Latin Jazz
Marty Sheller was the award winning arranger and jazz trumpeter whose musical skills can be heard on hundreds of recordings. He worked with Mongo Santamaria for many years (yes, that is Marty taking the trumpet solo on “Watermelon Man”) beginning in 1961. Marty was also the house arranger for Fania...
Sal Cracchiolo learned how to play the trumpet on his mother’s horn. As his love of the instrument grew she saw to it that Sal received classical trumpet lessons with some of the top teachers in their neighborhood of Long Beach, California. At 15 Sal began performing and recording with Jr. &...
Jim Merod is the founder of BluePort Sound recording studio and BluePort Jazz, his record label. Since the early 1990s, Jim has recorded a long list of legendary jazz, blues, and latin musicians including Herbie Hancock, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Kenny Barron, Clark Terry, and Wayne Shorter,...
Chaim Rubinov played the piano in his home as a child and when school age he began playing the trumpet , thanks to the encouragement of his band director. He grew up in Montreal, where the high school he attended had a strong music program that included band exchanges and tours not only in Canada...
Ralph Peer II is the Chairman and CEO of Peermusic, which was formed by his father in 1928. While his father played a historic role in early-recorded music, the publishing company is equally significant. Ralph has been very active in the music publishing industry as he also serves as vice president...
Jaime Valle started out playing top 40 hits, but before long grew tired and was looking for something new when he happened upon jazz. It was a match made in heaven. After studying with Howard Roberts among others, Jaime went on to forge a top flight repertoire leading to multiple San Diego music...
Fred Sanchez is the founder of the band El Chicano, the Latin soul group from Los Angeles, that helped define Latin Rock in the late 1960s and 1970s. The band was formed by several high school friends who sought to combine Latin percussive styles with jazz and modern rock. Among their hits were “...
Arturo Sandoval is the Cuba born jazz trumpeter best known for the 2000 film “For Love of Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story” in which Andy Garcia portrayed Arturo. Over the years he has performed with most of the top names in jazz and began composing music as well as playing the piano. In 2007 he...
Candido Camero was born in Cuba on April 22, 1921. By the age of four he was already interested in percussive instruments--a field he would revolutionize by blending Latin beats with jazz. Working with other pioneers on the concepts of Latin Jazz, such as Dizzy Gillespie, Candido opened up the...
Airto Moreira has gained international recognition as one of the world’s leading Latin percussionists. He has introduced an innovative approach to playing percussion as well as teaching clinics. A fixture of the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) annual meetings, Airto was...