|
Rebeca Mauleón has specialized in Afro-Caribbean music for over
twenty years as a pianist, composer, arranger, author and educator. Firmly
rooted in the Afro-Cuban tradition, Mauleón has recorded and
performed with several luminaries in the Latin music scene, including Tito
Puente, Carlos Santana, Israel "Cachao" López, Steve Turré, Carlos
"Patato" Valdez, Francisco Aguabella, José Luis Quintana "Changuito", Giovanni
Hidalgo, Joe Henderson, Armando Peraza, Walfredo
de los Reyes, Orestes Vilató and the Machete Ensemble (of which she was
co-musical director for nearly ten years). Her piano and vocal work are featured
on several Grammy Award winning and nominated albums, including Tito Puente's
Goza Mi Timbal (1990 Grammy Award Winner), and the 1995 Grammy Nominee
Ritmo y Candela, with Patato, Changuito and Orestes Vilató.
As an educator, Rebeca is much in demand as a teacher and clinician throughout
the US and Europe, conducting classes and lectures for the Stanford Jazz Workshop,
Jazz Camp West, Mills College, Monterey Jazz Festival, Banff Center for the Arts
(Canada), Sibelius Academy & Pop and Jazz Conservatory (Finland) and others.
She holds an MA in Composition, and is the author of the critically
acclaimed "Bible" of Salsa music, the Salsa Guidebook for Piano and Ensemble
(© Sher Music 1993), which has been incorporated as an official text by
such renowned institutions as the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and is
co-editor of the Latin Real Book (© Sher Music, 1997). She has also
published several articles for top music magazines, including Keyboard Magazine,
Modern Drummer and Bass Player.
Mauleón has been commissioned as a composer and arranger by an array
of leading artists and companies, among them Tito Puente, Steve Winwood, Ray
Obiedo, The Oakland Youth Chorus, the San Francisco Jazz Festival and the
Berkeley Repertory Theatre. She is also featured as a performer and interviewer
on an instructional video for DCI/Warner with legendary Cuban percussionist
José Luis Quintana "Changuito", for which she also scripted and composed.
She is now in production of a new book/CD package and instructional video for
release in 1998. With her debut solo CD Round Trip, Mauleón launches
a powerhouse ensemble along with many renowned Bay area performers, as well as
a new independent recording and production company: Rumbeca Music.
- SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY:
- Rebeca Mauleón, Round Trip - Rumbeca Music CD-001, 1998
- Steve Winwood, Junction Seven - Virgin Records, 1997
- Patato/Changuito/Orestes, Ritmo y Candela - Redwood 9503, 1995 *
- The Machete Ensemble, Machete - Xenophile 4029, 1995
- Tito Puente, Royal 'T' - Concord Picante CCD-4553, 1993
- Ray Obiedo, Sticks & Stones - Windham Hill Jazz 10142-2, 1993
- Carlos Santana, Milagro - Polydor 314-513 197-2, 1992
- Tito Puente, Goza Mi Timbal - Picante CCD-4399, 1990 **
- Ray Obiedo, Iguana - Windham Hill Jazz WD-0128, 1990
- Ray Obiedo, Perfect Crime - Windham Hill Jazz WD-0115, 1989
- Tito Puente Latin Ensemble, Salsa Meets Jazz - Picante CJP-354, 1988
- Pete Escovedo, Mister E - Crossover CR-5005, 1988 ***
- The Machete Ensemble, Africa Volume 1 - Earthbeat, 1993 (re-issue)
- Tito Puente Latin Ensemble, Un Poco Loco - Picante CJP-329, 1987
- * 1996 Grammy Award nominee
- ** 1990 Grammy Award winner
- *** 1988 Grammy Award nominee
WHAT THE CRITICS HAVE SAID
- "... An outstanding performer, composer and arranger" - L.A. Jazz Scene
- "Fiery piano. One of San Francisco's best pianist/arrangers" - J.Poet, Utne Reader
- "... A talented performer" - Philip Elwood, S.F. Examiner
- "Visceral, tumbao-style piano" - John Lannert, Billboard
- "Solid, ofter surprising" - Jazziz
- "... A wonderful technician with a sparkling approach to the keys (who) displays
a deep knowledge of Cuban musical history" - Chiori Santiago, Express
- "A world-class pianist, composer and author" - Jesse Varela, Latin Beat.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Orestes Vilató is acknowledged as one of the greatest Latin percussionists
in the world today. Born in Camagüey, Cuba, Vilató moved to New York City
with his family at age twelve, having already established himself as an amazing young
talent. Although Orestes is a multi-instrumentalist, his prominence is due mainly to his
exciting interpretation on the Cuban timbales. He is one of the few modern percussionists
who truly knows his tradition and applies it in the contemporary context.
While living in New York for twenty-five years, Orestes was intimately involved with many
musical artists and organizations that played seminal roles in the development of Latin
music throughout the world, among them the Belisario López Orchestra, José Fajardo,
the FANIa All-Stars (as founding member), Ray Barretto, Típica 73, Tito Puente,
Eddie Palmieri, Rubén Blades, Johnny Pacheco, Cheo Feliciano, Ismael Rivera, Joe Cuba
and many others. While in New York, he founded his own group - Los Kimbos - and after moving
to California for a nine-year stint with Carlos Santana, re-formed the group during the
early 90s. An upcoming release of recordings by Los Kimbos 90s is in final production
for Fall of '98 under the Rumbeca Music label. His workd has been lauded in the 1994
Grammy Award Winning album, Master Sessions, Vol. 1 with Israel "Cachao" López,
and in 1995 he received a Grammy Nomination for Ritmo y Candela.
In demand outside the Latin music field as well, Orestes has also toured, performed and
recorded with Aretha Franklin, Willie Nelson, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Herbie Hancock,
Linda Ronstadt and Jackson Browne, among others. He also continues to lend his amazing
percussive talents to numerous premiere Latin Jazz artists such as McCoy Tyner,
Dave Valentin, Giovanni Hidalgo, Paquito D'Rivera, the Machete
Ensemble and many others.
Vilató was featured in Puerto Rico's "Battle of the Sticks" timbales extravaganza
in 1996, and has headlined several jazz festivals there as well as in the United States
and abroad. He has recorded hundreds of albums with a virtual who's who of Latin music
world. Orestes is regarded by many as the "timbalero's timbalero".
- DISCOGRAPHY:
- Aretha Franklin, Pink Cadillac
- Patato/Changuito/Orestes, Ritmo y Candela - Round World Records *
- Israel López "Cachao", Master Sessions Vol. I - Crescent Moon/Epic **
- Israel López "Cachao", Master Sessions Vol. II - Crescent Moon/Epic
- Carlos Santana, Havana Moon
- Carlos Santana, Zebop
- Ray Barretto, Que Viva La Música
- The Machete Ensemble, Machete - Earthbeat
- Pacheco y Pupi, The Two Musketeers
- * Grammy Award nominee, 1995
- ** Grammy Award winner, 1994
WHAT THE CRITICS HAVE SAID
- "The true 'king of the timbales'" - Artistas
- "Magical, blazing stick work. One of the greatest living Cuban
percussionsts" - J.Poet, Utne Reader
- "High-voltage Latin percussion" - Hal Miller
- "Vilató shines" - Chico Alvarez, NY Latino
- "A titan of Afro-Cuban drumming" - Jesse Varela, Latin Beat
- "One of the world's most renowned Latin percussionists" - Marty Lipp, New Review
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Horacio "El Negro" Hernández has been called everything from "monstrous"
to the "human octopus", and for good reason: he is perhaps one of the most powerful,
versatile and virtuosic drummers to emerge within recent years. Born in Havan, Cuba in
1963, "El Negro" (as he is affectionately called by all who know him) began his prolific
career as a hard rock drummer. Coming from a family with a rich musical heritage deeply
rooted in traditional Cuban music and well-versed in American jazz currents, Hernández'
diverse playing style made him one of the most in-demand studio musicians in Cuba. In
1980, he joined piano virtuoso Gonzalo Rubalcaba's ground-breaking fusion group, Proyecto,
where he would further develop his distinct drumming technique - a potent mixture of Afro-Cuban,
jazz, rock, funk and other elements - making him an artist of extraordinary musical
versatility.
In 1990, Hernández re-located in Rome, where he immediately became an energizing
force in Jazz, Rock and Latin music circles, and chaired the Latin Drums Department at
the Universita della Musica's Percussion Center while conducting clinics throughout Italy.
Upon his arrival in New York in 1993, El Negro began working immediately with numerous
premiere Latin jazz artists, including Paquito D'Rivera, Dave Valentin, Dizzy Gillespie's
United Nations Orchestra, the Fort Apache Band, Ed Simon and others.
More recently, Hernández has recorded and toured with pianist Michel Camilo,
the TropiJazz All-Stars, Tito Puente and David Sánchez. In the Winter of 1995, he was
a featured artist in Cuba Jazz' production of Irakere West. Special guest Carlos Santana
was so overwhelmed by his playing that he approached El Negro to join the group for a
1997 recording date and world tour. Earlier this year, Hernández released a powerful
educational demonstration video for DCI/Warner, in which he is accompanied by bass
virtuoso John Patitucci, and is the first Cuban drummer ever to grace the cover of
Modern Drummer Magazine. He is featured in the September '97 issue. He is currently
at work on a method book for drummers, focusing on his extraordinary techniques of
independence.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Brenda Boykin has been a driving force in the San Francisco Bay Area Jazz and
Blues scene for many years. A native of Oakland, California, Boykin's powerful blend
of soul, blues, R&B and other styles make her a truly unique vocalist, one with a
remarkable musical sensibility. Her first musical experience came through the youth
choir of the North Oakland Missionary Baptist Church, and those church strains can
still be found in her husky contralto, effortless power and vocal passion. Aside from
her rich voice, Boykin has a firm grasp of musical dynamics and a natural, unforced empathy
with her listeners. She has won rave reviews for her repeat performances at the Monterey
Jazz and Blues Festivals, the San Francisco Blues Festival and the DuMaurier Jazz
Festival in Vancouver.
Boykin refers to her style as "bourbon and cornbread", the musical mixture of jazzy
sweetness and down-home sass that marks her as "the most authentic and most inventive
female jump blues vocal stylist of her generation" according to blues historian Lee
Hildebrand.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The additional performers of Round Trio are all world-class performers, composers and
band-leaders in their own right. Cuban-born percussionist Jesús Diaz has
firmly established himself as one of the most in-demand performers and studio
musicians around. Diaz' versatility as a multi-instrumentalist, as well as his natural
gifts as an arranger and vocalist, bring a sharpness and precision to this powerful
ensemble. Diaz has performed, toured and recorded with such artists as Talking Drums,
Andy Narrell, Conjunto Céspedes, Bobby Womack, the Caribbean Jazz Project and many
others.
Jeff Cressman is not only one of the premiere trombonists in Northern California,
he is also an accomplished composer, arranger and sound engineer. A veteran player with
an unusual musical versatility and sensibility, Cressman has worked in virtually every
stylistic genre - from Latin to bebop to East Indian - performing and recording with such
diverse artists as Peter Appfelbaum and the Hieroglyphics Ensemble, the Pete Escovedo
Orchestra, Jai Uttal, the Machete Ensemble and many others.
Round Trip features a horn section of dynamic players, all of whom have firmly established
themselves as leaders on stage and in the studio, and as pillars in the jazz education
community. Saxophonist/flautist Alex Murzyn is currently one of the top reed men in
the Bay Area, also having released three CD projects as a leader. Trumpeters
Louis Fasman and John Worley are equally in-demand among both Latin and
Jazz studio and stage circuits, and are dedicated teachers in the field of Jazz in the
Bay Area. Their recording and performing credits combined include Maynard Ferguson,
Freddy Hubbard, Bill Watrous, Steve Winwood, Huey Lewis and the News, Ray Obiedo,
Pete Escovedo and many others.
In addition to being one of the hardest-working bass players in the Bay Area, David
Belove is also one of the most versatile, melodic and dynamic. His sensitive musical
abilities have made him one of the top choices with a wide array of artists and ensembles,
among them the Machete Ensemble, Mark Murphy, Dizzy Gillespie, the Oakland Interfaith
Gospel Choir and others.
Drummer Paul Van Wageningen is another example of the versatility and quality
among San Francisco Bay Area artists. He is adept at virtually every musical style,
and has performed, toured and recorded with a number of leading artists, including
the Caribbean Jazz Project, Andy Narrell, Ray Obiedo, the Machete Ensemble, the Pete
Escovedo Orchestra and many others.
For booking, contact EMMECI.
|