when he was eight years old, attending the Manuel Saumell Elementary School of Music and Amadeo Roldán Conservatory. After graduating from the Instituto Superior de Artes, he toured with Omara Portuondo. In 2003, he worked with the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra. Two years later, he participated in a piano contest at the Montreux Jazz Festival and won first place. He released his first solo album, Canciones, in 2007. His debut album on Blue Note 'Timba a la Americana' was inspired by the pianist's recent decision to leave his Cuban homeland and begin a new life in France. Produced by Michael League (Snarky Puppy), Timba a la Americana presents 10 new original compositions performed by a tight-knit band featuring harmonica virtuoso Grégoire Maret, Luques Curtis on bass, Bárbaro "Machito" Crespo on congas, and Harold's brother Ruy Adrián López-Nussa on drums.
Amaro Freitas – piano (Brazil)
From the slums of Recife in Brazil's North-East to international jazz icon, Amaro Freitas has earned international attention for "an approach to the keyboard so unique that it's startling" (Downbeat), The culture of Pernambuco naturally overflows in this style of this 27 - year – old, who is one of the newest and greatest revelations of Brazilian jazz. Influenced by Capiba - the frevo master - Moacir Santos, Hermeto Pascoal and Egberto Gismonti, but also by great references of piano jazz like Monk, Jarrett or Corea, he released his debut album ‘Sangue Negro’ in 2016 and immediately won over the critics. After In the same year, he was awarded the MIMO Instrumental Award in 2016 and so unsurprisingly his second album Rasif (2018) arrived on a wave of instant acclaim. Beyond the always - pre - dominant samba jazz , Amaro Freitas focuses on the northeastern culture and translates frevo, baião, maracatu,ciranda or maxixe into the language of jazz. His new album Sankofa - a spiritual quest into the forgotten stories, ancient philosophies and inspirational figures of Black Brazil - is his most stunning and sincere work to date.
OKAN - violin, vocals, percussion (Cuba)
This duo is one of the most exciting jazz acts to emerge in recent years. Taking their name from the word for heart in the Afro-Cuban religion of Santeria, the women-led ensemble OKAN fuses Afro-Cuban roots with jazz, folk and global rhythms in songs about immigration, courage and love. Made up of Elizabeth Rodriguez - a classically trained violinist who served as concertmaster for Havana’s Youth Orchestra – and percussionist Magdelys Savigne, both are Grammy-nominees for their contributions to Jane Bunnett and Maqueque, of which they are former members. Their Juno-nominated and Independent Music Award-winning debut album Sombras, with their sophomore release Espiral, released on the Lulaworld Records label in the fall of 2020.
Wondering where the percussionists are? There are so many great percussionists, we’ve had to make another list…which will be coming soon!
