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Sonido Isleño
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When asked to label Sonido Isleño's music, critics and fans agree that it is Latin Jazz in the truest sense of the term: Sonido Isleño explores different ways of mixing Jazz and Spanish-Caribbean music, while making the music accessible, organic, and logical.
This is the direct result of the New York musicians involved, who are completely bi-cultural, a benefit of being residents of the largest Caribbean city in the United States.
Active since 1996, Sonido Isleño is the brainchild of Dr. Benjamin Lapidus and is made up of master musicians who have performed and recorded with a who's who of Latin music including Eddie Palmieri, Celia Cruz, Ray Barretto, and The Buena Vista Social Club, among others.
Unlike other Latin Jazz groups that feature traditional jazz instruments, Sonido Isleño achieves its sound with string instruments and percussion.
Their first album, ¿Quién Tiene Ritmo? (1998), was an instant critics' favorite and received solid airplay. El Asunto (1998) won the group more fans around the world and earned a position on many year-end critics' lists. The band performed on CBS - The Morning Show with Bryant Gumbel and Jane Clayson and made numerous radio appearances throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico to promote the record. In August 2000, EMI-Capitol released Real Latin Jazz - Percussion, Piano & Strings, featuring Sonido Isleño's "Jazz Changüí." This compilation of Latin jazz placed Sonido Isleño in the company of such Grammy award-winning artists such as Chucho Valdés, Eddie Palmieri, Poncho Sánchez, and Giovanni Hidalgo. Tres is the Place (2001) cemented Sonido Isleño's position amongst Latin jazz fans and radio programmers. Many critics named it in their top ten albums of 2001. The band performed in TNN's James Bond commercials and performed at various high-profile jazz venues in the U.S. and Europe. In 2004, Blue Tres was hailed by critics as their best album to date and the band performed throughout the U.S. and in Colombia to support it. Blue Tres made 4 top-ten lists for Latin Beat Magazine's year-end issue in 2004.
For Bookings And Inquiries:
Bandmembers:
A native of New York, Felix Sanabria has been
performing and recording for over twenty years with such renowned artists
as Celia Cruz, Grupo Afrocuba de Matanzas, Lazaro Ros, Eddie Palmieri,
Tanya Leon, Puntilla y su Nueva Generacion, and Michelle Rosewoman’s
New Yoruba, among others. Audiences throughout the U.S., Latin America
and Europe have been thrilled by this master of Afro-Caribbean folklore
whenever he plays his congas and batá drums.
Hector Torres was born in San German, Puerto Rico and grew up
in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. He began playing percussion
at the age of four and received his tutelage from family members who played
strings, percussion and sang. From this rich experience he has gone on
to play timbales with Ray Barretto, Sunrise, Orquesta Novedades, Conjunto
Mayombe, Chico Alvarez, Grupo Caché, Conjunto Naborí, José
Fajardo, The Moonrats, Rey Saba, Charanga Creación, Fuego ‘77,
and Orquesta La Sorpresa, among many others.
Benjamin Lapidus brings his guitar, Cuban tres, and Puerto
Rican cuatro to the group as well as his experience performing with many
of the top names in both jazz and Latin music. Recent highlights include
performances and recordings with Paquito D'Rivera, Humberto Ramírez,
Ralph Irizarry, Juan Pablo Torres and members of the Buena Vista Social
Club, Chico Alvarez, Alfredo “Chocolate” Armenteros, José
Fajardo, Larry Harlow "El Judío Maravilloso," Bobby Sanabria,
The New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble, Los Afortunados, Grupo Caché, Alex
Torres and other artists in New York and Puerto Rico. A graduate of the
Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Ben earned his Ph.D. in Music at the CUNY
Graduate Center in May, 2002. He has worked with jazz masters Brian Lynch,
Larry Goldings, and Joe McPhee and performed at jazz festivals in France,
Germany, Greece, and Italy.
Bassist Frank Cotto was born in Cidras, Puerto Rico and moved to New York City at the age of eight. After finishing high school at the prestigious Music and Art magnet school, he went on to study music at the world renowned New School. Frank was a founding member of The Authority and has worked with Arnie Lawrence, Bernard Purdie and Lew Soloff. He leads Vaya with Frank Ocasio.
Some of Sonido Isleno's clients:
Russkin PR, Citibank; American College of Denistry, NY Chapter; Center for Puerto Rican Studies; Hispanic Federation; Cisco Sytems; Smithsonian Nat'l Museum of Native America; Center of Latin American and Caribbean Studies; Carnegie Hall; Chicago Historical Society, Bronx Community College; Durham Museum of Western Heritage
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